Developing the future generation of marketers
Our greatest asset to create a sustainable and growth-oriented economy is the development of talent and the next generation employees. As a marketer I deeply believe in ensuring we give back to that next generation, and the need to also develop those that are quickly rising into leadership positions. When leaders are provided the right tools, the ability to drive profit, growth and outcomes can be exponential, further the ability to develop mindful leaders that can speak both the language of the business and marketing is critical to grow the overall practice of marketing in organizations.
As I look at the CMA’s Chartered Marketer (CM) designation I believe the program is a best-in-class and globally leading opportunity for current marketers to establish and develop a core set of skills that cover all parts of the foundation of what is required to build the future sets of CMOs. Accenture Survey data of nearly 1,000 CMOs shows that the role is evolving and CMOs focused on hyper relevant customer experiences drive superior business value. This further aligns with recent data on customer expectations that have shifted through the last 18 months. The focus of the CMO and the changing customer expectations all intersect in how the brand represents itself.
This means the modern brand becomes represented not just through creative, but the extension of all touch points, and the marketing organization needs to be laser focused on this. The CM designation emphasizes putting the customer first through the Applied Marketing Core 1 program that focuses on the customer, data, research and insights, and builds on that foundation.
The other major challenge facing the modern CMO is the need to be more collaborative across the organization. The modern CMO needs to be able to talk about ROI and value to the CFO, talk about customer data activation to the Chief Data Officer, partner with the CIO and CTO to adopt the right technology to enable customer experiences, personalization, and automate modern marketing programs.
The future of marketing is going to be redefined by these three areas intersecting: New Customer Expectations, CMO Collaboration and CMO ownership of the customer experience that extends beyond advertising. It’s why I’ve looked to develop my personal skills and why I’m encouraging my team to develop their skills through both the CM designation and engaging in marketing communities to foster dialogue, learning, and giving back. It’s why I also believe Canada has a base of some of the best marketers in the world – by nature we wear many hats, and we tend to be more mindful about how we approach the art of marketing.
