Chief Connecting Officers

Working our relationship muscles

The best parts of my job are the conversations. Ideas get better and more complete through discussions that layer perspectives and experiences. In one of my recent discussions, we found ourselves on the topic of marketing leadership within an organization. 

The breadth of the marketing function obviously depends on company size and sector -- sometimes product management and digital development sit inside or outside. But one thing is clear to me: marketing leaders are routinely being called on to provide strategic guidance and flex their relationship muscles.

Here are some examples, discussed at recent Council meetings, of how marketers can serve as Chief Connecting Officers:

• Collaboration is more important than ever in a remote/flex/hybrid world, and marketers are expert collaborators. Marketing is often taking the lead on helping teams find new ways of working together, maximizing productivity without losing creativity or ideation in the process. 
• Alignment between sales and marketing has become even more crucial as sales teams rely on marketing support to build relationships and obtain leads, particularly in the absence or reduction of in-person sales calls.
• Marketers can offer perspective to business leads based on their experiences with partners, for example, with agency-client relationship shifts and reliance on external partners to provide outside views that help to avoid insular thinking. 

One thing is for sure… there’s never been a better time to be a marketing professional.