How to be an outstanding professional services CMO, Part 1

I received a copy of the second installment in a series of Executive Briefings for Chief Marketing Officers based on recent research conducted by Egon Zehnder International involving several hundred senior marketing executives at more than 300 companies worldwide.

The focus of the research was "What differentiates today’s outstanding CMOs from good ones?" The key findings: outstanding CMOs outperform good CMOs most notably in two areas: results orientation and change leadership.

Here's a download of the 3-page report. Download G__CMO Practice_2010 IP_CMO Brief #2 (2)

(There are succinct descriptions on page 2 about how Egon Zehnder International describes the results orientation and the change leadership of an outstanding CMO.)

Of course, professional service firm (PSF) marketers will want to hear my thoughts on this report. (!!) I've broken down my observations into four parts, which I'll publish separately in the coming weeks. This post is my first of the four parts.

I love the point about how outstanding CMOs use "robust analysis and benchmarking." In bigger PSFs, this practice is beginning to happen, especially among enterprises that have gone public. But in anything less than the biggest firms, "robust analysis and benchmarking" are not happening.

Why?

The private corporate structures of most PSFs makes it very hard for CMOs to get any comparative data from rivals, much less their potential and current clients. Most partnership-oriented PSFs operate as confederations of individuals, each watching out for his or her own bottom line rather than envisioning the collective benefits of funding firm-wide initiatives. With partner mindsets like that, even the most respected senior marketers have had a hard time convincing their firms of the necessity for funding substantive market research.

Nevertheless, this Egon Zehnder Executive Briefing correctly underscores the importance of solid fact-based market, competitor and client analysis.

The sooner professional service firm CMOs can begin building substantive data sets from which objective analysis can be undertaken, the better.

And the more likely they will become outstanding.

Comments

[Chris Zdunich]

"Most partnership-oriented PSFs operate as confederations of individuals, each watching out for his or her own bottom line rather than envisioning the collective benefits of funding firm-wide initiatives."

Suzanne, that is one of the most important statements in your post.

Partners and marketers must act as a team. Clients, employees and the firm will benefit greatly in many ways.

Silos are counter productive.

[Suzanne Lowe]

Not surprisingly, I agree with you Chris! In fact, it's understandable that many professional firms have inadvertently created silos.

Nobody wants silos, and I believe both "sides" are motivated to work together more productively.

We shouldn't feel bad about pointing out the obvious, but we must avoid slipping into self-pity or antagonism.