Disruption and Unification: The Emerging CMO's Focus

Make no mistake - digital marketing in today’s omni-everything market is as challenging as it is promising. Marketing funnels are now swipes. Business happens globally on a 24/7/365 (at all hours) basis. Customers expect personalized, relevant content in the way they are searching for it - on their preferred devices (which may change), real-time and geographically appropriate. They expect their needs and problems to be anticipated, the solutions to be where they are looking and transactions to be seamless in the moment. In the era of being customer-centric Generation Customer is no longer optional.

Meanwhile, within any organization, exists the potential for controlled chaos - siloed martech investments, low cross-functional alignment, missing workflows and inability to harness the power of social business are each contributing factors. The most significant factor is very likely to be the one most often overlooked - that of the vision and shared paradigm amongst organizational leaders that digital transformation is all-encompassing and absolutely critical for bottom-line success. This is especially true in established brand enterprises.

As I have shared previously, the emerging ‘Disruptor CMO’ is charged with shaking up the status quo and, simultaneously, aligning all operations and opportunities around a unified customer journey. This is somewhat like trying to tiptoe through a minefield - no matter how light your touch, you will find issues that are much bigger than they look on the surface. In the bigger picture, that needs to happen; in the short-term, you need to keep your eye on that prize.

Here is the one question that all Disruptor CMOs must focus on - and orient disruption around - in order to gain positive traction in digital transformation:

How can every digital touchpoint and every employee engage each customer as a unique person and cultivate a 1:1 dialogue and relationship with that person?

The answers that present will include everything from uniting customer profile data and experiences to having the ability to create real-time geo-locational promotions and marketing campaigns to fostering collaboration amongst cross-functional teams and more. Digital enterprise transformation at this level requires both a holistic perspective and, operationally, a customized technology platform to facilitate workflow and customer engagement.

Technology is no longer a consideration in marketing; it is now the essential launchpad of all organizational marketing initiatives, decision-making and customer-centric operations. By using technology to unify the customer journey, your organization can optimize replicable functions and, at the same time, make the most of what technology cannot do - empower your staff to build authentic relationships.

Bringing the power of relationships back into business is what the third wave of digital marketing is all about… and the right technology can unify the disruption that is needed for success in today’s business landscape.

Having been a veteran of digital marketing over time now, and in being a Disruptor CMO myself, I know the power of leading-edge technology in unifying necessary disruption to get the best results for an organization. As a result, I unabashedly invite you toconsider Jahia’s customizable digital experience management platform for your organization. It is truly the investment that can pay you back.