Growth Insights for CEOs

The Sky is Falling

Every week, my husband buys me a chicken. A succulent, rotisserie-grilled chicken from BJs Wholesale Club. I love that chicken. I am a fan of that chicken, even a super fan. You could even consider me a brand ambassador. I have told people in the checkout  line, people at the grilling station how great this chicken is… or should I say was.

I've become a big fan of practical and powerful business books over the past 10 years. Perhaps...no definitely...my favorite author in this genre is Patrick Lencioni. I met with Pat, and a couple of his executive team, very briefly last week. Guess what? He's just as charming and bright and engaging as you'd expect. While I was able to gain some insights related to managing a consulting practice from Amy, who runs the show at his consultancy The Table Group, I was also keenly aware of the tremendous intellect and experience that drives their firm which is clearly evident in the mere presence of Pat Lencioni.

How do tech startups and networking mix in New Jersey? Pretty, well.  Last week I attended the NJ Tech Meetup at the Babbio Center at Stephens Technical Institute in Hoboken.  The place was filled with more than 100 entrepreneurs, business service providers, investors, students and others who were there to network, to learn and to share ideas. Maybe even to connect with an investor or find a hot new startup to fund.

I read the other day that CNN had slipped into last place in the ratings for cable news networks. It received its worst ratings in 21 years. That is kind of shocking when you realize that they invented the category of cable news back in 1980 when the competitors were the three broadcast networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. Ted Turner had the courage to start a television network devoted only to news—24/7. This had never been done before. Whether you agree with their editorial point of view or not, you still need to admire his commitment to the idea.

Our guest blogger Mike Bowlan is principal, director of marketing at Brown Smith Wallace. When you think about how modern day CPA and other professional service firms are "going to market", it’s much like the takeover of music by digital recording.  Many think digital marketing is THE way, the new Mecca (Records).  There’s no question that you can put out a pound of productive marketing sound with digital marketing.  But, as many very talented musicians have cautioned, don’t forget the value of analog. Traditional marketing still has its place, particularly the often, overlooked basics.

I recently read about a study that shocked, but did not surprise me. FournaiseTrack, a prestigious International Company, interviewed 1200 CEOs from large and mid-size companies as part of their Global Marketing Effectiveness Program. They found that 80% of those CEOs “admit they do not really trust and are not very impressed by the work done by Marketers”.

I am a big believer in teams in a business environment. I don't just meant people working together well, but actively taking steps to know each other as people, form bonds and work with a common purpose. I've always tried to foster a strong team dynamic in the groups I've led, and have taken active steps to create an environment in which those bonds could grow.

The CMO

The role of chief marketing officer is arguably the most misunderstood and least consistent of the C-suite.  Everyone thinks they understand marketing, and many like to dabble in it; and yet when it comes to defining what a chief marketer does, the job specs vary widely.

Several times as a CMO, I have been called upon to solve a net profit, rather than a total revenue problem. Sales in these cases were not bad. Not where we wanted them to be, but adequate. The problem was that no one was making any money.

Inspect What YOU Expect

I spent last weekend at Screencast Camp. This is a once a year meeting put on by Techsmith, the company that sells Snagit and Camtasia. It was a great experience where I met marketing executives and education technologists as well as learning and development specialists. We talked about how “visual content” is transforming customer engagement and interaction. The research shows that images and video are far superior to text in getting clients and prospects to share content. The bottom line is that companies need to distribute video/image content to get noticed. But how do CEOs know what is effective?

Are you asking the right questions?

I would love to go back to the good old days when I picked up the phone to make a cold call or I got into my car and drove to a business that I just knew would benefit from what I can do for them. But in today’s fast moving society that demands instant gratification, your web site has quickly evolved into the preferred and most convenient method of fulfilling your customer’s needs. So what are you doing to make sure you are helping your customers find you, buy from you, and recommend you to their colleagues?

In case you missed it, Mitt Romney surprised everyone over the weekend with the announcement of his vice presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan. While it was a surprise to many, it was very expected by the people behind the scenes managing “Brand Mitt”.

in business or in politics, developing a sound strategic plan is critical to managing a brand or business or in this case “Brand Mitt”. 

Have You Heard of Wally Pipp?

Pipp was the first baseman for the New York Yankees in 1925. Folklore has it that on June 2 he asked to sit out the game because of a headache. The coach substituted Lou Gehrig, and that was the beginning of Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games. 

Maybe it's always been this way, or maybe it's an offshoot of the up-to-the-second media-barraged world we live in, but it seems like there is a lot of fear and uncertainty in the business world.

We have all been told, time and time again, that if we want to grow our business we need to network. It is an important part of the CEO's job. People work with people who they know and trust. So, you need to get to know your potential clients and prospects.

 I attended the CMO Club Innovation Summit in NYC a few months ago; an outstanding event, filled with exceptional marketing minds, excellent learning and some interesting special guests (not to mention a killer Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp band). Being a NY Giants fan I was excited that one of those guests was Michael Strahan, the sure-to-be Hall of Famer and former great Giants' defensive end.

Forward.

In case you missed it, this is President Obama’s new re-election campaign slogan.  And there is a lot of debate about its meaning because of the little punctuation mark at the end. The buzz made front page news in the Wall Street Journal

How can a mid-market business increase its marketing effectiveness, perhaps without increasing marketing budget? It has been my experience when we:

Recently, I was visiting with a colleague from my days at Waste Management Inc. (WMI), reminiscing about a major industry roll-up of which we were a part. WMI had decided to create value for shareholders by acquiring and consolidating companies in the very fragmented pest control business, creating a new national player in the industry.

What Makes a Family Business Work? 

This past week, I had lunch with Christopher Wolfslayer, a colleague fromSovereign Bank who is in charge of Business Development, and the subject of family businesses came up. Both of us have had a lot of experience working with families that work and live together and we shared some of our perspectives.