CMO Briefing No. 8: Leading the Customer-Centered Organization

CMO Briefing No. 8: Leading the Customer-Centered Organization

On September 25-26, 2013, Egon Zehnder McKinsey & Company and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management jointly hosted the third annual Kellogg Marketing Leadership Summit. In this briefing, two of the conferences hosts, Rory Finlay of Egon Zehnder and former consultant Dick Patton explore the key topics and share videos of interviews conducted with the attendees discussing the changing role of the CMO.

The theme of the conference was how businesses, individuals and innovation are evolving in support of the customer-centric find out, you must look beyond past experience to enterprise. Focusing first on the organization, Greg Carpenter shared his thinking on the four stages of market-focused reinvention a company must go through; recognition, reinvention, formalize and maintain. Each phase irreversibly shaping the overall organization much the same as baking a cake rather than making a salad.

Egon Zehnder spoke on the redefinition of the CMO role due to market changes and the resulting splintering elements of marketing across five CMO traits: Digital Expert vs. Marketing Traditionalist, Business Leader vs. Marketing Guru, Innovation Champion vs. Shopper Expert, Sector Specialist vs. Versatile Partner, Sophisticated Strategist vs. Entrepreneurial Trailblazer. Asking the group, which pole are you? Which pole does your buisness need?

Robert Knight of UC Berkeley and Moran Cerf of the Kellogg School of Management shared recent advances in behavioral science, specifically neuroscience, that are envolving how markets understand and cater to customers. The advancements happening today allow for deeper understanding of emotional reactions to stimuli which will have larger ramifications for effectiveness of marketing and advertising. At the conference, Rory and Dick sat down with a host of attendees to get their opinions on the evolving role of marketing.

To access these videos, follow the links below:
Kellog Marketing Leadership Summit Interview Series

Access the full paper CMO Briefing No. 8: Leading the Customer-Centered Organization.

CMO Briefing No. 8: Leading the Customer-Centered Organization
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