What marketers are saying about themselves

(Marketingmagazine.com.my) – By The Hammer

If the latest IBM Global CMO Study launched at The IBM BusinessConnect2016 event recently in KL is anything to go by, Marketing is in for a massive wardrobe makeover.

Since a total of 723 CMOs from more than 50 countries took part in CMO Study, let’s sit up and take note….

Some key observations:

CMOs everywhere recognize that the barriers between formerly distinct industries are collapsing, as companies in one sector apply their expertise to others – creating new hybrids and overturning traditional taxonomies in the process.

This, they say, is the single biggest trend transforming the business arena.

Industry convergence is creating completely new opportunities for growth by shifting the focus from products and services made by solo entities to cross-sector customer experiences.

But it’s also exacerbating competition, because other enterprises can seize an organization’s core business as they expand into adjacent spaces.

One company’s convergence is another’s encroachment.

“We’ll have to think differently. We can’t be so monolithic; we need to expand our perspective,” the CMO of a British retailer remarked.

“The CMO will have to take the lead in creating an integrated experience and transforming customers into fans,” shared Paulo A. Pedó Filho, Brand Director, Grendene, Brazil.

“There won’t be CMOs in the future; there will be Chief Experience Officers who are responsible for the overall customer journey,” adds Mohamed AlTajer, Head of Marketing, Branding and Corporate Communications, Commercial Bank International, PSC, United Arab Emirates.

What to do: Rethink everything through the lens of customer experience

Fiercely champion your customers. Rethink every aspect of your strategy, design and operations to enhance your customers’ experiences with your organisation.

Focus on forming ecosystems, so that you can devote more energy and resources to developing unique products, services and experiences that are truly better – and make sure you are first to market.

Challenge people in every function to demolish internal organizational silos and provide a consistent, authentic face to the customer.

How to do it: Embrace the new digerati 

Infuse digital DNA into your team.

Grow the digital expertise that’s essential to create differentiated experiences for your customers.

Set up digital “boot camps” to train your existing staff, and fill critical skill gaps with a mix of new hires and talent from partners in your ecosystem.

And don’t forget to tap customers as a great source of expertise. Incorporate customer feedback and invite customers to participate as co-creators and innovators.

What you need to do it: Drive with data, digital and cognitive 

Use data-driven decision-making to deliver customer experiences that are personalized, relevant and timely – on a large scale. Leverage predictive and prescriptive analytics to identify the best course of action to recommend for customers.

Create innovative, improved experiences that increase customer engagement with new digital interfaces, mobile solutions, Internet of Things and cloud computing; and pilot cognitive technologies, which have the potential to reinvent customer interaction.

At the end of the session, IBM Malaysia Marketing Director, Eric Wong threw a live fuse into the discussion…

He declared that the new CMO’s department will consist of new skill-set players that sounded more like new age geeks looking like happy misfits.

Jokes aside, this may all be happening already as we speak: Customer Data Analysts, Customer Experience Managers, Customer Experience Designers, Channel Owners, Creative Managers, Marketing Operations Managers….

APPIES Malaysia 2016 Marketing Conference open for registrations!

‘2-day MBA’ in Marketing, ‘TED of Marketing’, call it what you will, and come what may, we will see you on May 19 & 20 at the Eastin Hotel.

•        36 latest Marketing Case-Studies  

•        22 marketing leaders as Judges  

•        3 top-notch Keynote Speakers  

*        4 Game-Changing Panel Speakers

Says Chief Judge Adam Wee Abdullah, Group CMO of CIMB Banking Group about judging the entries, “Clarity in the Objective statement is fundamental. If this is not clear, the solutions will not be clear as well. It is also important to juxtapose the expected outcome against the Objective statement so you can gauge if the strategies are aligned. It’s a bit like looking through the scope of a sniper’s rifle.”

Date:           19 & 20 May, 2016 

Venue:          The Grand Ballroom, Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Time:           8.30am – 6.00pm

To register, go to APPIES REGISTRATION.

Download full brochure here.

Or contact Ruby on 03-7726 2588, [email protected]

APPIES Malaysia 2016 judges:

• Abdul Sani Abdul Murad – Head of Marketing, HSBC Malaysia

• Ben Mahmud – Head of Retail Marketing, Shell Malaysia Trading

• Eric Wong – Marketing Director, IBM Malaysia

• Fiona Liao – Chief Brand Officer, Prudential Assurance Malaysia

• Jasmine Lee – Chief Marketing Officer, U Mobile

• Jauhar Munir Shaikh – FVP, Brand Marketing for F&N Malaysia

• Loh Keh Jiat – CMO, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd

• Mark Ng – ASEAN Marketing Director, Castrol

• Martin Soong – Marketing Manager, Fonterra Brands Malaysia

• Matthew Ho – Regional Digital Marketing Director, Huawei Technologies Malaysia

• Nirinder Singh Johl – GM of Strategic Communications, Tenaga Nasional Berhad

• Noreen Sabrina – Head of Brand Communications- Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)

• Pan Choi Yen – GM of Marketing, WIPRO-UNZA Malaysia

• Philip Whittaker – Group Chief Marketing Officer, Themed Attractions & Resorts

• Rizan Ismail – Head of Brand Management, PETRONAS

• Santharuban T. Sundaram – Group Marketing Manager, Permanis Sandilands

• Stephane Vilquin – Marketing Director, Campbell Soup Southeast Asia

• Syahar Khalid – Digital Engagement Manager, Nestlé Products Malaysia

• Vincent Chong – Marketing Director of Unilever Malaysia

• Zaki Zin – Marketing Director, Wyeth Nutrition Malaysia

• Zalman Aefendy Zainal Abidin – Chief Marketing Officer, Celcom AXIATA  

By The Hammer

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