In the Media

The most recent CMO Survey asked approximately 500 top marketers to describe how their companies have grown in the past 12 months and how they will grow during the next 12 months. Marketers were asked

The results of the February 2011 CMO Survey are in and the news is unequivocally positive. 421 top marketers shared their views to create the following portrait of healthy economy-wide, firm, and job effects.

1. Improved optimism about the overall U.S. economy. Respondents rated the U.S. economy at 63 on a scale of 0-100, up from a rating of 56 in August 2010. Nearly 69 percent of CMOs reported they were more optimistic about the U.S. economy, compared to 26 percent the previous quarter. In contrast, less optimistic CMOs fell to 6 percent, down from 35 percent the previous quarter. My own view is that because marketers have the most direct contact with customers and the best perspective of their future plans, these results are especially credible and bode well for economic recovery.

<p>In the August 2010 CMO Survey, I asked top marketers the following question:  What is marketing primarily responsible for in your firm?</p> <p>Marketers were then asked to check from a list of strategic, tactical, and financial activities in firms. What I found is in the table below.</p> <p>At least a couple worrisome thoughts arise from these results. First, while marketing is playing an important role in brand and social media in most organizations, marketing’s contributions to the key strategic activities of the firm are sadly absent.  This includes marketing’s weak contributions to key strategic activities such as market entry, innovation, CRM, sales, distribution, and targeting.</p>

<p>The <em>August 2010 CMO Survey</em> included a special section on marketing metrics. Seven important facts stood out when I analyzed the responses from the 574 marketing executives who participated in the survey.</p> <p><strong>1. Revenue metrics dominate:</strong> Revenue metrics (sales, market share) are the primary means they use to evaluate marketing activities. Unfortunately, few link marketing actions to critically important firm outcomes, such as customer retention (15%), profits (14%), brand value (11%), net promoter score (7.5%) and stock market performance (2 percent).</p> <p><strong>2. The quality and use of market insights not evaluated:</strong> While market insights are very important drivers of innovation and growth, only 25% of the firms surveyed use metrics to evaluate the quality of these insights, and only about one-third evaluate how market insights influence managerial decision making.</p>