Modern marketing, and content marketing, in particular, is all about change. Whether that means changing technologies, channels, strategies, tactics, or buyer expectations, effective marketers also need to be effective change agents to stay relevant and competitive. In this spirit of change, we’re changing up the dynamic on CMO Essentials to host a valuable, two part conversation between Aberdeen’s own Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Maribeth Ross, and NewsCred’s Head of Strategy, Michael Brenner.
1. We all know there is tremendous change happening in the world of marketing. How are marketers dealing with it?
Michael Brenner: At the leadership level, we know that CMOs and senior marketing leaders almost unanimously agree that the old, traditional methods they grew up with are no longer completely relevant in today’s digital, social, mobile world. So this gap exists between the marketing that works in 2014 and the majority of marketing happening today. But the business is still moving and putting these demands on the marketing department to deliver results. The real problem is that most business people continue to ask for the traditional methods in the form of ads and billboards and events.
The courageous marketing leaders are taking a bold approach. They are shifting their budgets out of paid advertising and into earned and owned media. They are testing new methods. They are making big bets on solving the digital and content marketing challenge that exists inside every business. And then they are taking these results and using them to educate the business on what it takes to reach today’s consumer with the content they want, when and how they want it…
Maribeth Ross: In this modern marketing environment, I think good marketers are a lot like good wheels – no matter what the conditions may be, they just keep rolling. Those who can’t, fall flat. To Michael’s point, with the rise of marketing automation, big data, and the overall trackability of digital marketing, marketers have more opportunity, and have felt more pressure than ever to measurably demonstrate marketing impact and align to business objectives. Instead of finding themselves (and their budget) at the mercy of the board or the rest of the C-suite, marketing leaders have earned their own seats at the decision making table through their performance and insight. 6 years ago, for example, inbound marketing was only a whisper, and outbound marketing was really the only kind of marketing being done. Today, though, in the scope of lead generation at least, we’ve already seen a measurable shift where now 40% of all leads generated, on average, come from inbound marketing activities.
2. What is the biggest risk for CMOs?
Michael Brenner: I think there are three main areas today’s CMO needs to focus: Culture, Budgets and People. The main job of today’s CMO is to focus on building a customer-centric culture. This means building a marketing organization that can deliver content and experiences that people want. In our self-serve world, we have to earn attention and become the thing they want. Not interrupt the things they want.
But culture is built on the kind of people with the skills that can pull that off. The CMO can’t make every budget decision. So he has to hire and fire and promote the right people with the skills and expertise to see what is working and shift budget out of what is not working.
So the biggest risk for today’s CMO is to continue doing what he or she has been doing.
Maribeth Ross: Interestingly enough, at Aberdeen, we hold the phrase “we’ve always done things this way,” as the most dangerous statement to our business, and like Michael, I believe a lot of CMOs share this sentiment. Even when marketers have aspirational values, their aim is intended to drive continuous improvement, not business as usual. Research shows, for example, that despite 92% of marketers holding high-quality content to be either valuable or very valuable to their business, only 54% actually report being effective or very effective at achieving such content. In other words, CMOs can’t risk that good enough is good enough anymore; they have to always aim for better.
3. Why is content marketing the biggest priority for marketers today?
Michael Brenner: Content marketing is the biggest priority for today’s marketers because it represents the gap between what most brands produce and what their customers are looking for.
This creates tension inside the marketing organization and produces what I call this “isolated marketer” problem below the CMO level. The early adopters are seeing the digital world and making every effort to produce the kind of engaging content and experiences that we want as customers.
But the majority of the organizations they work in, even in marketing, are still largely focused on taking orders and executing plans that simply don’t match today’s buying habits. That’s why spending on banners that are ignored by 99.9% of those who see them went up last year!
These change agents are the future CMOs. But in the meantime, we need to support and encourage them to keep fighting and we need to highlight them for their courage and success.
Maribeth Ross: Content marketing being a meritocracy, it’s one of the few stable sources for renewable competitive advantages. As the form and function of content is really only limited by a marketer’s creativity, content marketing offers a wide range of opportunities to engage, entertain, and inform customers. When marketers are able to achieve more specialized and sophisticated elements of content marketing, they predictably achieve improved results. On average, for example, marketers who align their content to specific stages of their buyer’s journey see 73% higher conversion rates than those who don’t. Despite content marketing being adopted by a vast majority (92%) of marketers, it’s also an opportunity to stand out and prove an organization’s relevance to its buyers.
The first part of Michael and Maribeth’s conversation may end here, but you can add your own insights in the comments below… How do you see marketers dealing with today’s changes? What do you think is the biggest risk CMOs face? Why do you think content marketing is such a priority? Share your thoughts to continue the conversation, and stay tuned for part two coming soon…
Michael Brenner is the Head of Strategy for NewsCred. Recognized as a Forbes Top 40 Social Media Marketer, a Top Content Marketing Influencer and Most Mentioned Marketer on Twitter, Michael is an accomplished marketing speaker, author of the B2B Marketing Insider blog, and a frequent contributor on leading publications like Forbes, The Economist, and The Guardian. Follow Michael on Twitter (@BrennerMichael), LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+.
