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NVISION Insights and Innovation Team In CMO, Marketing Trends

Top Characteristics of Transformational CMOs of Tomorrow

back of a man with arms crossed - transformational cmo

One of the most significant challenges facing modern CMOs and marketers is how rapidly the marketing industry changes. Between new technology, new customer demands, and new cultural trends, it’s more important than ever that CMOs keep their brands positioned for rapid success. That’s why Bob Van Rossum at Business2Community.com spoke with some of the top marketing recruiters in the industry and has put together what he believes are some of the key characteristics of “the transformational CMO of tomorrow,” the type of marketing leader that is equipped to lead his or her brand into the future.

Let’s take a look at a few of the most important characteristics.

Focus and Understanding of the Buyer’s Journey

For many brands, the sales cycle is a long and protracted one. For others, the intricacies of the marketing supply chain – from the creative team’s demands to the CFO’s strict budget requirements – make for extremely complex marketing operations. Either way, as the buyer’s journey becomes longer and features more distinct “moments,” transformational CMOs must be ready.

As Van Rossum says, “We look for leaders that are capable of understanding the various pain points a consumer may encounter during the customer journey. By truly understanding the buyer’s journey, CMOs are better able to drive engagement and growth.”

And that doesn’t just mean knowing which marketing materials will resonate best at each stage. It also means planning ahead and enabling an agile and responsive marketing supply chain that can quickly adapt and react, allowing the brand to capitalize on each moment of the buyer’s journey. Transformational CMOs will be sure to work with partners who enable this responsiveness and success.

Creating Emotional Connections to the Brand

In increasingly crowded markets, it’s no longer enough to simply offer a superior product. Transformational CMOs must use their marketing materials to create a meaningful, lasting, emotional connection with their customers. “A strong brand goes far beyond a memorable logo or slogan…it needs to be immersed in every element and strategic move of your organization to make a true impact,” Van Rossum says.

Developing these connections between your brand and your customers requires both a close examination and an intricate understanding, of changing customer demands and cultural trends. But capitalizing on them, and using them to create lasting, deep bonds with your brand requires agile and responsive marketing operations. When an opportunity arises, your marketing logistics should be simple and fast enough to seize on it before your competition does, and execute on it in a way that keeps costs low and ROI high.

Foster an Agile Mindset

Transformational CMOs must be familiar with what Van Rossum calls “lean and agile” methodologies. “Lean and agile methodologies have transformed other industries, and have a great potential to improve practices within the marketing space,” he says. A lean mindset is one that helps brands maximize customer value (which should always stay top priority) while optimizing for a specific desired outcome. An agile mindset, on the other hand, helps your marketing efforts adapt in real time as you keep your customers the central focus in building effective solutions.

To this end, partnering with a marketing supply chain and logistics partner can take much of the burden of searching for ways to stay lean and agile off of the CMO themselves. By working with an expert whose business is keeping costs low and production time short, CMOs can foster this transformational attitude in all areas of their operations, saving time and preparing for changing definitions of success.

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NVISION Insights and Innovation Team In Marketing Trends

Shoppers’ Emotions

Shoppers’ Emotions and the In-Store Experience

As more and more customers opt to conduct an ever-larger portion of their shopping online, brands are realizing the value of shifting, rather than diminishing, the role of their brick-and-mortar retail stores.

That’s according to a new report conducted by YouGov and GPShopper, which examined shoppers’ emotions as they browse retail stores and what brands can do to leverage shoppers’ emotional responses to increase revenue and brand loyalty.

“Retailers must deliver a convenient shopping experience that also sparks a little excitement and brand loyalty,” says Maya Mikhailov, CMO of GPShopper. She’s absolutely right, and this is how brands can – and should – use print materials, in-store displays, and point-of-sale marketing promotions to drive that valuable emotional response.

The Value of Retail-to-Online Revenue

According to the survey, 86% of shoppers will give preference to a store where they can try out products in person and then make a purchase online. As we’ve discussed before, the increased shift to online shopping is compelling retailers to re-think the role of their brick-and-mortar stores. More and more shrewd brands are discovering and leveraging the value of using their retail spaces as showrooms for their products, treating them as fully three-dimensional branded experiences.

By using relevant and compelling print materials, in-store displays, and point-of-sale materials, brands can use their retail stores to drive revenue through omnichannel marketing efforts, even if that revenue is eventually realized online.

cashier handing credit card back to customer - sales person

Which Emotions Should Retailers Cultivate In-Store?

First, it’s important to understand what shoppers are currently feeling. According to the survey, 10% of customers report feeling “frustrated” upon walking into retail stores, with confusing displays and promotions that don’t always match the ones they saw online. This disconnect between a brand’s different shopping channels hurts brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. By taking steps to make sure that the physical marketing experience is aligned and consistent with the digital experience, brands can ensure continuity and help reduce customer frustration.

Perhaps worst of all, the single-most reported emotion according to the survey was “Nothing” (40%). While a lack of emotion is not strictly the same as a negative emotion, this statistic is concerning for a different reason: it indicates that retailers are failing to maximize the value of their retail space through dynamic and compelling display materials. In hyper-competitive retail markets, “beige” is death for brands that need ways to stand out.

In fact, only 20% of customers reported feeling “excited” about their retail experience, and barely 12% felt “satisfied.” These are exactly the emotions brands should be trying to create in their brick-and-mortar spaces.

What Can Stores Do Better?

“Retailers need to begin experimenting with new, innovative options for their locations, because this is ultimately what consumers are looking for,” Mikhailov advises. And the results of the survey bear this out.

85% of shoppers like to see product recommendations based upon customer reviews. Retailers can win major brand loyalty and revenue by creating and deploying in-store displays that leverage their online reviews. This type of omnichannel synergy is exactly what retailers should be leveraging. “The research tells us that digital channels, like mobile, are still siloed from the in-store experience, rather than being used to augment the reality of stores,” Mikhailov says. “Consumers are clearly comfortable with ‘experience centers,’” that offer a three-dimensional, cross-channel experience.

Additionally, 80% of customers like being able to purchase a product online, and then be treated to an emotional “experience” when they pick it up in-store.

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“Developing an emotional connection with a brand, experience, or store staff can be the difference between creating a loyal customer and pushing them toward online or offline competitors,” Mikhailov concludes.

By harnessing the power of print materials, banners, and other physical point-of-sale marketing materials, brands can translate their carefully cultivated in-store experiences into significant online sales revenue, and vice versa.`