Beyond Marketing: Why Digital Disruption Requires a Deeper Transformation
The forces of digital disruption have toppled established business models, magnified the significance of digital channels and competences, and initiated the “customer-centric era.” CMOs and their marketing organizations would seem to be ideally positioned to lead organizational response, as they typically own the customer relationship and have developed sophisticated methods for understanding and communicating with customers. But CMOs are rarely at the forefront as companies tackle the digital innovations necessary to attract and retain empowered consumers. A recent Accenture survey shows that the CEO was responsible for such initiatives in 35% of the organizations, followed by the CTO (23%) and the CIO (22%). The CMO? Virtually invisible at 1%. Results like these illustrate that digital disruption radically accelerates and warps not only the customer relationship but also the entire process from product innovation to customer satisfaction. In this paper, Tim Walters explains that remaining relevant requires going beyond marketing and developing the ability to sense, understand, and respond to changing market conditions and customer expectations with extraordinary speed, agility, and flexibility.