From Stretched to Strengthened: IBM’s CMO Study Reveals Opportunities for CMOs to Lead

Katharyn White serves as IBM’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for its Global Business Services.  Katharyn and the IBM Institute for Business Value interviewed 1700 Chief Marketing Officers earlier this year to understand what CMOs are doing to help their businesses understand, manage and lead through the transformations that are facing most businesses today.  Farland Group and Katharyn are partnering on a two-part blog series to uncover some of the findings from the IBM CMO study. In the spirit of full disclosure, Katharyn is a valued client of Farland Group’s and we hope that you find the insights she shares as compelling as we did.

Transforming the CMO and the Organization through Analytics

In my role as CMO of IBM’s Global Business Services –  I have noticed the increasing complexity in our business and that of our clients.  IBM is constantly working to understand how the velocity, variety and volume of data can be used to empower better, faster and more informed decisions.  As IBM learned from CMOs across the globe, this challenge is one that opens up enormous opportunity for those who learn to use information effectively.  Yet we also know from the CMO study that many feel overwhelmed by data and analytics overload and struggle to know where to begin.  This is a fair question and one that is even more complicated for my CMO peers who are in companies (unlike IBM) where analytics is not a core competency.

But IBM was not always in the position of using analytics in the marketing that we did.  In fact, while many of us have long believed that information-based decisions were of most value long-term to the business, we-the marketing team- didn’t always have what we needed to back up our intuition.  Now, like IBM, many businesses have more data than they can manage and the question is:  how do CMOs meet the increasing complexity with increased effectiveness?

We know that we cannot run on the treadmill any faster.  Most CMOs and executive leaders are doing all that we can in the waking hours of a day.  But yet we have to be smarter.  We must challenge our teams to use analytics to help us make better, more informed decisions.  We’ve found that by analyzing information we’ve been able to double down efforts in certain areas and even create new markets based on this new information we’ve gathered.

IBM’s recent CMO study showed that the most successful enterprises are using analytics to shape their marketing investments, new product directions and business strategies.  Below are my top 5 tips on how to use analytics effectively in your organization:

  1. Questions are the key: Having the right questions is more important than having all the data.  And, having the right questions is actually more important than having all of the answers.  We know that by asking the right questions, the data will lead us to answers that matter to our clients and our business.
  2. Relationships drive results: Relationships are even more important in an analytically transparent world/organization.  It is not the data or even the insight you have, but who does what with that data to deliver business impact that matters.
  3. Less is more: Since we know we cannot do more in the time we have in a day, we must make smart decisions.  Accessing the right insights and acting on those brings faster and more relevant results.  We don’t have time to do everything and we know that not everything will yield results.
  4. Plan for change: The intelligence gathered from analytics will open up a new set of insights that inevitably require change.  Prepare for change by considering governance and change management early in the journey.  This investment is as important as the tools you have and capabilities you build.
  5. Lead by example: It is easier to continue to use intuition to lead your decision making, but we know that your competitors are winning the day because they are using information to uncover deeper insights that your intuition won’t identify.  The single best way for me to drive analytics-lead marketing decisions is to use a data-driven approach to leadership and empower my organization to do the same.

Where does analytics fall in your marketing strategies?  What tips have you learned along the way?


Comments are closed.

Related Stories

The Critical Art of Balancing Content for Customer Advisory Councils

Posted on 11.30.2023 by in Customer Advisory Boards

In today’s customer-driven business landscape, organizations increasingly turn to Customer Advisory Councils (CACs) to gain valuable first-hand insights, validate strategies, and foster meaningful relationships with their clients. As we have seen in our work at Farland Group, the  

Continue Reading »

Closing the Loop: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Posted on 10.27.2023 by in Customer Advisory Boards

Members at a recent Client Advisory Council meeting were vocal about the importance of coming back on the advice offered during the meeting and sharing what actions have been taken. When it comes to follow-up after the Advisory  

Continue Reading »

Customer First Requires Commitment and Change

Posted on 08.29.2023 by in Engagement Strategy, Featured

“Getting closer to the customer” is an all-too-common goal of companies. While the refrain has a nice ring to it, enabling a strategy to deliver on the promise is not trivial. After all, we know that customers have more choices  

Continue Reading »

Set Your Customer Advisory Council Up for Success: Recruit Your Internal Team First

Posted on 06.22.2023 by in Customer Advisory Boards

When launching a Customer Advisory Council significant thought and attention goes into recruiting members – what criteria to use, whom to invite, and ensuring the mix is on target. However, the same care is not always taken when putting together  

Continue Reading »


Customer Advisory Boards

Customer Advisory Boards are powerful engines of engagement, insight, and business transformation. Make the most of yours.

Meeting Facilitation: Virtual and In-Person Boards » Taking Your Customer Advisory Board Meetings Virtual »

Learn More »

Engagement Strategy

Like any good relationship, customer engagement is a long-term, reciprocal effort. When done well, meaningful engagement leads to better business results, faster.

Engage Your Customers to Help You Stop Pitching » Getting to a Customer Engagement Mindset »

Learn More »

Understanding the C-Suite

Building C-level programs that are meaningful and bring value to you as well as to your c-suite customers is challenging. Veiled sales pitches won’t win the day with this audience. Deliver what executives want: ideas, inspiration, innovation, influence.

Building a C-Suite Client Experience Strategy » Do you Know What Your Customers Value? »

Learn More »