A little off topic, but I'm reading constantly about the issue of the CMO and how short the average tenure is. In the "C" suite (whatever) they are the quickest to get canned.
Why?
How about because for the most part they are stuck in an old mind-set that can't actually be measured? In a recent article in Business Week on the subject there was a line that said: "The CMO job is a lot more complicated and arduous than it was just a few years ago." I'm not so sure. One might make the argument that the job is a lot easier than it was in the past.
The problem that marketers face vs. there brethren (or sisteren..?) in the C suite, is that in the old world, everyone is an expert. When you set yourself up in a subjective tower...well it's based on your opinion vs. everyone else's... It's easy to be second-guessed.
Today's marketers are all about the numbers. Deal with it or not at your own risk. If the CMO doesn't know the numbers then of course they are going to be canned. This is the era of "Measured Marketing."
My favorite part of the BW story was the reality that SEO is now more important than Nielson ratings. How do you get high SEO rankings? You blog for them of course. Corporate Blogging Software is one of the paths to SEO success. With easy to use blogging software there is no excuse for not embracing an Enterprise blogging strategy.
Well maybe one excuse....no one takes you to expensive dinners or out on junkets. I think many marketers got used to living like Charlie Wilson. Those days are over.
