Marketing....Leaders Wanted.

At a recent conference with CMOs, I was encouraged to hear many presenters share that most of what they do has very little to do with marketing itself. They shared of their work in branding, story telling, change management, team building, strategy and business development. Very few talked about tactical level details, but the main thing in common was simply, people. Humans. Marketing is a Business to Human function.

As I have navigated this dynamic world of marketing, I find that success has been directly correlated to my ability and willingness to work outside of marketing itself.  As a CXP/marketing leader, I have been creating and managing everything from branding, customer experience, marketing and employee engagement/culture to executive coaching and strategy definition. It's what companies are coming to expect of their marketing leadership. We have to be able to go beyond strategy, acquisition, channels, medium, creative and communications to being able to meaningfully connect the dots to growth, core business challenges, our future and the needs of the customers and staff. 

Never has there been a bigger emphasis on leadership. Leading staff, empowering them to do their job, helping them understand and love your brand story and developing them to bring their best ideas and soar. Leading your organization so that the customer remains central and the voice of the customer is present always. Leading your customers to find the truth in your brand story and embrace it as their own. The challenge exists, marketing has never been more exciting and leaders are encouraged to apply.