This week Forbes came out with the list of the 50 most influential CMOs of 2020.
It’s a list they have compiled yearly for the past 8 years. They assessed the impact of Chief Marketing Officers inside and outside their organization for the period Feb 15 to June 30th. With this year, being the year that it is, a lot of what we planned at the beginning was upended. It’s intriguing to go through the list of people to see how they met the challenges of this year.
While there is a lot in the full report that is worth looking at, what I want to hone in on is the six areas where these CMOs shined. Forbes calls it Resolute Leadership in Transformation times. I believe these are things we can all set as our aspirational goals. And ask ourselves how we can create the opportunity to have an impact in these areas in the future.
Taking care of employees
A word I have heard a lot this year is protect. In acknowledging the contributions of our staff, leaders have had to take measures to ensure both the safety of employees and the security of their jobs.
Rethinking Customer Experience
Existing ways of interacting with customers evaporated over night. Resulting in innovation of how we engage with our customers. As well as when.
Speaking To Communities
Companies shifted to support communities during the crisis. Deciding when and how to do this means being aware of needs.
Addressing Systemic Racism
Walking the talk. Marketing leaders are called on to communicate clearly and authentically, a company’s commitments to social justice.
Digital Transformation
While continuous technology change has meant that digital transformation is an ongoing part of our goals, the pandemic and shutdown heightened the need. Spotlighting those of us who take it seriously, and those left scrambling.
Managing the Crunch
Marketing budgets often take the hit when we experience unexpected downward changes in revenue. Pushing us to get smarter and creative about our spend. And the needs to give a stronger business case for marketing investments.
Have you had to look at each of these items this year? I bet that you have in one way or another. It’s an interesting to reflect on where we can exercise influence within our work and our world. What impact would you like to make for the rest of 2020 and into 2021?