A formula for growth marketing: the holy grail for the modern CMO

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In last episode of the ClickZ Marketing Masters podcast, we spoke with Kip Knight, former Taco Bell CMO, about improving C-Suite relationships. One of the points discussed was that of financial literacy.

In the second part of this conversation on the changing role of the CMO, we speak with Stephen Diorio, Managing Director at the Revenue Enablement Institute. We discuss the topic of financial accountability, and how marketing leaders can embrace growth marketing to drive, measure and communicate business outcomes that impact cash flow.

Diorio provides ten points for marketing leaders looking to operate at an elite level and build trust with business stakeholders. The first five represent characteristics of a great marketing leader:

• Financial accountability
• Ownership of the revenue cycle
• Coalition building
• Curator of commercial assets
• Build a centre of excellence for analytic and data-driven selling

Growth Marketing Formula

Diorio proceeds to offer a formula for growth marketing that puts the above characteristics into practice:

1. Defining marketing actions and investments
2. Targeting strategies that create value
3. Impacting nine customer behaviors
4. Driving business outcomes that impact cash flow
5. Translating this for the stock market and CFO

In this insight-packed episode, Diorio also offers insights on creating a common purpose within an organization. He advocates for creating a shared vocabulary that all members of the C-Suite agree upon for defining success.

Despite advice on what common goals CMOs should be striving towards, Diorio acknowledges that not all CMOs should operate in exactly the same way. He offers different CMO archetypes including ‘the Tsar’. He concludes by discussing his thoughts on how the CMO role is changing and what the next five years may hold for the CMO.

Timestamps

0:26 – Introduction to Stephen Diorio

1:15 – What makes a great marketing leader?

4:20 When building trust with the C-Suite, what does it mean for marketing leaders to be accountable?

8:01 – What’s your biggest tip for communicating value in a clear-cut way?

10:31 – How has the role of the CMO evolved and what impact does this have on CMO objectives?

13:37 – What different archetypes are there for CMOs?

16:13 – Where is the marketing landscape heading in the next five years?

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Stephen Diorio is the Managing Director of the Revenue Enablement Institute, and a Senior Fellow at the Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative. He is a leading authority in revenue operations, commercial transformation, sales and marketing performance management, and revenue enablement. Over the past 30 years, Stephen has helped over 100 organizations like American Express, DuPont, IBM, Intuit, Ricoh, SunTrust, UPS, and US Bank to reengineer their commercial strategies, technology portfolios, and revenue operations to accelerate growth and become more data-driven, digital, and accountable. He is a widely published in leading media and  has authored several books on commercial transformation including: Revenue Operations: A New Way to Align Sales and Marketing, Monetize Data, and Ignite Growth (Wiley), and Beyond e: How Technology is Transforming Sales and Marketing Strategy (McGraw Hill).