Pete Krainik shares Recap of Chicago CMO CLUB Dinner: Customers Shift from 'Quality" to "Value" Highlights the Dinner

A lively group of CMOs meet last night in Chicago with a number of insightful discussions including:
1) The shift of customers/consumers from "Quality" to "Value" and the implications for CMOs in both B2C and B2B. The group discussed the recent Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds approach to going after Starbucks leveraging the better "value for money" messaging.

2) Great B2B discussion around changes in Product Management and Product Marketing (there is a difference) and the need for ensuring Customer Centric approaches to these critical areas within our organizations.

3) New approaches to company lead Events to ensure customer retention.

4) Bill Kies provided excellent deep dive into changes in the Grocery industry for retailers and CPG companies selling through Grocery. The growth in data driven predictive modeling giving the upper hand back to the retailer was also covered.

5) The group came up with a few good ideas for forum question within the club on "The top 30 questions to ask your first 30 days as a new CMO". More to follow.

6) Jeff Caswell new with Quaker Foods shared his efforts in leading 'Project 100" in which 100 leaders in the industry weighed in on Social Marketing. The result will be a book with all proceeds going to charity (watch video for more details). A number of CMOs in the club participated.

Finally, David Cumberbatch had his first day with new company and joined the dinner last night to start networking with other CMOs in Chicago.A great evening and our best CMO CLUB dinner to date in Chicago. More to follow.

Pete Krainik shares Thirteen Books Recommended by CMOs in The CMO CLUB

It started as a Forum question and has grown to numerous phone calls and discussions at recent CMO CLUB Dinners. Below is a list of 13 Books recommended by multiply CMOs in the club:
1) Breakthrough Marketing Plans - Tim Calkins
2) Blue Ocean Strategy (many CMOs recommended this book)
3) Business Stripped Bare - Richard Branson
4) Clued In - Lou Carbone
5) Crucial Conversations - Patterson, McMillan and Switzler
6) Leading Change - John Kotter
7) Marketing Champions - Roy Young
8) Marketing Driven Strategy - George Day
9) Marketing Metaphoria - Gerald and Lindsey Zaltman
10) Talent is Overrated - Geoff Colvin
11) The End of Marketing as we Know It - Sergo Zyman
12) The New Influencers - Paul Gillin (many CMOs recommended this book)
13) Tuned In - Stoll, Meyers and Scott (B2B Focus)

What other ones do you recommend?

20 CMOs at Boston CMO CLUB Dinner Last Night- Jan 7th

The weatherman had forecast a major storm, and many businesses and schools declared snow days due to ice, snow, sleet, and freezing rain. But one thing was hot in Boston last night: the CMO Club dinner. Almost twenty CMO'ers turned out, with five first timers and not a single no show. How did we all make it? All those classes we take in school on how to walk like a penguin!

Once we penguins all sat down for dinner (yes, there was fish on the menu), we had a great discussion about marketing ROI led by Chris Charyk of MarketingNPV. Chris's company specializes in helping CMOs establish the financial impact of marketing expenditures and how CMOs can build credibility with CFOs and other executives for whom numbers do the talking. Chris presented on the four things CMOs can do to establish financial credibility:
Define and Communicate the Role of Marketing
Prioritize Key Questions
Assess Current Knowledge
Establish an Implementation Roadmap

The discussion covered a wide range of topics, including dashboard, metrics, search optimization, and the measurability of anything. To learn more, check out MarketingNPV's website which has lots of great tools and articles.

Equally fascinating were the introductions at the beginning of dinner when Pete asked what issues are top of mind for everyone. The economy was a common theme, as you would imagine. CMOs are universally working on how to do more with less, and sell to buyers who are working to do the same. One CMO is adjusting their marketing mix in anticipation of reduced travel by buyers, shifting from trade shows to virtual events or local events where the company travels to the buyers' cities. Another CMO is focusing their marketing efforts on existing customers, achieving better penetration where there is an existing permission to sell.
While we are clearly in an era in which "flat is the new up", it was also interesting to hear how many CMOs are working on very strategic changes to their businesses: how to add services to the product set, how to fund new products from existing products, and how to drive change management to support a repositioning of the company.
All in all, another great dinner for the ever-growing Boston community of marketing penguins.