The Variance In the Social Experience

The CMO Council, in partnership with Lithium Technologies, will undertake an eight-week authority leadership initiative to highlight the role social media is playing in developing, shaping and advancing today’s customer experience. As the new CtoB paradigm evolves, consumers are enjoining their own personal networks for advice, product selection, service validation and after-market assistance. Social media and trusted business networks have evolved into dynamic self-help communities, peer-to-peer referral channels, and group purchasing ecosystems that are growing economic factors and forces in the market.

The Marketing Supply Chain Institute

Driving Improvements in Marketing, Planning, Forecasting and Allocation in Marketing Supply Chain Operations. Based on the findings of the Marketing Supply Chain Institute study, Define Where To Streamline, marketers have yet to audit or map their own supply chain procedures to identify areas for improvement, even though many understand a streamlined process would bring greater savings, efficiency and an accelerated go-to-market strategy. Through the research, four key areas of challenge emerged: Management of Obsolescence and Print On Demand Strategy, Delivery of Customer Experience, Enhancing Improve Speed to Market, and Efficient Sales Enablement. Each of these areas will be explored in a series of papers from the Marketing Supply Chain Institute in a new program, Mapping+Tracking the Optimized Marketing Supply Chain.

Transform to Better Perform: Dinner Dialogue Series

More than ever before, marketers are implementing transformational programs to revitalize marketing operations, accelerate customer acquisition and revenue, and predict how to better shape and influence market demand. All this, as the complexity of mapping and modeling the marketing mix continues to multiply and new digital channels present opportunities for more targeted, timely and relevant interactions with customers.

Merkle Marketing Innovation Awards

The Marketing Innovation Awards celebrate companies, brands and marketing leaders who are driving market engagement, advancing customer experience and furthering marketing effectiveness and accountability through smart technology and marketing process integration across the enterprise.

Collaborate to Innovate

Collaborate to Innovate will drive advocacy and insight around the need for companies to embrace internet-enabled, collaborative, multi-enterprise innovation, information exchange, decision-making and business processes – with increasing connectivity to the customer – as the new way of doing businesses in the 21st Century.   Program details »

Giving Through Active Living

Giving Through Active Living is an authority leadership initiative examining the brand impact, value and return of cause-related wellness marketing campaigns.

Customer Experience Board

The Customer Experience Board is addressing the critical need for communications service providers to optimize customer experience and heighten retention in a highly convergent, competitive, and demanding customer market.

Giving Customer Voice More Volume

Customer influence and expectations in the Web 2.0 world have never been greater. Positive or negative word-of-mouth can spread rapidly and virally across the Internet and throughout its many channels, communities, blogs, discussion groups, bulletin boards and trusted business and social networks. Many brands, companies and campaigns have been compromised from inattention to real-world customer experiences, behaviors, issues, concerns, frustrations and failings. Lack of listening and prompt responsiveness to customer feedback, inquiries, problems, complaints, suggestions, comments, and communications can make a significant difference to brand perceptions, customer affinity and NetPromoter scores.

Marketing Outlook 2009

The 2009 Marketing Outlook Survey, the largest independent assessment of senior marketing executives today, is an annual global benchmarking initiative undertaken by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council. Given the economic challenges and market pressures worldwide, this year's review of '08 performance and '09 challenges and intentions is far deeper and wider than before. The results of this study will be extremely valuable to all participants seeking peer-level input and consensus on critical issues and priorities in the year ahead.

Market Sense-Ability Center

The CMO Council's new Market Sense-Ability Center is dedicated to the growth of sustainable competitive advantage through the development of Market Sense-Ability. You can take the CMO Sense-Ability Audit to rate your own company's level of Market Sense-Ability. You can also read our new white paper on the Ever-Alert Enterprise and download other relevant articles and content.