CQ5 Web Content Management from Adobe White Paper

The 21st-century CMO: How digital marketing

is driving organization transformation
Taking full ownership of customer experience management

The explosive growth of digital marketing is driving a significant organizational transformation in which chief
marketing officers (CMOs) can redefine and elevate their role as never before. Today’s CMOs now have a broad
set of tools to impact and optimize customer experiences and ultimately drive revenue for their company. And
Table of contents
thanks to recent advances in closed-loop marketing, CMOs can measure and demonstrate the effectiveness of
1: Demonstrating
their digital marketing efforts in terms of customer acquisition, customer retention, and revenue growth.
CMOs top-line
contribution
This level of measurement is transforming the role of the CMO within organizations, paving the way for
2: Digital m
­ arketing:
Addressing and “21st-century CMOs” whose tenure is on the rise as they become an indispensable asset to companies. In fact,
re-addressing according to a 2010 Spencer Stuart survey, the average CMO tenure has risen nearly 50% in the past two years,
customers from 23.2 months to over 34 months.
3: Executing
organizational Today’s 21st-century CMOs are pursuing digital marketing across a large number of channels simultaneously.
transformation As they do, they leverage the capabilities inherent in next-generation web content management (WCM)
4: WCM: The hub for
platforms to strike a balance between two conflicting goals: to spread branding and messaging as widely as
multichannel pipe-
line growth possible, and to maintain control over their content as they deliver branding and experiences appropriate to
6: Summary: Customer each unique channel.
experience manage-
ment is a must This paper highlights the advances in closed-loop marketing that enable measurement and optimization of
digital marketing efforts. It also describes the challenges that CMOs face when pursuing digital marketing
strategies and how next-generation WCM solutions help CMOs overcome those challenges.

Demonstrating CMOs top-line contribution

As recently as 2008, the average CMO tenure was less than two years, due in large part to the inability of CMOs
to clearly identify and articulate marketing’s role and to prove its value to the organization (from Brandweek,
“CMOs Are Staying in Jobs Longer,” June 25, 2010). This shortcoming has helped fuel the popular belief that
marketing is not as critical to business operations as sales, engineering, or finance. In fact, the results of a
recent Forrester Research survey, “Corporate Marketing: Does It Matter?”, reveal that fewer than 50% of
marketers view themselves as responsible for increasing top-line growth or increasing profitability.
 Marketers still need greater alignment to business objectives

But recent advances in closed-loop marketing are enabling CMOs to significantly raise the level of
understanding regarding the origin and quality of sales leads developed by marketing, providing organizations
with quantifiable business results that can either indemnify or indict a CMO. The following capabilities provide
CMOs with a wealth of data for measuring digital marketing results—everything needed to engage a prospect
and move them through the sales funnel:
• Multichannel campaign management
• Campaign and email analytics, such as opens, bounces, click-throughs
• Multivariate testing
• Landing page optimization
• Email marketing and analytics
Multichannel campaign
optimization With results in hand, CMOs have begun to step into the spotlight. As more and more organizations recognize
Content targeting and the growing impact of CMO performance on their bottom line, CMOs are seeing their performance evaluations
multivariate testing tools
are providing CMOs
aligned more tightly to revenue.
with a virtual cockpit for
controlling messages
across channels. CMOs Digital marketing: Addressing and re-addressing customers
can tap into critical data Digital marketing essentially transforms marketing from a transaction-based monologue to an interactive
and customize messages conversation with customers and prospects taking place on any digital media, be it a smartphone, tablet
so that every experi-
ence is engaging and device, kiosk, computer, or television. If done in an integrated and methodical manner, digital marketing can
optimal. Using multi- help marketers grow their pipelines with more of today’s savvy digital channel customers who seek to be
variate testing, CMOs can engaged, rather than merely sold to, by vendors.
then evaluate audience
­preferences and promote
Addressing and re-addressing the customer is key to success. For digital marketing efforts to succeed, CMOs
or pull campaigns based
on response rates. need to focus on the manner in which they address their customers across the differing online channels. Not all
channels are the same. For example, customers using tablet devices might be drawn to an interactive, game-
styled promotion while computer-centered customers seek in-depth educational materials. The challenge for
CMOs is to maintain consistent branding and messaging while delivering channel-appropriate experiences that

CQ5 Web Content Management from Adobe White Paper 2


What is a
21st-century CMO?
A 21st-century CMO
is one who leverages
digital marketing to
reach customers across
­multiple channels, filling
a company’s pipeline
with well-qualified leads
and demonstrating
revenue growth from
marketing programs.
engage each distinct audience. Having the right tools and processes in place to control and improve the user
experience in each channel is essential. In essence, a multichannel engagement system—or next-generation
WCM—is required to fulfill the digital marketing goals of 21st-century CMOs.
CMOs that do not embrace the benefits of interactive and closed-loop marketing will struggle to compete with
their peers and can expect short tenures. Jeff Bell, vice president of global marketing at Microsoft’s Interactive
Entertainment Business, foresaw this trend years ago. According to Bell, “The shorter tenure is in part a
reflection of the change from failing traditional-marketing approaches to less-defined and more dynamic
approaches. Clearly the skill set of CMOs is changing from ‘TV, TV and more TV’ to interactive media.” * CMOs
who grasp the techniques and execute a sound digital marketing strategy can look forward to longer tenures
with more influence at the executive roundtable.
But even the savviest CMOs face tremendous challenges when implementing digital marketing programs. First
and foremost, they are charged with numerous responsibilities that detract from digital marketing efforts,
namely the critical activities listed in the following table. Marketing must usually manage the applications and
external vendors that support these activities, which means overseeing a disparate set of systems and vendors
to get the job done. The list can be quite daunting, and includes everything from marketing automation and
business intelligence software to providers of customer data and event-triggered marketing.
Traditional Interactive and Online Customer Satisfaction
Marketing communications Social media marketing E-marketing
Public relations Website management E-sales
Database marketing Search engine marketing E-service
Campaign creation and Search engine optimization
management
Event management Webinars
Sales support
Executing organizational transformation
Managing so many activities and disparate systems inhibits progress along the path of organizational
transformation. According to the Aberdeen Group’s 2009 report, “Next Generation Web Content
Management,” the problem is not a lack of data, but a lack of data quality and an inability to translate data into
automated engagement. For instance, 45% of respondents surveyed by Aberdeen stated that their No. 1
marketing challenge is extracting insight from data. And a full one-third of respondents cited a second major
challenge—a lack of resources to derive quantifiable business value from web analytics data.
To overcome these challenges, a majority of CMOs are planning to merge their disparate marketing applications
and tools into an integrated marketing automation platform. As the following figure shows, nearly 87% of CMOs
who do not currently leverage an integrated marketing automation platform are planning to do so.
* AdvertisingAge, “CMOs, You Have 23 Months to Live,” June 19, 2006
CQ5 Web Content Management from Adobe White Paper 3
Adoption of integrated marketing technologies

It is important to note that no singular technology can be its own marketing automation platform. That is why
analysts and CMOs alike refer to it is an integrated platform. It is an integration of three key elements:
• Placing marketing applications into a well-thought-out architecture
• Selecting providers that integrate easily
• Ensuring that vendors provide the required business outcomes rather than merely installing sets of disparate
functions

For most 21st-century CMOs, next-generation WCM systems serve as the core of their integrated marketing
automation platform.

WCM: The hub for multichannel pipeline growth

Today, WCM platforms incorporate a host of capabilities that expand their original scope. Next-generation
platforms combine WCM with integration services for digital asset management and social collaboration.
Together, these capabilities empower CMOs to deliver media-rich, community-oriented customer experiences
that increase brand awareness, drive customer engagement, and build customer loyalty and campaign success.
Serving as the marketing hub for CMOs, next-generation WCM platforms provide one central location for
permission-based access and publishing of marketing messages and programs across all types of digital channels.
In this way, these platforms have evolved into systems that help CMOs grow their pipeline of qualified buyers
across different channels.

CQ5 Web Content Management from Adobe White Paper 4

Benefits of using One look under the hood of these next-generation WCM platforms leads to instant appreciation for the extra
next-generation WCM content control and interactive capabilities that they afford. CMOs should consider the following key
• Optimization of digital
components when seeking a next-generation WCM platform.
marketing budget spend
• Engagement of Multichannel marketing—Those CMOs that succeed with multichannel marketing do so by developing a
customers and
strategy for each channel that enables them to maintain brand equity while satisfying customer expectations.
prospects with
channel-specific media The most essential tool for pursuing such a strategy is an online marketing platform that enables CMOs to
• Increased customer deliver multichannel customer experiences and campaigns. Look for capabilities to perform permission-based
retention through highly publishing across a range of output channels, including email, mobile, social networks, web, and print. This
personalized interaction helps ensure that customers are fully engaged, independent of the channel, device, or geography.

Standards-based repository—Unlike stovepiping, which can result from using proprietary solutions,
advanced, standards-based solutions help stave off obsolescence. Perhaps more importantly, they ensure
platform viability across and outside your organization. Make sure that the WCM platform you choose
supports standards such as Content Management Interoperability Standards (CMIS), Representational State
Transfer (REST), and the OSGi framework. Adherence to these standards future-proofs, and even enhances,
your investment by providing access to a rich ecosystem of applications and utilities that are prebuilt to
interoperate with the multichannel engagement platform.

WCM agility—A short ramp-up time is a major factor in digital marketing. Tools should be intuitive and require
little training so that they can be used quickly and widely across your organization. In addition, the WCM
should feature easy-to-use workflows to create the parent-child relationships necessary for the multisite
management that is typical in online marketing.

Digital asset management—On today’s websites, rich media—including images, video, and online
presentations—is what most attracts and engages audiences. As you repurpose digital assets to address multiple
devices, formats, encoding rates, and metadata, you’ll find yourself dealing with an explosion of assets. An
easy-to-use system helps tame this chaos and enables syndication of assets across multiple channels.

Social collaboration—Every brand has a fan base, but not every CMO is leveraging it. Next-generation WCM
allows you to create a network of relationships between prospects and the loyal customers that can influence
potential customers’ purchasing decisions. These online communities also serve other benefits. They help
build brand loyalty, which in turn leads to more repeat sales, and they potentially offload customer support
functions. Features to look for include a shared calendar, the ability to comment, reviewing functions, rich
media, and document sharing.

Search engine optimization (SEO)—Most site visitors find you via search engines. Tuning content to keep
pace with top search terms is critical, but it can be a chore. Next-generation WCMs are built with hierarchical
architectures that support the generation of search engine friendly (SEF) links out of the box to boost page
rankings in search results. In addition, look for platforms that provide APIs to databases like Alchemy for
keyword enhancement and are involved in efforts like the Interactive Knowledge Stack that aim to make
content more visible to search engines.

Content targeting—Unlike old media, digital channels offer a range of information that marketers can use to
better target their messages. Whether it is as simple as geography or as complex as past buying behavior, a
solid marketing platform enables you to tap into critical data and customize messages so that every experience
is engaging and optimal.

Campaign optimization—Sense and respond is the mandate for today’s CMOs. With support for A/B testing
in a platform, marketers can sense audience preferences and promote or pull campaigns based on
response rates.

Analytics—Because CMOs live (and die) by reports, gaining an instant and historical view into campaign
performance is critical. Best-of-breed solutions include integrated analytics that can interface with leading
standalone analytic offerings.

Localization—Marketing has no geographic boundaries and, like online commerce, is global. As a result, you
need to adjust to local audience needs without compromising your brand. An advanced WCM solution allows a
single change to be proliferated across sites without delays.

CQ5 Web Content Management from Adobe White Paper 5

 IT agility and the cloud—Best-of-breed solutions should work across multiple IT environments but, most
importantly, need to be deployable on cloud-based services like Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). This
provides the ability to instantly scale and ensures that CMOs are never victims of their own campaign success.

When these WCM capabilities work in unison, CMOs can take full advantage of a broad range of digital
marketing techniques, without losing control of the customer conversation. At the same time, marketing
efforts can be streamlined, because WCM provides business users with the ability to repurpose content across
multiple channels. The end result is a vastly larger pipeline of qualified leads at a much lower cost.

Summary: Customer experience management is a must

Digital media channels are the new battleground for customer growth and retention. Your ability to compete
relies on having a robust digital marketing strategy and infrastructure in place to engage customers in a
meaningful conversation across every channel.

The challenge for you as a marketer is to grow your pipeline without losing control of branding and the
customer conversation. To achieve this, you need the tools and processes to control user experiences. Next-
generation WCM platforms provide just that, enabling you to effectively and efficiently engage your customers
and grow your pipeline of new sales and sales opportunities. With WCM in place, your ability to sense and
respond to changing market conditions will be near real time. This will transform your marketing team from a
cost center to a revenue generator. Ultimately, with marketing tied to revenue, your importance to the business
grows significantly, making you an indispensable component of the executive management team.

Over 200 leading brands—including those in the commerce, packaged goods, and travel and hospitality
industries—take advantage of CQ5 Web Content Management software as their WCM platform. For examples
of how Adobe software powers digital marketing efforts, visit www.adobe.com/enterprise.

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