CMO Today

Companies seeking to shift employee compensation and benefits programs from the strictly standardized to the highly personalized are creating rewards that are delivered more continually and aligned more closely with individual preferences. CMOs looking to attract and retain top marketing talent can collaborate closely with HR to understand how changes in rewards can deliver a competitive advantage.

Creating long-term customer loyalty demands more than launching a rewards program or a one-time campaign. Instead, marketers can seek to see through customers’ eyes and develop a deeper understanding of what matters most to them in the moment, says Stacy Kemp, a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, in a video interview.

With disruptive thinking, organizations can redefine customer engagement and create new ways of going to market, says Luke Williams, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and author of Disrupt: Think the Unthinkable to Spark Transformation in Your Business. Emerging technologies and data analytics are critical components of this transformation, but courageous leadership is crucial too, and likely to generate lasting innovation.

Ford Motor Company is undergoing an extensive customer experience transformation, redesigning interactions throughout the vehicle ownership journey to connect with customers in more personalized ways. Paul Ballew, vice president and global chief data & analytics officer, discusses the foundational role data and analytics play in the initiative, the company’s approach to data stewardship, and why collaboration across business units is critical.

CMO tenure is holding steady at about 44 months, but executive search consultant Greg Welch says he’s as busy as ever. There simply are not enough qualified candidates to handle the role’s growing responsibilities, he says. Welch, who founded the marketing officer practice at Spencer Stuart, elaborates in a Q&A.

Members of the C-suite are keenly interested in talent arrangements incorporating artificial intelligence and robotics. At the MIT EmTech Next conference, Janet Foutty, chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP, and Erica Volini, principal and U.S. Human Capital Leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP, weighed in on enterprise readiness and opportunities.