Obsess over customers to create disruption: Forrester

Customer-obsessed CMOs are defined by their understanding of the lifestyle, needs and wants of their consumers. These are companies that build a culture that is inherently innovative and one that is fast-moving and consistently where consumers are going instead of where they are today, according to Forrester. These are most likely to be digitally driven companies with budgets always available to marketers. Forrester cites Nestle as an example, which moved from a pragmatist culture to a customer-obsessed one through its Digital Acceleration Team programme.

Forrester identified four types of cultures: risk-averse, pragmatist, experimenter and customer-obsessed. As part of this research, Forrester interviewed 12 vendors and user companies including 7-Eleven, Arby’s, Chickfil-A, Cleveland Clinic, Engauge, Estée Lauder, iCrossing, MRM Worldwide, Nestle, Skinnygirl Coctails, Studiocom and T3.

Marketing innovation thresholds

Risk-averse marketing is seen in highly regulated industries or that have monopolistic or oligopolistic power within their market segments. These companies may not feel threatened and as a result tend to take a conservative approach to marketing that is safe, yet still effective. Typical market segments include financial services, utilities, government services, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare.

Pragmatists are those companies that innovate opportunistically. Companies driven by such a culture are at a risk of new threats from smaller albeit faster-moving competitors.  Although they believe they are customer-focused, budgets and resources are only made available if return on investment is guaranteed before executing a campaign or marketing imitative. This is typically found to happen in consumer durables and semi-durables companies.

Experimenters are rapid innovators but lack a long-term strategy. These firms are focused on innovation but they create rapid marketing innovations as point solutions or tests and do not build a long-term marketing innovation culture. They have budgets at their disposal but don’t learn from success or failures. These cultures are typically found within large multibrand organisations.

Forrester recommendations

• Use a model similar to Coca-Cola’s 70-20 budget model to plan and drive innovation projects forward. The best innovations come from individuals and teams. Listen to your employees by conducting innovation meetings and projects. Encourage them to experiment.  
• Set big, long-term goals that stretches the organisation to think outside the box. Big audacious goals get everyone moving in the right direction and open the organisation up to new budgeting and incentive-driven models that accelerate innovation.
• Integrate with your brand marketing teams to drive a digital innovation mindset into the organisation.