12th Annual PricewaterhouseCoopers CEO Survey
PWC’s latest survey of enterprise CEOs is out. I am sorry to say that pessimism and lack of confidence are key themes. Other more interesting findings include:
- Cross-border JVs will overtake M&A as a growth strategy
- Finding and retaining top talent remains a major priority
- They want better information about both customers and employees
The survey also includes in-depth interviews with CEOs such as John Donahoe from eBay and Fred Hassan from Schering-Plough.
Link to the survey site:
http://www.pwc.com/ceosurvey/
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CFOs Getting More Involved in IT Purchasing
For those of you who regularly sell to CIOs, I read an article in The McKinsey Quarterly today that predicts a growing convergence of IT and corporate finance–which means that if you sell to CIOs, you might have to add the CFO to your list of executives you need to reach.
Or, at the very least, you need to arm your CIO with information they can provide to their CFO that outlines the value equation of the IT investment you want them to make.
Here is an excerpt:
“The year 2009 will be a tipping point for the CFO’s involvement with IT. Large businesses have hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars locked up in their IT organizations—including data center facilities, systems assets, and organizational capabilities built over time. In a world where capital is at a premium, CFOs will seek to use IT assets as a lever to generate cash…Successful CIOs will give the senior-management team practical ideas on how to optimize cash…In retailing, for example, a CFO knows with some precision what an additional location will cost and how much revenue it is likely to generate. In contrast, an IT project’s total cost could be off by an entire order of magnitude and its value either minimal or game changing. Senior executives at some organizations that have used IT less successfully in the past will probably throw up their hands and shut off all discretionary IT projects for the duration of the downturn. Naturally, this situation will challenge CIOs. The most effective course will be to explain what it would take to improve the value equation for IT investments.”
Posted February 19th, 2009 inWhy CMOs Clash With CEOs
Check out this recent article by Al Ries that appeared on the AdAge website. Ries calls the clash between left-brain management and right-brain marketing ” the biggest problem in business today.”
Other gems of insight include:
“Most entrepreneurs — think Howard Schultz, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell — are right brainers. When entrepreneurs grow up, however, they often fall into management mode and let their left-brain subordinates take over.
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“Before Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull, introduced his unique beverage, he tested the concept. ‘People didn’t believe the taste, the logo, the brand name … a disaster,” he was quoted as saying at the time. But he introduced Red Bull anyway, something a right-brain entrepreneur would do but not something the logical thinkers at most big companies would do.”
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“…a marketing person has to sell a marketing idea to management in management terms — not in marketing terms. Forget the dog and pony shows. Use analytical tools to sell holistic concepts. Use facts, figures, market shares and other data to sell intuitive ideas to a logical thinker.
And don’t just sell a concept; sell an analogy. “We should do what Grey Goose did — launch a high-end brand.” Or “We should do what Apple did — launch a second brand like the iPod.”
Right-brain marketing people should think conceptually but present those conceptual ideas to left-brain management with analogies buttressed by logical, analytical explanations.”
Posted February 4th, 2009 inJoin our new LinkedIn Group!
There are plenty of forums out there about general sales and marketing–but I haven’t yet found a good one that focuses on the special challenge of selling and marketing to senior executives and CXOs. So I started a new forum on LinkedIn on just this topic. It is sponsored and moderated by Boardroom Insiders, but you don’t have to be a customer to join–everyone is welcome! Appropriate questions and discussion topics include:
- how to increase the effectiveness of account-based marketing efforts
- what CXOs expect from vendors who want their business
- best practices in CXO engagement
- how to “move the needle” with executive-level customers and prospects
- how to customize marketing communications and programs for individual CXOs
- how other companies have successfully reached and engaged CXOs
- how to pitch new ideas to CXOs within your own organization
To join, just go to LinkedIn, click on “Groups Directory” and search for: “Boardroom Insiders.”
Look forward to seeing you there!
Posted January 30th, 2009 inSlides from 12/4 Webinar: “Best Practices in CXO Marketing”
Hi everyone,
We had a great turnout for our webinar on 12/4, “Best Practices in CXO Marketing.” And since then, we have had many requests for a recording or replay. This was our first webinar and we had some technical challenges with the GotoWebinar software and were thus unable to record it. We will be either scheduling a new session or doing our own recording to post here. In the meantime, here are the slides we reviewed. But I think the discussion added so much more, so stay tuned…will post the recording as soon as we can.
Posted December 8th, 2008 in
