Study Shows CMOs Need to ReThink and ReCalibrate

Just in from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council today: "...the majority of global companies surveyed acknowlege significant deficiencies in their go-to-market capabilities and marketing and sales processes."

Shocking news? Probably not. The survey comes from more than a thousand senior marketing and sales execs from multiple industries, so the media alert I received told me. "This research was conducted in partnership with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)," they went on. Together, the CMO and the BCG reported these findings:

The CMO Council and The Boston Consulting Group define the "go-to-market" process as comprising the strategic and tactical aspects of delivering and supporting a product or service offering in the marketplace. This includes product specification, pricing, distribution, marketing communications, sales, after-market support and customer experience management. The survey examines a broad range of marketing and sales variables tied to companies' go-to-market processes - including their strategies, functional competencies, operational processes, customer knowledge, relationship management practices, budgeting and level of innovation.

The survey revealed that a surprising number of marketing and sales executives at some of the world's largest and most respected corporations acknowledge a major disconnect between what they know they should be doing and what they are actually doing in terms of enhancing their go-to-market processes. What's more, respondents gave themselves decidedly low marks when assessing their existing processes.

For more information, or to download the report, visit the CMO Council website.