#RunMarketing Like an Entrepreneur

Originally published on LinkedIn.com on May 4, 2016 By Anand Thaker
#RunMarketing Like an Entrepreneur
Are you a marketing leader today?  If so, then you are likely gaining the experience of a high-growth entrepreneur, next generation C-level executive or CEO.
At the recent MarTech Conference, hosted by Scott Brinker, I met the Allocadia folks who were had launched a great campaign “I #RunMarketing like _____”.  The first thought that came to mind was ‘entrepreneur‘.
Spending time with various high-growth companies and mature startups, Here’s a break down of responsibilities of marketing:

  • Budgeting, Planning and Performance (Allocadia)
  • Customer Needs & Insights (Kano Model, Product Marketing)
  • Operations & Technology
  • Brand / Positioning / Communication (of course!)
  • Alignment & Coordination (sales, finance, product, HR)
  • Culture (Leadership)
  • Go-To-Market Strategy (You!)

Customer-Centricity in Overdrive
Those who focus on scale, consumers and face tremendous competition are always in a constant state of new opportunity research. Balance that with the necessary wisdom of an organization’s capabilities now becomes a new foundation to any high-growth sustainable business – new or evolving:

Because the purpose of business is to create a customer,

the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation.

Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.

Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”
– Peter Drucker

In our current state of rapid innovation, customer-centric needs evolve rapidly. Competitors are only running faster as the red queen effect is becoming more relevant and extending beyond SaaS tech.
For a CMO, certain skills and experiences are still required to achieve CEO leadership.  However, regardless of the title, marketing leaders who can achieve a tighter connection across those capabilities listed above will deliver a resilient organization.

Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.   – Jamais Cascio

Your Turn…
While I could really go into each of those areas of responsibilities, I’ll save them for future posts. So in the meantime…
As a marketing leader, how have you had to deliver on some of these responsibilities?  How has it differentiated you from other members of the organization?
#RunMarketing Like an Entrepreneur_2
 
Anand Thaker
Advisor | Builder | Leader in Marketing Technology, Growth Strategy & Decision Intelligence