Insights Blog

Measuring Go-to-Market Capabilities

To read part 1, click here.

To read part 2, click here.

Where an organization stands in terms of maturity can be determined by measuring overall marketing process linkage and five essential go-to-market capabilities: insights, market strategy, annual marketing planning, integrated marketing, and marketing performance metrics. Working with ANA (Association of National Advertisers), EMM has developed a methodology for both B2B and B2C companies that enables the characterization and measurement of the following:

The Levels of Marketing Maturity

To read part 1, click here.

In considering where your organization stands on marketing maturity, it’s important to understand what a maturity model is—and is not. It is not a rigid structure of prescribed processes. Rather, it has three dimensions. First, it describes the differences among typical marketing organizations, from the least mature to the most mature. Second, it provides a marketing framework that the people in the marketing organization can use to understand how and where their day-to-day work fits in the overall operation. Third, it offers an aspirational model, drawing the organization upward as well as a roadmap for getting from one level to the next. This is what it looks like in broad outline:

Are you struggling to keep up with the frenzied pace of the changing digital landscape? Have you run a series of digital "pilots" on Facebook, Twitter, Mobile, and others but don't know how they all relate to each other? Are your digital campaigns smart, snazzy, and even productive from a demand gen perspective but one-off events rather than a scalable digital presence?

No CMO will want to miss a recent report from The Economist Intelligence Unit entitled “Outside Looking In: The CMO Struggles to get in Sync with the C-Suite.” Based on a survey of nearly 400 executives around the world and in-depth interviews with leading CMOs and marketing experts, the report provides many insights into the challenges that CMOs face, but one challenge in particular screams out to us. In section 2, “CMOs Are Swimming Upstream,” the researchers note that “fully half of all CMOs say their ability to play a more strategic role is limited by the lack of relevant skills among marketing executives.” We aren’t surprised by this finding – we encounter this problem among our clients all the time.

One of the biggest obstacles in achieving marketing-led growth is having the right talent with the right skills in the right positions. The only way to ensure that the organization can attract, retain and manage high-quality marketing talent across the globe is by creating a competency model for marketing.

The authors discuss a new approach to consulting which integrates training with the solving of real business problems. It simultaneously moves the business forward in real time and deeply embeds new, sustainable skills and competencies to your organization. Delivered through a genuine collaborative model and a “learn-by-doing” approach, the methodology ensures your organization gets the traditional benefit of solving your immediate business problem.

Emerging markets clearly offer the best opportunity for growth in most business sectors. Since the 1990s, IMF estimated rates of real GDP growth have trended upward in emerging and developing economies while declining in advanced economies. Emerging markets are expected to be responsible for 76% of projected growth in global GDP between 2009 and 2025. However, most marketers lack experience executing in immature markets. This month, we discuss the common challenges we've seen and outline our proven strategies for overcoming them.

One of the biggest challenges CMOs face is a lack of necessary capabilities within their teams to deliver on their plans. They simply can’t get the right work done effectively. While we recognize that the CMO role is also expanding, social and digital strategies are making the job more complex, and budgets are constrained, this continues to be a common challenge.

This article discusses Why Apple Is a Great Marketer and provides 10 reasons for Apple’s success.

"The most creative individuals, teams and organizations are extremely disciplined. But it is a special kind of discipline—one that unlashes creativity in the service of developing important innovations." - Curt Carlson, founder of the Carlson Companies.