So this COO and CMO were arguing in a bar… no joke. Actually, they were telling me about their evolution from adversaries to allies at their company. Since I’ve been in both roles, I thought their experience was worth sharing, especially the five actions they took to bridge the gap between operational efficiency and marketing/sales effectiveness.
Here is my summary of their early business conversations.
COO: “Spare me your marketing BS. Just report on new business.”
CMO: “Leave me alone. I’ll let you know when there’s a new client.”
This silo mentality wasn’t working. Without forecasting from the CMO, the COO couldn’t plan for growth, and the company had a problem onboarding and serving new clients. The CMO was also missing the COO’s client insight – as in revenue, margin, and retention – required to determine the most effective marketing and sales activities.
I’ll skip the event that forced the behavioral change, but below are the 5 actions they took to improve operational alignment and results.
- Seek common ground. Marketing had to generate clients, which operations had to support. Both played a critical role in client satisfaction and profitability.
- Agree on company goals. Created some harmony at the most basic level and got them thinking about opportunities to work together to achieve their objectives.
- Communicate early and often. The two met regularly to review new business projections and progress toward goal achievement. This led to #4 below.
- Automate business processes. The COO linked marketing, sales, and customer management systems, providing shared exposure to the entire client experience.
- Develop shared KPIs and metrics. They focused on customer value (vs. silos) and measured all downstream activities that contributed to the most successful client relationships.
Today, both have a good grasp on company, joint, and individual goals. The COO helps the CMO incorporate business processes and technology into marketing and sales activities from the initial planning stages, improving the ability to deliver, measure, and scale. The CMO helps the COO project short- and longer-term growth, so the COO can optimize operations that support the growth and improve the customer experience. Happy clients make future marketing efforts easier.
Have you experienced similar situations at your company? Please share.
