How to hire (and what to look for) in your first VP of Marketing or CMO: First, let's start with some interesting stats. Did you know: • 80% of CEOs say they don't trust or are unimpressed by their CMOs • The average tenure of a CMO is 3 years No wonder founders and CEOs take this task seriously. Before bringing in a new CMO or VP of Marketing, make sure you read the following advice. Special thanks to Joanna Lord, CMO of Reforge, for sharing these insights. **** Let's start with the most common mistakes CEOs make: • Focusing too much on where they shine on Growth vs Brand vs Product Marketing • Not thinking through the right time horizon needed to serve the business • Under-indexing on strong leadership & operational abilities Here's what to do instead: I. Think Through the CMO Archetypes II. Put on a Future Lens III. Vet for the "C" and "O" in CMO **** I. Think Through the CMO Archetypes There are 5 types: 1/ Chief Storyteller 2/ Capability Builder 3/ Innovation Catalyst 4/ Growth Driver 5/ Customer Champion This will help you understand how they'll approach the brand, growth, and telling the product story. 1/ Chief Storyteller The CMO is an architect and steward of the brand. • Invites consumers to participate in the story • Promotes brand relevance • Tells brand's story " If [CMO] can’t tell a story about the #s better than the CFO, then they are probably at the wrong job." 2/ Capability Builder The CMO is future-focused enhancing digital expertise, harnessing customer & business data to grow the business. • Improves lifecycle management/customer experience • Insights from customer's digital footprints • Connects dots between tech-CX-Marketing 3/ Innovation Catalyst Experiments with new tech platforms and new tools to create marketing breakthroughs. • Promotes new creative ideas & thinking throughout the org • Uses data & tech to advance growth • Agile 4/ Growth Driver Creates and manages a plan to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. • Grow revenue across all the business • Enterprise-wide mindset 5/ Customer Champion CMO is the voice of the customer & aligns the company to rally around the customer’s needs. •Uses data & insights to deliver a personalized experience • Elevates conversation about customers to the strategic level • Goes from marketing > mattering **** II. Put on a 2-year Future Lens Hire for your biggest opportunities with a ~2-year window in mind, instead of your current biggest marketing problems. Easy to be blinded by the smoke of your current fires. Don't forget your biggest opportunities. **** III. Vet for the "C" and "O" in CMO Don't just focus on the marketing experiences they bring. Assess their strengths in "C": •ability to lead •ability to communicate •inspire "O": •ability to organize •operate efficiently •balances your style •transforms organizations _________ Thanks for reading! If you found this post helpful, follow me for more insights on marketing.