The Evolved CMO

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Forrester’s CMO Group publishes some of the best CMO-focused research that even most Forrester clients will never see.  Why?  Because access to member-only research is one of the benefits of joining the group.

However, CMO Group analyst Cindy Commander recently completed a report in conjunction with executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles focusing on "The Evolved CMO."  And both firms have decided to distribute it gratis.

The report is based on a survey of 132 marketing leaders from companies >$100M.  Some of the key findings from the report:  CMOs need to spend more time on personal development, averaging less than 10% of their time on the activity.  CMOs aren’t seizing the opportunity to lead their organizations to customer-centricity.

Most surprising to me:  CMOs rate engagement-related tactics like customer-driven design, social computing/web 2.0, and user-generated content as least important to success – but most important to learn about (!).

Read the full report here (registration required).