The barriers between sectors are being broken down for marketing recruitment with forward-thinking businesses looking beyond their own sectors to hire their next marketing leader.
Businesses are operating in an age of disruption. The digital movement has vastly altered the way in which businesses and consumers operate, new entrants have transformed the competitive environment and the pace of change has dramatically increased.
Take FinTech as an example. Lean and agile tech companies have turned traditional financial services offerings on their head. Similarly, the consumer industry, high street shops now compete with the online marketplace. In the B2B and professional services sphere, where change might appear to be less dramatic, it is really no different. The customer has changed. Buyer behaviour is different and we have raised expectations when it comes to service delivery.
Traditional sector-specific marketing strategies are proving less effective as businesses need to keep up with the pace of change. Bringing on business leaders from other sectors to bring positive disruption within organisations is proving an effective way to keep up and even get ahead of the competition.
If successful, the effects of a CMO placement from a different sector can be transformational. For a business, facilitating growth, gaining competitive advantage, altering marketing strategy and developing a true customer focus are some of the potential benefits. Marrying up a marketing professional with the right experience to business objectives and the competitive environment is the way to achieve this. For example, a traditional financial services organisation taking on a CMO with a strong tech background could allow the business to compete with FinTechs and gain back some of their market share that has been lost to the new entrants. However, it isn’t as simple as looking to experience, as we explore below. An individual who is going into an organisation to affect change needs to have some strong personal qualities as well as the right professional experience to back it up.
Unsuccessful placements could lead to a short term CMO role and this is not only costly for the business, but could also see business performance suffer if marketing strategies are not implemented efficiently. How can businesses prepare to bring on a marketing leader from another sector?
Firstly, an organisation needs to assess their capacity for change. Even the most experienced CMO with all the right skills will not be able to affect change in an organisation that is unwilling to move. Is the board/management team willing to accept a new normal? Change needs to be driven from the top down and every part of the business needs to be on board. However influential your new marketing leader is, if they are not within an organisation that promotes change they will not be successful in their role
A business then needs to consider how to find and attract the right marketing leader. Understanding where you want to be in 2/5/10 years’ time will give direction to the sort of marketing professional that will help you get there. Is it growth, diversification or modernisation that the business wants to achieve?
Business objectives should feed in to your employer brand. Increasingly, a strong and clear employer brand is an important factor in becoming a destination employer. This assists businesses in finding the right person and therefore achieving a successful and long term placement. Businesses that invest in developing their employer brand as part of their recruitment strategy are more successful in attracting and retaining the top talent. The employer brand needs to reflect your organisation’s values and culture and give potential recruits a strong impression of business objectives.
A successful cross-sector placement can bring great rewards to a business. Organisations can see change implemented at a far greater pace and more efficiently with fresh perspective and enthusiasm. This can in turn promote growth, gain competitive advantage and transform the direction of a business. For individuals, personal development opportunities are far greater. A new sector presents a new challenge and experienced CMOs find themselves using specialist skills that they might not have been had they remained in one sector.
Ultimately, hiring a CMO from outside your sector can be a bold and brave statement to the industry. It can not only impact the performance of your business, but also the desirability of your brand to potential employees, making you a destination employer and a magnet for some of the best marketing talent out there.
Simon Bassett is the Managing Director of tml Partners.
