As the top marketing strategist, the CMO must be able to think and plan for this quarter, for this year, and for the next 18-36 months.
In the short term, the CMO must be closely aligned with the head of sales to ensure that demand and enablement programs are in place to meet revenue numbers.
In the medium term, he or she needs the strategies, programs, and plans to support growth in the out quarters. This includes planning for product launches, new market expansions, partner launches and other long lead items. Unless these plans are framed out with resources earmarked, each quarter will start with a scramble.
In the long term, the CMO must work with the CEO and product team to build category and market leadership. This only comes from an understanding of the operating environment and a good sense of where the company and the market are going. This will be a combination of strategic planning, market research, evangelism, and PR.
A strong CMO operates fluidly across these horizons and calibrates investment of time and resources. He or she communicates clearly to the executive how each market investment maps to the company’s overall strategy over time.
It’s the CEO’s job to help ensure that this balance and provide support for initiatives that have a longer term return on investment. The CEO’s support is especially important in ensuring alignment between Sales (who often wants 100% of investment for the current quarter) and Marketing (which must operate in all three horizons).