One of the hardest things to do in transforming an organization to a digital world is getting cross-department support. Traditional boundaries between sales, marketing, IT, customer service, online and offline staff, impede these efforts. It’s tough to get everybody rowing the same way when they still have to take care of the legacy business every day.
Most marketing organizations look essentially the same as they did 30 years ago, and as a result they’re no longer in a position to compete. A scalable and aligned operating model—based on agile processes and an integrated stack—are setting many up to succeed.
“Marketing is in the position to be the catalyst for change, but the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) can’t do the job unless they’re supported from the top, throughout marketing and across functions,” said Zee Jay Digital’s Eric Rotkow. The only way to accomplish the transition is leadership from the very top.
“Without the CEO’s visibility in defining company goals and identity, the CMO can’t deliver the experience customers expect,” Rotkow said.
According to Rotkow, without transformation, businesses stand to meet the same fate as Nokia, Kodak, Borders—and 90% of the companies on the 1955 Fortune 500.
You can listen to more of Eric Rotkow’s thoughts on Zee Jay Media’s podcast.