Kristin Hambelton, CMO (chief
marketing officer) of Marketing Evolution, shares her views on the various ways to drive change. She explains how identifying what works and
what doesn’t is essential in today’s transformed marketing environment.
Today’s marketers are increasingly
confronted with disruptive technology, especially when they work in companies
that provide measurement solutions. We talk to experienced marketer Kristin
Hambelton, who has seen both the
marketing function and CMO role change dramatically. Among the contributing
factors are the ongoing technological disruption and digital transformation, empowered
consumers demanding individualised and highly-relevant experiences, as well as
the insurgence of data protection regulations. “These rising standards, along
with a growing need for transparency, accountability and ethics, bring new
levels of complexity to the marketing landscape.”
Hambelton has held senior marketing
leadership positions at a variety of software as a service (SaaS) enterprise
companies, including Adobe, Neolane, and Evariant. As the CMO at Marketing
Evolution, the New York-based provider of marketing measurement and
optimization solutions, she is responsible for leading the company’s global
marketing strategy and operations.
Hambelton observes how consumer behaviours, paired with the sheer
volume of information available to them, are turning customer loyalty into a
thing of the past. “Customer expectations today have transformed beyond the
point of recognition, challenging marketers to continue outdoing themselves day
after day.” In this new hyper-competitive environment, she feels that CMO’s
have the opportunity to really differentiate themselves, not just as marketing
leaders, but also as innovators who play a vital role in guiding their
company’s overall business strategy. “At a time when a customer’s experience
can make or break a brand, modern marketers have to be data-driven — it’s the
only way to meet and exceed their high expectations.”
Hidden gems
Throughout her career, Hambelton has always considered herself a data-driven marketer and CMO. She describes
how today’s marketers are inundated with inordinate volumes of data. “And it’s
the CMO’s job to set a strategy for taking advantage of that data. While CMOs
might not personally be mining the data, we are the ones who often define how
to leverage data from and across all departments and uncover opportunities in
trends or themes that are derived from the data analysis.”
Disruption has certainly affected
the range of people with whom Hambelton interacts on a regular basis. “All who are involved in
marketing have been affected by the metamorphosis of the industry.” She points
out that Gartner recently identified the emergence of the CDO 4.0; a new
type of chief data officer that has evolved from being project-centric to
product-centric because of ‘the increased usage of data and analytics across
the enterprise.’ She mainly identifies
opportunities in this changed environment through her network. “I continuously
cultivate my network — and believe in helping others whenever I can, which in
turn has helped to identify many new partners and opportunities.” Additionally,
Hambelton is a voracious reader who synthesizes a lot of information through
news feeds, networking groups, LinkedIn, and Twitter to find new partners and
opportunities. “As someone who is inquisitive by nature, my curiosity has
served me well because I tend to uncover hidden gems this way.”
Overwhelming
Technology
has
made the communication between teams – both inside
and outside of her organisation – easier, and at the same time more
difficult. “Interacting with functions has never been easier due to all of the
amazing collaboration tools. And the ability to treat my partners and vendors
like seamless parts of my team is incredibly valuable. However, with all of
these tools, it can be overwhelming to keep up sometimes.” She therefore
stresses the importance of establishing norms and best practices for usage of
different tools across the company.
Some
of the new functions Hambelton
has seen emerge within her team include Growth Marketing and
Customer Marketing as individual roles. “In the past, these might have been
broken down by tactic or channel, such as Digital Marketing or Event Marketing.
But today these roles are focused on strategic initiatives within the business,
such as increasing customer retention or increasing new customer acquisition
dollars.” As
for managing new sources of data, her tech stack includes data flows in and
out. New data sources are judged on risk and reward, as well as the fit within
the architecture to ensure it won’t overlap and will integrate cleanly where
needed. “And then of course there is the normal diligence that goes into
vetting any new vendor or provider.”
Different flavours
In order to figure out what works and what doesn’t, she feels it’s
crucial to first define what’s considered ‘working’. “Clearly articulating what
success looks like for each initiative and how it will be measured is critical
because success can come in different flavours.” She explains that success for
one particular initiative may mean increasing customer lifetime value, while
for another it may be increasing share of voice. “And given all of the
disruption and change today, what worked six months ago, might not work in the
same way today.”
Once Hambelton has set goals and defined success for
an initiative, she tends to use the ‘test and measure’ approach for identifying
what works. “I have operational metrics for the team that we look at nearly
every day and use as leading indicators to ensure success in meeting our
overarching strategic goals for the
year.”
The strategic goals she sets for the marketing team are directly in
support of the financial metrics of the company, including but not limited to
new customer acquisition dollars, customer retention rate, customer lifetime
value (CLTV), net recurring revenue (NRR), and net promoter score (NPS). Then
for operational KPIs and metrics on the acquisition side, she looks at both
account-based marketing metrics for engagement and coverage, plus funnel-based
metrics such as volume, velocity, and conversion rate. “With regard to brand
awareness, we review competitive share of voice, as well as press and analysts
mentions, placement, and engagement.”