Ciceron Blog Archives

Silos, CMOs, and Sacred Cows

Fifteen years since the first web page! And yet today, as advanced as we've all become, we still struggle with trying to figure out what that little web page actually does for our businesses. We see the clicks, we hear about those unique visitors, and anecdotally, we know our customers value our web sites.

But is the web's impact real. Some recent stats would suggest that we're really trying to figure that out. Apparently, most businesses have had up to five(!) different web statistics packages in place over the years. It's almost as though we think that nifty new web software is going to start solving problems!

If that's what you're expecting, then keep waiting. Wait, wait, wait. Wait until WebTrends is at version 10.0. Wait until 42 new players enter the market. In the meantime, some savvy organizations are realizing the honest truth about marketing metrics and that horribly titled "web analytics" field: People make good metrics, and people put information to work. Not software.

As one who spends a lot of time in lots of different types of organizations, I'm here to tell you that making a commitment to real marketing measurement and performance takes organizational courage, not software. (That's the basis of our program The Frank Seminar on February 28th.) This is proven because each time a new measurement software is put in place, the same problems persist.

Here's the rub: web metrics will flip you over and reveal your soft underbelly. Your worst vulnerabilities (customer service challenges), your most precious sacred cows (popular trade shows), your organizational "silos" (marketing vs. IT; management vs. employees) are all going to be exposed. Why? Because metrics aren't numbers. They're representations of real people interacting with you, your content, and your brands. You need to know their levels of satisfaction as well as their frustrations. Metrics will expose all of it.

So, what are you going to do about it -- "it" being the truth? Or will your organization allow you to do something about it? Is your organization open enough to share the information -- the good, the bad, and the downright ugly? Or will it get "deep sixed" in order not to offend an internal sacred cow or deep rooted silo?

See, this has nothing to do with software.

But here's the good news: Chief Marketing Officers care. They care more now than ever for another very human reason -- self preservation (see the video in today's sidebar). In order for a CMO to continue moving up within their respective organizations, they are committing themselves to marketing metrics because they're being held as accountable as every other leader within the organization for the first time ever. So, finally, after all these years, the people who are charged with organizational performance are now embracing advanced marketing measurement and analytics. For the first time in 15 years of the Web, the dark and noticeable void in leadership is going away in steady fashion. Personally, I hope no longer to hear the constant drumbeat of "Oh, I can see the problem. But I don't have the power to do anything about it."

I'm encouraged by these trends in leadership. They're honest. They're much less speculative and subjective. As business leaders, adopting a holistic measurement program, where software and people are working together, puts us more in line with all other areas of business management. But getting there will take organizational courage. And isn't that really the definition of leadership?