The Tip of the Iceberg
CMO’s today are much like Scrat, the busy and well-intentioned Saber-tooth squirrel from the Ice Age movies; working tirelessly to protect their prized acorn and grow their stash. Both Scrat and the modern CMO are beset by the ice melting and shifting beneath their very feet (or paws).
While Scrat had to contend with a changing environment resulting in avalanches, bolts of lightning and ice slides, the CMO has three, equally challenging situations to handle:
1. Industries are being disrupted, creating a new competitive landscape,
2. Customer behaviours are changing rapidly,
3. The skill-set of teams required to deliver is evolving.
Let’s explore each of these in more detail
1. A new competitive landscape
Two years ago Uber and Airbnb were the poster-children for digital disruption, and now every industry has a hungry start-up promising to be “The Uber of …..”.
These focused businesses that do just one thing really well, are either nipping at the heels of the established industry, or in some cases, turning it on its head.
What they have in common is a relentless focus on customer experience. By streamlining complex processes or providing a better service, they steal market share from the ‘Old Guard’, who are generally well intentioned but glacial in their ability to change.
2. Customers are changing
For several years, customers have expected brands provide a great experience on mobile devices, now the expectation — set by the likes of Google and Facebook — is that there is a seamless and streamlined experience between your mobile, desktop and now your watch.
The brands that deliver on this expectation early are set to win share from those that don’t. Although every CMO shares this omni-channel aspiration, delivering on the promise is a real technical and logistical challenge.
3. Getting things done
In the past few years we have witnessed a fundamental change in the way digital projects are being delivered. Clients are demanding blended teams, partly driven by the popularity of Agile and Lean methodologies. In the meantime, team sizes are expanding to include the range of skills needed to deliver a highly optimised, omni-channel customer experience. Data scientists, CRM experts, content strategists and service designers are now routinely part of a team tasked with building digital experiences.
Many brands are building in-house capabilities as they evolve from a short-sighted campaign mindset, to a forward-thinking, product mindset, and look to external partners to supplement their team with specialist skills. This is resulting in new challenges for agencies that adopt a traditional consulting model.
How we’re rising to the challenge
As the continents drift and shift, Reactive is continuously evolving to better serve our clients and their customers. Our acquisition by Accenture Interactive now allows us to provide an end-to-end service, from customer experience (the tip of the iceberg) through to enterprise technology and strategy.
This model allows us to help big companies behave more like a start-up; putting their customers first and launching disruptive products or services of their own.
By combining Reactive project teams with the best talent from the Accenture network, we can react seamlessly to the industry changes as they take place, and better anticipate those yet to come.
Our advice:
Beg, Borrow and Steal
Like Scrat, brands and companies need to be a little scrappy to survive and thrive;
Beg forgiveness for trying new, experimental and innovative approaches to projects (and budgets).
Borrow some of your customer’s time, ask them for feedback, include them in the design process.
Steal ideas from start-ups within or outside your industry. Probably more importantly; steal their approaches and methodology, such as Agile, Scrum, Lean and others.
By embracing the changes in the industry, and helping to lead them, like Scrat you can protect your acorns, gather more, and avoid being trampled by the stampeding digital revolution that is heading this way.
