In this special issue of Perspectives, our e-newsletter, get an advanced look at the forthcoming findings gained through two in-depth research studies CMG Partners conducted among more than 450 companies.

CMO 2.0 — Part II of our series on The CMO’s Agenda
This new round of in-depth conversations with 30 additional Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) reveals the need to redefine the role of the lead marketer. But in order for CMOs to reach this more elevated and transformational role they must be willing to forsake many previously accepted practices and assume greater accountability.

The Marketing Performance Advantage
This landmark survey of more than 400 companies uncovers some of the key attributes of successful marketing organizations and the practices they employ. Those companies that excel at marketing performance management are reaping the rewards by taking a more holistic approach to improvement; both measuring AND managing their marketing performance.

A recent study performed by ANA showed that 71% of marketers report budget decreases for 2009.  Now I’m not an economist nor do I pretend to be one but I would like to think that the stock market’s performance this week is a signal that we have seen the bottom of this economic recession.  Unfortunately due to the domino effect that is taking place in the market, near term demand will most likely continue to suffer and what this means for most marketing leaders is a second, maybe third round of budget cuts is coming down the pipe.

While this is the reality for marketing leaders, now more than ever is the time for marketing leaders to be the voice of reason and truly be the chief customer officer to ensure that investment and cost cutting decisions have your organization’s customers in mind.  If a company is not careful it may perpetuate a business “death spiral” where cost cutting impacts customer satisfaction and demand, which in turn impact top-line revenue creating the need for yet further cost cutting.  As the name alludes to, this downward spiral typically results in difficult position for any business to re-emerge from and can be avoided by maintaining a customer perspective during these trying times.

For more information on common steps that marketing leaders can take to address this challenge check out our article, Go to Battle for Your Customers. 

Thanks to my trusty Twitter feed, I recently discovered that Forbes just launched what they’re calling the “CMO Network.” Forbes describes it as a “must-read, go-to spot for the latest marketing, advertising and media news, trends, insights and analysis.” 

From what I’ve seen so far, the name doesn’t do it justice.  Other so-called “CMO” sites tend to be too academic, but Forbes’ CMO Network looks like a great go-to destination for marketers of all levels looking for relevant info and insights.  I do have to admit that the website delivery is a little painful, but I’ll overlook that for now and hope they work out the kinks over time. 

And of course, I had to see if they’re on Twitter.  For all you tweet-a-holics (myself included), it’s @ForbesCMO.