Kimberly A. Whitler is currently an Assistant Professor of Business at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Her research centers on understanding how the people, characteristics, skills, and behaviors of those at the top of the firm (board of directors, CEO, and CMO) impact marketing capability and firm performance. She has written nearly 100 articles for Forbes contributor, writes a regular column entitled “CMO Matters” for CMO.com, and has published in The Washington Post, Ad Age, The CMO Council, PeerSphere, Chief Executive, The Conference Board Directors’ Notes, Chief Marketer and HBR.org. Prior to this, Ms. Whitler spent nearly 20 years in Senior Marketing and General Management positions and is a 3-time CMO. She served in executive positions within the CPG and Retailing industries, having worked both in the U.S. and Eastern Europe.
What is the most widespread mistake you’ve seen brand marketers make in 2015 that you hope they learn from in 2016?
All tactics and no strategy. In a world with endless marketing options and a steady stream of new technologies, new media, and new opportunities, marketers, more than ever before must be laser-like strategic and focus on those few, mission-critical tactics necessary to achieve their goals. This challenge is compounded by the fact that marketers have many stakeholders they need to convince, sell, and accommodate—all of whom have their own version of a shiny new toy that they want you to implement. But this is why having a strategic plan on paper, that syncs up with the corporate strategy, is the marketer’s friend. It helps remind everybody of what your goals, strategies, and tactics are and symbolically supports the notion that “more is not better”. If P&G could run multi-billion dollar businesses off of a 1-page strategic plan, so can CMOs at other firms.
Want more from Kimberly? Follow her on Twitter and Linkedin, or read her recent posts on Forbes.com.