Last week, MassTLC hosted a CMO Roundtable event to discuss talent and the economy. Marketing leaders in attendance had great conversations; sharing actionable advice, struggles, and how they are handling the unknown as we approach what may be an economic downturn. Justin Holmes, Head of Marketing, VP of Policy, Zipcar, led the discussion. Here are some takeaways:
- Employer Branding as a staple: Internal communications have been rebranded as employer branding. People want to bring their authentic selves to work—the constant communication about everything that’s happening in the world and everything that’s happening in the company has blurred. Conversations that you never would have at work were happening and we needed a leadership role to help staff feel safe having those conversations.
- Considering talent attraction: There’s a new dialogue within the workplace. If your employer brand increases and if people can engage and get inspired by each other, the company’s values will take a front and center role in attracting talent. We are now forced to think, “how are we going to behave now that we aren’t in the office facing each other every day?”
- The changing role of CMOs: It changes during periods of economic downturn and uncertainty. Now, it is critical to have measurements and results, using data to make decisions.
- How does the CMO relationship impact the decision-making of the CEO?: First, ask yourself and your team, how do we go from nice to have to need to have? Talking to leadership and asking the following: ‘what if we cut back to this?’ or ‘what if we spent more here?’ Coming up with different scenarios can help the executive team understand the impact that pulling back on certain areas of marketing will have on the business.
- If a storm is coming, what do we do?: Having a heightened awareness that there’s a storm coming, and a closer alignment between sales and customer success will help endure, along with making sure we articulate ourselves clearly, are all big parts of preparing for a possible recession. Try to get a handle on what you can control today, be as crisp and clear as possible, and always lead with company values.
Thank you to our Growth Community sponsors, Imarc and 3 Media Web!
Learn more about the MassTLC Growth Community, here.
