This week on the Expert Voices podcast, Randy Wootton, CEO of Maxio, speaks with Drew Neisser, Founder and CEO of Renegade Marketing. Drew shares his extensive experience and key insights into the dynamic relationship between CEOs and CMOs, especially for early-stage founders. Randy and Drew explore crucial aspects such as hiring strategies for the first CMO, balancing roles between C-suite executives, and how to set up CMOs for success in the evolving SaaS landscape. Drew illustrates how innovative marketing strategies can significantly affect business outcomes and common pitfalls that can lead to CMO failures.

 Quotes

• “You need something called a reverse migration strategy. Normally you would take two years to migrate a brand from one place to another. Think about a trade show. You go to a trade show booth and I see a brand, oh look, there's the Microsoft Windows booth, just in case you happen to be a customer. If you're a customer of theirs, you're going to stop. But if they suddenly changed their name to White Wall, you're not going to stop. Those aren't your people. You're not a customer. So you need to be thinking about your customers and their ability to find you at a trade show.” -Drew Neisser [17:45]

• “There is a real misunderstanding, and this is the mistake I think CMOs make. They go in, new job, and they say, "Oh, it's a brand problem. We need a new website, we need a new logo, we need a new color," and that's all they change. To me, if you understand strategy, if you're changing your strategy, you're changing your product. And say we're doing a brand refresh and we're not changing something about the product, why are you bothering?” -Drew Neisser [37:46]

Expert Takeaways 

• Strategic Alignment: Define clear roles and set expectations between CEOs and CMOs to ensure a unified approach toward growth and marketing strategies.
• Courageous Strategy: Emphasize daring and distinctive strategies in marketing, focusing on differentiation and simplicity.
• Artful Ideation: Engage employees and cultivate creativity within the marketing efforts to create compelling narratives and pithy brand stories.
• Execution and Measurement: Implement a scientific method to measure the impact of marketing activities, ensuring actions align with broader business goals.
• Avoiding Pitfalls: Recognize the top reasons CMOs fail, such as mismatched expectations and not having a cohesive operating system, to navigate and correct these issues proactively.

Timestamps

(00:00) Building Effective CEO and CMO Relationships

(06:01) The Importance of Taking Time for Personal Growth

(07:40) The Relationship Between CEOs and CMOs in Business Strategy

(13:25) Building Brand Reputation and Navigating Rebranding Challenges

(21:22) Renegade Marketing: Courageous, Artful, Thoughtful, Scientific Strategies

(25:41) The Power of a One Word Strategy in Branding

(27:41) Engaging Employees and Customers to Build a Strong Brand

(36:13) Top Reasons CMOs Fail and How to Avoid Them

Links

Maxio

Upcoming Events

Maxio Institute Report

Randy Wootton LinkedIn 

Drew Neisser LinkedIn