32: How Kofax's CMO Built a Global Marketing Organization

With great power comes great responsibility. When Lexmark acquired Kofax—an automation software company—in 2015, the now-global business was burdened with the task of streamlining its marketing functions. Kofax CMO Grant Johnson was tabbed for the job. It was Johnson’s duty to institute a centralized marketing plan that the company’s worldwide sectors could follow.

Grant Johnson talks about his formula for creating a unified, global marketing strategy in part two of his interview. Host Drew Neisser, accompanied by Inc. magazine author Bill Carmody, ask Johnson about his trials and triumphs. If you missed part one of this interview, please refer to episode 31.

Here's what you'll learn:

• How to unify all employees within your organization.
• How to harness the power of teamwork.
• How to integrate positive habits into your marketing strategy, while unlearning ineffective ones.
• Why simplifying your marketing goals is critical.

Here is a sample of the content discussed in this episode:

Drew: It’s hard to get our marketing messages to stand out…what is one thing you do to make sure your marketing cuts through?

Grant: We take great pains to avoid the one-size-fits-all approach or what I call random acts of marketing. Instead, we work toward truly integrated marketing campaigns that encompass print, digital, social, etc. Part of cutting through effectively is a relentless focus on delivering consistent messaging across every touch point and element of a given campaign. Like many companies, our customer base cuts across a range of verticals – from Banking and Financial Services and Insurance to Healthcare, Government and BPOs. For some of these verticals, like banking, we frame the message around their primary concerns, e.g. how we can help enhance the customer experience (faster account openings and easier loan applications through mobile apps, etc.). We call that “customer speak,” instead of techno speak, and it really helps us stand out from the cacophony of competitors touting their offerings.