Integrated Marketing, the Number 65 and Why it is so Significant for Every CMO

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the number 65? Like many of you I'm sure I think of social security, medicare and so on. Or perhaps you thought of an athlete who wore or currently wears that number? In terms of the literal meaning of the number itself, according to one source "the number 65 is a compilation of the vibrations and energies of the number 6 and number 5. Number 6 lends its attributes of stability and grace, acquisition, love of home and family, protection, care and nurturing, reliability and responsibility, integrity and honesty. And number 5 adds its vibrations of major life changes, motivation and progress, learning lessons through experience, free-will and personal freedom, making important life choices."

Now I don't know how much stock I put into all this - feel free to debate it amongst yourselves. However, those "important life choices" most assuredly come into play when we're talking about the number 65 and chief marketing officers of the world - both the B2B as well as the B2C variety.

Let's Start With the B2B CMO Side First.

In an article this past February, McKinsey released some findings of research they had conducted regarding the B2B buyer and their path to purchase. The article's subtitle said it all and should come as no surprise to any B2B CMO: "B2B purchasing decisions increasingly trace complex journeys, challenging the long-standing practices of many sales organizations."

In other words the B2B buyer's path to purchase is an integrated one - just as is the case with a consumer on the B2C side. I'll get into the B2C side a little later.

Include in the article was one particular finding and without further ado, I give you Exhibit A when it comes to Integrated Marketing, the Number 65 and Why it is so Significant for Every CMO.

"Our research shows that, on average, a B2B customer will regularly use six different interaction channels throughout the decision journey, and almost 65 percent will come away from it frustrated by inconsistent experiences."

This finding should be screaming off the page at a B2B CMO/head of marketing. Anytime you see words like "frustrated" and "inconsistent experiences" it's not a good thing - not by a long shot. One reason why as to we see words and phrases like these may very well have to do with the content these B2B customers are receiving.

In a piece on Business 2 Community entitled Effective B2B Marketing Requires an Integrated Approach, the author makes a very notable point when it comes to content. "The effectiveness of your website, social media, email, marketing automation, videos, blog, white papers, webinars, etc. all hinge on having the right kind of content. No matter how powerful any one channel may be, it’s only as good as the content you create for it.

Ok B2C CMOs, It's Your Turn

For Exhibit B, I'm going to cut right to chase here for the B2C CMOs of the world: "65% Of Marketers Are Not Giving Consumers What They Want."

That is the title of an article I wrote for Forbes last year. And while the findings of the research I referenced then may be a year old, it has no bearing whatsoever on this discussion for, if anything, that number (65%) may be even higher today.

Here's an excerpt of that article:

Everyone knows of the infamous acronym that is K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple, Stupid. Perhaps there are other variations I am not aware of but the meaning and intent and context remain the same: Don’t over complicate things but rather keep it simple.

Remember that while reading the following two excerpts, courtesy of InternetRetailer.com and MultiChannelMerchant.com, respectively:

• “35% of e-commerce executives plan to invest in creating a ‘seamless shopping experience’ across stores, web and mobile…”
• “Study Shows Consumers Want Seamless Shopping Experience. The study found that 89% of consumers said it was important for retailers to let them shop for products in the way that is convenient for them, no matter which sales channel they choose.”

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You'll notice I threw in another number, 89%. Obviously I did that for a reason to show the juxtaposition between what marketing leaders are doing/planning on doing vs. what consumers, AKA their customers, want.

Why?

To me the obvious question is Why?

Why would a CMO, be they of the B2B or B2C variety not provide the person on the other end of that line, what they want, when they want it on the channel(s) they want it?

Could it be these same CMOs are not using the right technology or marketing platforms? Could it be these same CMOs are not even aware that such technologies and platforms even exist?

Well as luck and fate would have it, earlier this year, we partnered with The CMO Club on The CMO Solution Guide to Leveraging New Technology and Marketing Platforms. If you are a CMO and either or both of the above scenarios apply to you - you will want to download this Guide today.

The guide contains results of a survey of over 100 marketing leaders plus the five key solutions we identified to help CMOs and marketing leaders tackle the challenge of providing a seamless customer experience across all marketing channels via the use of technology - the right technology that is.