Interview: Reto Wilhelm, Managing Owner Panta Rhei PR AG Bild und Grafik: zVg
AI sends its regards: A massive shake-up is currently taking place in top positions such as chief marketing and commercial officers, because the good old recipes have had their day. Leading executive search expert Erik Wirz of Zug-based Wirz & Partners predicts a tough time for the species in 2023 and beyond. His main complaint is that many marketing and sales organisations are still a long way from being agile. Too often they operate in silos, do not interact and certainly do not transform themselves.
Mr. Wirz, am I talking to you or your avatar?
Good question. At the moment it is still me who is answering. But that doesn't rule out the possibility that in the future we could have conversations like this using AI.
Which brings us to the subject: You have spoken elsewhere of a tectonic shift in the sales and marketing departments of large companies that is going to turn this world upside down as a result of AI. What is happening in successful companies right now?
We are observing a continuous dismantling of silos between sales, marketing, aftersales and field services and all relevant customer data sources in a company. Successful companies are thus creating the basis to be able to make well-founded and data-based decisions - while the traditional ones remain in their box thinking and do not recognise what really moves their customers. Their train is leaving - and faster than they think.
Does this also change the sales and marketing requirements profile at top management level?
Yes and no. Good marketing has always been relevant to its target audience, and has always addressed the needs, concerns, problems or desires of decision-makers in all facets. Nothing has changed in that respect. Influencers are nothing new either. Think of the Tupperware parties or Diogenes, Cleopatra - all influencers, or rather: trendsetters and idols. So nothing is changing in these disciplines. On the other hand, automated "account-based marketing" combined with social selling opens up a cost-effective way for many companies to reach their target groups in a data-driven and highly personalised way. This is another dimension.
When companies recruit today, what is the best approach?
We are currently seeing two basic approaches to sales and marketing. Approach one is: The newly recruited managers come from the industry and work in a company that has a higher level of maturity in terms of the "target operating model". Approach two means: The profiles of the candidates come from an industry that is significantly more advanced in terms of sales and marketing than their own industry. At the same time, a leap in efficiency and often margin optimisation is sought.
You said recently elsewhere: Many industries have not really sold for decades. What does that mean?
It sounds absurd, but it's true. Demand has always been greater than the availability of services or products. As a result, many sales organisations have degenerated into logistics organisations. This also means that the services or products were distributed to the customers, classic sales combined with marketing did not exist in many industries - and there was no competition.
Eigentlich eine tolle Situation. Warum braucht es dann Sales & Marketing und warum verändern sich die Anforderungsprofile auf C-Level so rasant?
Weil diese Unternehmen heute im internationalen Wettbewerb nur dann Top-Margen erzielen können, wenn alle Elemente von Sales & Marketing «State of the Art» sind. Hinzu kommen steigende Rohstoffpreise sowie die schlechte oder knappe Verfügbarkeit von Near- und Offshore-Ressourcen. In Verbindung mit steigenden Energiekosten führt dies zu einer Margenerosion auf breiter Basis. Um den verschärften Rahmenbedingungen entgegenzuwirken, bedarf es eines optimalen Zusammenspiels von Strategie, Marketing, Vertrieb und dem Einsatz verfügbarer Technologien.
So smart boards are forcing a paradigm shift in sales and marketing?
Exactly. Instead of new campaigns or uncoordinated actionism, there is now a shift, at least in forward-looking companies. There is a huge challenge for marketing and sales to reduce costs while selling higher-margin products and making the sales process more efficient. This requires the right database. Not only that, but the quality of the data must be good, and data governance must be watertight. You also need specialists who know how to make sense of the data, always in accordance with the data regulations in the country in question.
What experience is essential for a CSO or CMO in the future?
For both profiles, we find that understanding and experience of change management is fundamental. In most cases, the knowledge, data collection, customer relationships and industry expertise are available within the company. The interpretation of the data is often still unstructured or not qualitatively ordered enough. The task now is to successfully transform the organisations.
Not an easy task. Can a conventionally trained sales or marketing professional do it?
You hit the nail on the head. We often find that the hiring authorities for these key positions simply assume an understanding of the industry, the current methods, best practices and technologies, tools and applications in sales and marketing. But these skills and knowledge are mostly related to the traditional sales and marketing world 1.0.
In other words, you are recruiting past potential or "state of the art"?
Exactly. When we talk about implementing a marketing automation solution, it is essential to have new knowledge coupled with a strong foundation from the past. And this is not a given. It is either forgotten or not sufficiently addressed in the recruitment process.
What does that mean in practice?
As with all organisational units, the big change has to be in people's minds. Successful sales and marketing managers must therefore be able to demonstrate concrete successes in transforming organisations. In other words, they also need these meta-skills. These include issues of culture and process management, but also very human skills such as empathy, consistency of presentation and the willingness to learn quickly from mistakes.
Aside from these basic new talents, what is usually the biggest construction site for a new CSO or CMS when they join the company?
Very few companies have collected, collated and systematically recorded structured data in sales and marketing in recent years. This means that this database often has to be created first. Because AI cannot work without data. Sales and marketing executives therefore need to be able to quickly access relevant data within the company. Task number one is always to create the basis, to collect data at the relevant points in the value chain and then, of course, to make it immediately usable for sales and marketing.
Heretical question at the end: Are the Swiss companies you know succeeding in this shift?
Of course they are. We have a lot of smart people at work. Even if, as in all disciplines, there is a considerable shake-up. In management as well as on the boards of directors, nota bene...
About Wirz & Partners
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Erik Wirz, CEO Wirz & Partners. |
As a leading executive search firm, Wirz & Partner assists companies in their search for senior executives and board members. The Zug-based company specialises in the medical technology and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as mechanical engineering, technology and IT.
In 2023, it was once again voted one of the best executive search firms in Switzerland by Handelszeitung. www.wirz-partners.ch
CMO or CSO profiles
These CMO or CSO profiles are the most in demand: There is an increasing focus on the following skills and experience in CMO profiles:
- Branding
- SEO, SEA
- Marketing Automation, Social Selling
- Data-driven account-based marketing (ABM)
- Data Quality, Governance, Analytics
- AI support for SEO, content generation, analytics, market research
CSO profiles currently focus on the following topics:
- Reduction in cost of sales
- Segmentation of target markets
- Data-driven sales analysis
- Optimisation for existing clients
- Reduction of direct sales activities to a few top account
