Each year Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) face a new set of challenges and opportunities. From responding to ever-evolving client behavior, to adapting to new technologies, and translating changes within the business into valuable market differentiators to drive success, there are many factors to be balanced as a marketing plan moves from idea to roll-out and concept to connection.
For Mike Impelluso, who became Enterprise Health’s first CMO just two weeks before the end of last year, this typical cycle of challenges and opportunities assumes a new importance. “As Enterprise Health’s first CMO, my responsibility is to align product, marketing, sales, and the client around a shared revenue strategy,” he shared. “Marketing should function as the connective tissue across those groups, translating client outcomes into predictable growth.
While that seems easy enough on paper, it is, predictably, much more complex in action. “While it’s tempting to just jump in and fix challenges as they arise, it’s important to be more strategic, using data to identify opportunities,” he explained. “Marketing is an intelligence-driven activity today. If, as marketers, we can use data to validate challenges and opportunities, we can create better conversations with prospects and better client experiences on the one hand, and we can shorten the deal cycle on the other.” Ultimately, marketing must be accountable for revenue. Brand, content, and AI initiatives only matter if they translate into qualified pipeline and closed business.
This measured approach to marketing is particularly important for Mike as he takes on the lead marketing role for Enterprise Health, a leading provider of occupational health solutions. “The field of occupational health is unique, and when you’re looking to connect with the select group of organizations that provide this service to their employees, you have to bring value to the executive level,” he shared. “The C-suite needs to have a holistic vision and view of their occupational health responsibilities – be that compliance with industry requirements, risk exposure reduction for the organization, or another measure. Our job at Enterprise Health is to shine a light on the information that they need, making it easy for them to find it.”
One of the tools that Mike sees as a distinct advantage for not only his marketing team, but also Enterprise Health’s end users is AI. “AI is an assistive technology,” he shared. “It amplifies human expertise. Used responsibly, it accelerates execution and improves decision quality.” For the Enterprise Health marketing team, Mike sees AI bringing advantages similar in outcome to those clinicians can experience using Enterprise Health’s occupational health electronic health record (OEHR) solution.
As the new year continues to unfold, Chief Marketing Officers will be confronted with many challenges and opportunities – some familiar extensions of the past and some driven by the acceleration of tech innovation. Whatever the year has in store, Mike encourages all marketing leaders to embrace innovation and focus on becoming risk tolerant. “Your organization didn’t hire you to maintain the status quo,” he noted. “Bring clarity where there is noise. Bring discipline where there is chaos and always challenge assumptions.” But above all, Mike implored CMOs to become emotionally invested in their teams. “When you care about your team, it shows in your results; when people help each other, they do better together,” he concluded.
Learn more about Enterprise Health here.