The latest news in the world of customer experience and customer loyalty.
Fujifilm Acquires Xerox in $6.1B Deal
Fujifilm Holdings will acquire Xerox Corp. in a $6.1 billion deal, it was announced on Tuesday according to Reuters. Fujifilm will combine Xerox with its existing joint venture to gain scale and cut costs amid declining demand for office printing. Fujifilm now owns 75 percent of Fuji Xerox. The joint venture dates back more than 50 years ago and focuses on selling photocopying products and services in the Asia-Pacific region.
What Are the Limits of Customer Loyalty?
An engaging article in strategy+business talks about how rewards cards test the limits of customer loyalty, and that loyalty programs have morphed into behavior-modification schemes, with an assist from technology, that are transactional and ephemeral. We spoke to Excentus CMO Jeff Hassman in October who said, in part, that the whole point of loyalty is to change customer behavior.
A Closer Look at the CMO
It took years, but brands finally came around to recognizing the importance that marketing and loyalty efforts have on the bottom line and elevated marketing professionals to the C-suite. But are things changing? We found four articles that examine the role—and in some case, relevancy—of the CMO:
- New job description for CMOs?
The role of chief marketing officer seems to have changed in a fairly dramatic way in recent years.
According to a new report from Deloitte the CMO role has been elevated in the past decade from brand and marketing plan manager, to enterprise-wide revenue driver. The report shows that, as more tools and techniques have entered the marketer’s domain, many CMOs have seen a host of added responsibilities come their way.
- Should CMO and CIO roles merge?
Due to the advancements in technology, the shift to digital and the understanding of data, the role of CMO is encroaching on that of the CIO. Should they merge? Does a hybrid make sense? Would the saving of time and money justify the combination?
An article in Exchangewire broaches the idea.
- Is the CMO role still relevant?
The Marketing Insider doesn’t pull any punches: “Marketing looks nothing like it did 10 years ago, yet the title of CMO still lingers like that well-worn suite in the back of your closet.” Ouch. But it goes on to make some valid points, including how rapidly changing the marketing world is with bots, fake news and Facebook changing its algorithm at a whim.
- What does the future CMO look like?
The CMO needs to be the captain of the ship,
according to an article in Forbes, responsible for hoisting the main sail and taking control of the helm. The article identifies eight essential skills that the future CMO needs to master to be effective.
We talked to CMO Council in late 2016 about how the CMO position has evolved due to the Voice of the Customer driving brand loyalty.