In this post, What companies should keep in mind when finding and hiring a competitive and talented CMO (Chief Marketing Officer).

1. By
Jason Hanold
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
TO KNOW TO HIRE
YOUR NEXT CMO
Image courtesy of Randstad Canada at Flickr.com

2. A Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is a C-level corporate
executive who is in charge of planning and executing
activities related to creating, communicating and
delivering ideas that have value for customers, clients
or business partners in an organization.
A CMO must be an outstanding leader oriented to reach
the goals of its organization, whose main role is to
assume the voice of customers across the company. Its
primary mission should be to facilitate growth and
increase sales by developing a complete plan that will
promote brand recognition and help the organization
become competitive.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

3. These C-level corporates usually have advanced degrees in both
business and marketing, having a strong background in
information technology. A CMO can also be recognized as a "Chief
Marketing Technologist (CMT)." In some companies, however,
CMOs and CMTs have different positions and the CMT usually
reports to the CMO.
According to Harvard University, companies with CMO’s perform
15% better than companies without one, their sales tend to grow
significantly and they keep better relationships with their
customers. For these reasons, it has become relevant for
organizations to hire CMOs. The main question here is “How?”
In this post, Jason Hanold gives some tips companies should keep
in mind when finding and hiring a competitive and talented CMO.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

4. 1. Hire an executive search company.
There is no need for your company to go crazy trying to
find your new CMO. There are companies that can take
care of that job for you and save you time during the
search process.
Search firms already know how to find, interview and
hire a Chief Marketing Officer, given that they are
experienced in recruiting C-level corporates. Sometimes,
they already know someone suited for the job in their
candidates’ network.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

5. 2. Look inside your team.
If you already have a marketing team, you can try to find the
perfect candidate for the CMO position inside your
organization. Start by asking yourself some questions: Does
anyone on the marketing team have all the required
qualifications and skills for the position? Do you think this
person could increase your sales and bring your company to
the next level?
If by any chance you believe that someone within your
marketing crew is suited for the job, you could simply
promote that person instead of hiring someone from outside
the company. This way you won’t have to worry about your
new CMO fitting in with the company culture.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

6. 3. Online presence.
A prospective CMO must have a positive web presence that
can tell you enough about its experience and expertise in the
marketing field. Candidates should have plenty of abilities
and skills to market themselves with strategies that you
could bring to your business by hiring them.
4. Use your professional network.
Probably you already know someone in the business who can
recommend a candidate for the CMO position. Talk to those
in your professional network and see if they can help you in
the search. Maybe even someone in your network is actually
interested in applying for the job.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

7. 5. Describe exactly what you want.
Sometimes you can’t find the right candidate. It can be
because you don’t quite describe accurately what you
are looking for in the right candidate for the CMO
position. Try to carefully read your job description and
adjust it in a way that fits your expectations reasonably.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

8. Some qualities you want to look for in the right person
for the CMO position are listed below:
Versatility: A CMO must understand that there are many
ways to spread your company’s message, for this
reason, the candidate for this job should make sure that
anyone interested in your company can find enough
information about it. In order to make this possible, a
good CMO should be able to use different online and
offline marketing tools in order to execute outstanding
campaigns.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

9. Always well-informed: One of the CMO’s main missions
is to keep the company away from becoming obsolete
with its marketing strategies since the marketing world
is constantly innovating and making changes. A right
Chief Marketing Officer should always be open to
learning about new techniques that can keep your
company fresh and up to date.
Be Creative: Your new CMO should be able to think out
of the box. This means an innovative mind is required in
order to create new ideas and drive your company
forward.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

10. Capable of producing potentially successful ideas: A
CMO must be able to analyze your company and see
what it needs to grow and where improvement should
be made. This will allow the company to set goals driven
by innovations and creativity.
Communication skills: Marketing is all about
communicating with your audience. A CMO must be able
to spread ideas and communicate effectively with your
customers, both verbally and in writing. This applies
inside and outside of the company since CMOs are
leaders who need to communicate with colleagues on
every level of your organization.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO

11. Potential to Grow: The right candidate for the CMO
position should have the capacity to help your company
grow. It also should have the potential to grow as an
employee inside the company, perfecting its skills and
knowledge in order to keep your company’s marketing
efforts up to date.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
HIRE YOUR NEXT CMO