Grant Johnson

This Q/A with Grant Johnson, conducted recently by Drew Neisser, CEO of Renegade, a NYC-based social media and marketing consultancy, also ran here on The Drew Blog. B2B companies for the most part have been playing catch up to their B2C counterparts in the social media arena. O... (more)

Recently I led CMO Roundtable discussions with several CMOs in the Metropolitan D.C. area and Philadelphia to explore their roles in architecting the customer experience. In the Web 2.0 world, customer experience and loyalty have become the key differentiators between leaders a... (more)

In their classic book, “The Discipline of Market Leaders,” authors Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema described three basic “value disciplines” that can create customer value and provide a competitive advantage: operational excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy.  ... (more)

Good communications succeed by connecting with the audience. Whether you’re talking about a business-to-consumer organization or an enterprise software company, it became clear that not all ad agencies and their clients subscribe to this mandate as I watched wide range of ads air... (more)

As we embark on another year with an uncertain and fragile economy looming, one thing is certain: most marketers are wasting money.  In the Web 2.0 world, and given the measurability of all things digital, at least it’s not as bad as the old lament:  “I know half of my money is w... (more)

Having created and shaped several successful brands during the past 20 years, including FrontBridge (acquired by Microsoft), FileNet (acquired by IBM), AST Computer (acquired by Samsung) and now Pegasystems, there are several keys challenges that must be addressed to successfully... (more)

It seems the chasm between good and bad customer service is growing wider every day.  There are many reasons why this is happening.  First, social media has empowered the consumer to not only voice her opinion, but also to create a rapid shift in positive or negative sentiment to... (more)

For many of us, the clarion call to become more customer centric is echoing throughout the halls; we all need to better acquire, serve, and retain customers.  While there are many avenues to customer centricity, one of the primary approaches to getting closer to customers starts ... (more)

In most companies, if you ask that question, you’ll often hear “we’re customer driven, so of course everyone owns the customer.”  The problem is that when everyone owns the customer, no one actually does. This lack of true customer ownership is in part caused by the fact that mos... (more)

The ability to seamlessly manage customers across the entire lifecycle and thereby maximize customer value remains an elusive goal for most organizations.  There are many reasons for this: companies have established artificial customer service boundaries and silos that require mu... (more)

You know you’re destined to fail if the words “customer success” appear only on dusty, off-centered posters adorning break rooms and hallways at your company offices. Or maybe that organization has already shuttered. On the other hand, when customer success becomes woven into the... (more)

While it’s one of the enduring tenets in the CRM market, a 360-degree view of the customer is fundamentally flawed.  Why is that?  Having all the information at your fingertips about any given customer is of little value if you can’t do anything with it to better serve the custom... (more)

A recent CMO Club Summit in New York City gave me and a colleague a great opportunity to talk about a topic that’s top of mind for both of us and no doubt many others in the resurgent economy: customer acquisition, retention and expansion. That’s why at each of our respective org... (more)

In today’s competitive software industry, it’s crucial to have a high-performing marketing team in place that’s focused on customers. As a seasoned veteran who has led marketing organizations of all sizes, I can’t emphasize this enough. Organizations which underestimate the impor... (more)

Something strange is happening in the technology world today. Remember when software development used to include breakthrough innovation and new offerings with exciting capabilities designed to take advantage of current trends and opportunities? That’s not so much the case anymor... (more)

Having created and shaped several successful brands during the past 15 years, including FrontBridge (acquired by Microsoft), FileNet (acquired by IBM), AST Computer (acquired by Samsung) and now Pegasystems, there are six keys challenges that must be addressed to successfully bui... (more)

  The #1 Success Factor for CMOs: Leading Change   This past spring, the CMO Council issued a press release about the “DNA of a CMO, “ stating: “among the most essential qualities, a CMO must be: a visionary & thought leader; a strong business driver; able to secure executive s... (more)

This past spring, the CMO Council issued a press release about the “DNA of a CMO, “stating: “among the most essential qualities, a CMO must be: a visionary & thought leader; a strong business driver; able to secure executive support & foster cross functional relationships; custom... (more)

Driving the Shift from a Short Term Mindset Given all the pressure to deliver “in quarter” results, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get executive attention on strategy formation and/or re-examination. Executive energy is largely consumed with driving operational excellen... (more)

The closer to the top, the more it matters Most organizational experts will tell you that when joining an organization, the company’s culture is the key to determining whether you will thrive or suffer in a given work environment. While this is true for a mid-level manager or ind... (more)