????座談會上常常有人問我關于首席營銷官角色的問題。我的基本解釋是，首席營銷官的職責具有多樣性。根據所在公司和行業的不同，首席營銷官這個職位往往意味著要承擔不同的職責。

????但事情本不該如此。

????簡言之，首席營銷官應該始終關注促進增長的方法。首席營銷官應該支持消費者，促進創新，同時成為市場新機遇的發現者。作為CEO的搭檔，首席營銷官必須以總經理的視角考慮問題，了解公司的方方面面——而不是僅僅只關注“營銷”。

????或許，營銷主管用于促進增長的手段不同于他們的同事所采用的方法，但是，營銷職能的最終目標是促進收入增長。

????邁克爾?弗朗西斯是美國塔吉特百貨公司（Target）的首席營銷官。他把頂級設計師推向全民，從而幫助重新定義了“折扣”這個概念。由此，塔吉特發展成為一家主要的零售企業。擔任麥當勞（McDonalds）首席營銷官時，尼爾?戈登意識到了多元文化消費者的重要性，并以此促進了整體業務的增長。美國運通公司（American Express）首席營銷官約翰?海耶斯認識到消費者希望舉辦大眾消費活動，隨后設計了今天的“星期六小商家”（Small Business Saturday）促銷活動。從美國政府到各地社區，所有人都對這個活動表示支持。除提升美國運通公司的知名度外，這個活動還促進了它信用卡業務的增長。

????許多高管跟我說，我不是一個“典型的首席營銷官”——對于我重視“公司”而非只重視營銷的做法，他們感到驚訝。誠然，身為首席營銷官，我重視廣告、品牌化和整體傳播戰略工作。但是，我同時還重視企業文化和文化沖突、銷售和新的收入來源。我的職責是如何利用營銷手段了解消費者和市場趨勢——所有這些工作都以促進業務增長為目標。畢竟，產生收入是最終目的。否則，也就沒有“公司”可言了。

????我之所以擔任甘尼特報業集團（Gannett）的首席銷售官一職，原因在于，甘尼特CEO格雷西亞?馬托利希望她的首位首席營銷官在團隊中發揮戰略性作用——不僅推動變革，而且以業績為導向。我在就任之初就清楚地認識到，為了給客戶提供最佳服務，以消費者為中心，我們需要打造一個全國性的銷售部門，讓它對營銷負責。這種整合銷售和營銷的方式改變了我們進入市場的方式。我們成功地改變了市場對甘尼特的認識，創建了新型戰略合作伙伴關系，同時推動了企業以全新的方式實現增長。

????鑒于商界前所未有的變化速度和消費者行為的不斷改變，我們可以說首席營銷官現在發揮的作用比以往任何時候都更加重要。首席營銷官需要以促進增長和盈利為目標，重視公司的方方面面，想客戶之所想，提出新的創意。

????最后，如果你不關注收入，你就不該擔任首席營銷官。

????麥爾彥?巴尼卡瑞姆是甘尼特報業集團的高級副總裁和首席營銷官。(財富中文網)

????譯者：喬樹靜/汪皓

????

????I'm often on panels where I'm asked about the role of the chief marketing officer. Right out of the gate, I explain that there are a variety of CMO roles, and the title often tends to mean many different things depending on the company and even the field in which you operate.

????But it shouldn't.

????Quite simply, a chief marketing officer should always be focused on ways to generate growth. CMOs should champion the consumer, drive innovation, and be a source for identifying new market opportunities. As a partner to the CEO, he/she has to think like a general manager and understand all aspects of the business -- not just focus on "marketing."

????Now, the tools a marketing executive uses to generate growth might be different from the tools employed by their colleagues, but at the end of the day, growth is what the marketing function is all about.

????Michael Francis was the CMO at Target (TGT) who helped redefine the discount category by making top designers accessible to all. Target became a major retail force as a result. When Neil Golden was CMO at McDonalds (MCD) he realized the importance of his multi-cultural consumer and used these insights to drive growth in the overall business. American Express CMO John Hayes realized that consumers wanted to celebrate Main Street -- and developed a program that is today's Small Business Saturday. Everyone from the U.S. government to local communities have come out to support this initiative, which has grown Amex's (AMX) credit card business on top of its brand visibility.

????I've had numerous executives tell me that I'm not a "typical CMO" -- they've been surprised at my focus on the "business" vs. simply marketing. As CMO, of course I spend time working on advertising, branding, and overall communications strategy. But I also spend time focusing on company culture and cultural change, sales, and new revenue streams. My job is to think about how to use the levers of marketing to gain insight into where consumers and the marketplace are heading -- all with the goal of growing our business. In the end, it's about generating revenue. Without that, there is no "business."

????What drew me to my role here at Gannett (GCI) was the fact that our CEO, Gracia Martore, wanted her first-ever CMO to play a strategic role on her team -- a marketer who would drive change and who was results-oriented. Once I arrived, it became clear to us that in order to best serve our clients and put the consumer at the core of our business, we needed to create a national sales organization and have it report to marketing. Aligning sales and marketing in this way has transformed the way we go to market. We have successfully changed the perception of Gannett in the marketplace, created new strategic partnerships, and helped grow the business in new ways.

????The role a CMO plays today is arguably more critical than ever before, given that the rate of change in business is unprecedented and that consumer behavior is evolving real-time. CMOs need to be able to see "around corners," anticipate consumer needs, and come up with new ideas, all with an eye towards generating growth and profitability.

????At the end of the day, if you're not focused on revenue, you shouldn't be CMO.

????Maryam Banikarim is senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Gannett Corp Inc.