如何面對海量信息？

????自從MySpace和Facebook首次信息爆炸出現以來，營銷官們一直在緊緊追趕社交媒體的步伐。一些首席營銷官在接受《財富》雜志（Fortune）采訪時表示，最初的時候他們完全能跟得上。但是，許多接受IBM調查的營銷官們認為，鑒于通過社交媒體可獲得如此多的新數據，他們面臨的主要問題是，如何利用這些信息流。

????對公司來說，可獲得數據量的增加——無論是廣告效果統計還是來自社交媒體的消費者反饋——都帶來了機遇和挑戰。科特勒表示，很多首席營銷官嘗試一次管理多個項目，結果導致力不從心。他說，一個替代方法是：“選擇會給CEO產生明顯影響的兩三個項目（來做）。”

????經驗豐富的首席營銷官認為，營銷官們必須管理高管層的預期，一次只確定幾個主要項目。可口可樂公司（Coca-Cola）前任首席營銷官彼得·希利強調，必須與首席執行官的目標保持緊密一致。他說：“這是首席營銷官可以獲得的最穩妥的保障”。希利稱，他在擔任首席營銷官期間只選擇了兩個關鍵的項目。希利的目標是：當消費者想購買軟飲時，首先想到的是可口可樂；當消費者想選擇最喜愛的軟飲產品時，想到的還是可口可樂。

????首席營銷官平均任期較短——目前是一年半到兩年之間，這使他們實現宏圖大志的機會少之又少。雖然首席營銷官的平均任期在穩步延長，但是在高管職位中，它仍是一個困難重重的職位。甘尼特報業集團（Gannett）首席營銷官麥爾彥·巴尼卡瑞姆警告說：“很多事情都超出營銷官控制的范圍。而且，很多時候首席營銷官離職是因為他們的實際工作內容和簽約時確定的工作內容不相符。”

????獲得首席執行官支持的一個方法，是盡量獲得消費者更多的信任。點評網站Bazaarvoice現任首席營銷官【曾擔任戴爾公司（Dell）首席營銷官】埃林·納爾遜稱，她供職戴爾公司時，戴爾正面臨著消費者的信任危機。她的首要任務是為公司的工程師和技術員工提供培訓，告訴他們消費者不滿的原因。工程師們茅塞頓開，開始著手不斷對產品進行完善。

Plenty of information, but what do you do with it?

????Marketers have been playing catch-up on social media since the first explosions of MySpace and Facebook, and several CMOs told Fortune they believe the initial catch-up is complete. But with so much new data available through such platforms, many of the CMOs surveyed by IBM said they struggle with how to use the information flowing in.

????The growth in data available to companies -- whether it's advertising results or consumer feedback from social media channels -- has created both opportunities and headaches. Kotler says that too many CMOs wind up over-extending themselves by trying to shepherd an array of projects all at once. "Choose two or three things that will have a highly visible impact on the CEO," he says, as an alternative approach.

????Experienced CMOs agree that marketers must manage the C-suite's expectations and opt to put their stamp on a few key projects at a time. Peter Sealey, former CMO of Coca-Cola (KO), stresses that the CMO must stay in lockstep with the chief executive's vision. "It's the best job security a CMO can have." Sealey says he picked just two critical battles during his tenure as CMO. When a consumer considered soft drinks, Sealey wanted that person to think of Coke first. Then when choosing a favorite, Sealey wanted the consumer to again turn to Coke.

????The short average tenure of the CMO position – until recently ranging from 18 months to two years – has offered a narrow window for these executives to produce big-picture results. While chief marketers agree that the average tenure of the position is steadily on the rise, it's still a difficult seat to keep at the executives' table. "There are a lot of things out of your control," Maryam Banikarim, CMO of Gannett (GCI), warns. "And, a lot of times, people leave because it wasn't the job they signed up for."

????One way to keep the support of the chief executive is to earn more trust from consumers. Erin Nelson, CMO of Bazaarvoice and former CMO of Dell (DELL), says that when she took the job at Dell, the company's relationship with its customers was in crisis. Her immediate task was to educate the engineers and the technical side of the company on why consumers were upset. The engineers were galvanized by the information and went to work on improving their products.