By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The CMO: Mind the Gap
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > The CMO: Mind the Gap
BusinessFinance

The CMO: Mind the Gap

Jeff Gaus
Jeff Gaus
Share
3 Min Read
healthcare marketing CMO
SHARE

healthcare marketing CMO“The CMO is dead,” writes Dominique Turpin, the head of IMD, a Swiss business school. Really?

healthcare marketing CMO“The CMO is dead,” writes Dominique Turpin, the head of IMD, a Swiss business school. Really?

A recent Economist article challenges this notion by analyzing the impact digital tools have in providing hard metrics/analytics to take the “Voodoo” out of the equation by allowing marketers to KNOW what works.

At the recent Digital Marketing for Medical Devices event I asked the audience: “Who wants to be a CMO?” Surprisingly, not one hand in the audience went up. This in an audience of 120+ life sciences marketers – not one aspired to the top spot. Whatever happened to aspiration?

More Read

Farzad Mostashari on the Proposed ACO Regulation: Interview with David Harlow
First Principle of Enduring Success: Existing Patients First
Balancing Smart Data With Cybersecurity for Hospitals
Costs of Care 2012 Essay Contest Winner: Looking for a Light Switch
Online Reputation Management for Physicians: Putting Your Best Cyber-Foot Forward

While on stage, I had an exchange with Bill Drummy, CEO of Heartbeat Ideas. I was exploring with the audience why they are reluctant/loathe/late to apply analytic measurements to their application development/deployment strategies. Bill made the case that EVERY marketing team should include a data scientist/analytics expert. His point being: in the digital world everything is measurable; what you can measure you can manage; what you manage you can control (influence) the outcome.

Which gives rise to an emerging role in corporations, the Chief Digital Officer (CDO). This article makes a strong case for the role and details what is required:

“CMOs that have backgrounds in management consulting (strategy, transformation) as well as hands-on ‘digital’ experience with social media, mobile, analytics, and ecommerce can make excellent candidates for CDO roles. Having solid knowledge of ‘technology marketing’ won’t do it because what’s required in most cases is transforming how the firm/brand understands and relates to stakeholders (‘customer-clients’) and delivering personal, individualized experiences to customer-clients. This is a gut rehab, and neither the CIO nor the CMO is well suited to do it.”

This is a strong indictment of marketing (and IT) and could be a result of what The Economist concludes: “… a gap yawns between what CMOs could do and what they actually do.”

The London Underground’s announcement couldn’t be more prophetic: “Mind the gap!”

(Healthcare marketing / shutterstock)

TAGGED:CMOhealthcare marketing
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

marketing data
BusinessFinanceTechnology

3 Timely Factoids to Make You a Smarter Marketer

January 28, 2015

3 Ways to Tackle Healthcare Consumerism

June 23, 2016
Ebola - extra safety measures
BusinessHospital AdministrationPublic Health

Ebola Prevention Measures Likely Will Have Long Term Benefits

October 26, 2014
medical billing
BusinessFinanceHospital Administration

The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Medical Billing

September 11, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?