How 15 Top CMOs Show Customers Love

We are living in the sharing age.

Consumers and business can obtain instant information about products and services, and have more ways to share their views on them than ever before. From rants on social media sites to reviews on category-specific platforms, consumers and business buyers are having their say and listening to each other.

As marketers, two vital implications of this sharing age are:

+ We need to be more creative in the ways we reach customers.

+We must create more meaningful brand experiences for and with them.

Margaret MolloyGlobal CMOSiegel+Gale

“How do you show love to your customers everyday?”

I thought it would be inspiring to pose this question to a cross-industry sample of my CMO network:

Here are their responses as well as my own…

Reward Loyalty “Millions of people make Dunkin’ Donuts an important part of daily life, so we strive to show our thanks and appreciation for our guests’ loyalty and passion each and every day. Our DD Perks Rewards Program is a key initiative towards that goal, as we have created one of the most robust loyalty programs in our industry, offering guests points towards a free beverage with every purchase, as well as a free beverage when they register and on their birthday. We also focus on our social and mobile communities by offering special promotions and offers on a regular basis. Plus, we have a strong commitment to innovation and we are continually refreshing our menu to delight our guests and keep them returning to our restaurants, such as our heart-shaped donuts for Valentine’s Day."

John CostelloPresident, Global Marketing and Innovation

Dunkin’ @JohnCostello307

Exceed Expectations“Allstate shows love for our customers by delivering more than they expect from an insurance company–every day. Yes, we provide expert advice and innovative products to help protect the people and things they care about, but we also surprise and delight them by helping them save money when they buy a new SUV or a car seat for their child, find an expert to care for their trees or other household needs, or even to locate their parked car in a gigantic mall parking lot. Our ‘Good Hands’ are delivering more today than ever before, and our customers simply love it!”

Sanjay GuptaCMOAllstate Insurance Company

Walk in the Customer’s Shoes

“We show love to our customers by spending time in-person with them to better understand what they need. Sometimes, customers may not be able to tell us what they need but by watching them closely, understanding their situation and being in their shoes, they will show us.”

Eduardo ConradoSVP, Global Innovation Officer

Motorola Solutions@conradoeduardo

Never Give Up“We are in the businesses of amplifying your life with music. We listen, care and act to show you our love and appreciation every day, so we can elevate your experiences, to make you feel more inspired, alive and uninhibited. We have always been committed to creating perfection for the listener. That’s why we never give up on our ongoing pursuit to provide the best connection and experience whether it is in sales or in support, so we can all appreciate sound like it is meant to be heard.”

Sean KapoorVP Global MarketingHarman International@geekbuddah

Help Clients Succeed

"Last year we sent some of our top customers and loyal brand advocates Valentines Day cards. It was a simple gesture but it felt great to see the reactions from our clients. They appreciated the 'love' on Valentine's Day. At IBM, we're working to become a relationship-driven company. The days of mass marketing are behind us. We're working to build advocacy one customer at a time by building trusted relationships with our clients to help them succeed. Success is a team sport. And we love to help our clients succeed."

Tami Cannizzarro

VP, MarketingIBM Cloud

@tamicann

Encourage“Mary Kay Ash often said, ‘P & L stands for people and love.’ One of the ways that I show my love for our customers, the Independent Sales Force, is by regularly sharing encouragement along with motivational quotes, images and blogs with them via Twitter and Instagram.”

Sheryl Adkins-Green Chief Marketing Officer Mary Kay, Inc. @SherryAG

Engage Employees"Being in the business of providing talent management solutions, I am in a unique position to be a user and a marketer of our products. As a leader, I care passionately about employee engagement and development, which means I have a strong opinion about the potential of our solution and can truly relate to our clients. I view each customer interaction with the same excitement and anticipation of going on a date – an opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss our trials and tribulations, and share our hopes and dreams. Genuinely appreciating their passion is how I show my love for our customers, and the insights I’ve learned from them have allowed me to craft marketing messages that are more authentic, approachable, and aspirational."

Emily HeCMO

Saba Software@emilyhe1

Seek to Understand“Two words: Impactful empathy. Seeking a deep understanding of the things that matter to our client— the individual, the person —and then empowering that person to make faster, smarter and more confident decisions. It sounds rather simple, but great marketers understand that "showing love” means first and foremost seeking to understand.”

Marcy ShinderCMONielsen@marcyshinder

Be a True Partner“Like any trusted relationship, we demonstrate our love for our customers by being a true partner, and ensuring we have their back every day, and at every touch point.”

Lisa BacusEVP & Global

CMO Cigna@lrb123

Simplify Communications

"CMOs make decisions each day where we can put customers first, both in marketing and across all of our companies. My current top idea is to ensure that when writing content, we make it easy for customers to understand and that it uses their language, not internal product, brand or marketing speak. Put simply, it's so important to use the language of our customers. We get caught up with internal terms and I always ask the team to use the language of our customers."

Chris X. Moloney Former CMOScottrade Experian & Wells Fargo Advisors@CMOChris

Focus on Culture"We just started a new program. We call it 76 Seconds. It's simple. It takes 76 seconds to positively impact a fan - at a game or in the community. Every single staff member has been 76 Seconds trained. We have 200 staff at 41 home games. If every staff member can make one memory a game we can drive positive fan experience in a scalable way. That's over 8,000 memories we can create! Every staffer is equipped with a dozen or so special gifts that they can hand deliver to fans. Maybe it's a surprise meet and greet with a player. Maybe it's merchandise. Maybe it's a visit to the court. 76 Seconds is more than an initiative. It's who we are. It's part of our culture."

Tim McDermottChief Marketing and Innovation

OfficerPhiladelphia 76ers

Show and Tell Passion"In the Manufacturing Cloud, we are in partnership with our customers 24/7/365, helping them make everything from diesel engines to salted caramel chocolates. We show our love for customers in our own passion for making things, and they return it by letting us tell their stories in fun and creative ways."

Heidi MelinCMOPlex Systems@heidimelin

Listen to Customers“Our customers are our true advisors. So our goal is to make sure that we are listening to her in every channel and instance she is expressing herself. Each time she reads our Rebecca Minkoff blog, buys from our website, or goes to our fitting room to try on a dress—we are learning from her and we have the opportunity to have her fall in love with the brand by inspiring her, surprising her and entertaining her. We know she is passionate, playful and complex, hence we post inspirational quotes to our Instagram feed on Mondays, offer her a drink in our store while she is shopping, or repair her favorite bag she may have ripped. We truly care about our customer and we try to show it in little ways everyday.”

Emily S. Culp SVP, eCommerce & Omni-Channel

Marketing Rebecca Minkoff@emilyculp

Write Letters“Nothing says love like a love letter. I hope that many will take a few moments from their busy schedules and write letters of gratitude instead of emails. The impact of writing a card or letter cannot be underestimated.”

Nagisa Manabe Chief Marketing and Sales Officer United States Postal Service@nmmanabe

Know Your Purpose“You can’t love if you don’t know yourself. At Siegel+Gale, one of things we do is help our clients define their brand purpose and values. This enables them to build deep, enduing relationships with their customers.”

Margaret MolloyGlobal CMOSiegel+Gale

@MargaretMolloy

If a theme emerges, it is that, these marketing leaders declare a heartfelt desire to spend more time with their customers. Whether the sometimes-fickle customer will requite their affections with true love remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, in this sharing age, the customer-brand relationship will no longer be a private affair.

Follow and Tweet me @MargaretMolloy

A version of this presentation first appeared on Forbes.com

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Siegel+Gale is the simplicity company. We are a global strategic branding, design, and experience firm.