Biggest Challenges Faced by a Chief Marketing Officer at Lookout
Deb's biggest challenge as Lookout's Chief Marketing Officer is managing a fully remote team spread across the US and Europe, requiring constant reinforcement of messaging and objectives to avoid silos. The difficulty stems from the need to ensure consistent customer interaction across various marketing functions, a challenge exacerbated by the remote work environment where "people can get very siloed."
Executive/Leadership, Teamwork, Communication, Problem-Solving, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Deb Wolf
Chief Marketing Officer
Lookout
Cal Poly
English, Writing & Education
Technology
Communication and Marketing
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Managing a fully remote team across different time zones and locations.
2. Maintaining consistency in marketing messages and objectives across various functional roles.
3. Breaking down silos between different marketing functions to ensure a cohesive customer experience.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
One of the biggest challenges post-pandemic is managing a fully remote team. My team is based in the States and Europe, with people across different time zones. We do get together, but 85-90% of our year is spent with people working remotely from their homes.
This is challenging for a couple of reasons. You have to repeat yourself to get people on the same page, as you don't get that osmosis of being in an office. You constantly need to remind people about what you're doing.
The other challenge in marketing, whether you're in an office or not, is that with so many different functional roles, people can become very siloed. For example, someone might focus on events, social media, or PR.
However, when a customer interacts with your company, they interact with it as a whole, not just one specific function. Therefore, your story and objectives need to be consistent. People need to understand how to work together and leverage each part of the marketing effort.
Because people aren't in the office together and have specific roles, it becomes more challenging to break down those silos. We need to ensure people are actually working together and partnering on things.
Advizer Personal Links
LinkedIn.com/debwolf