As a marketing executive, part of my responsibility was to help our corporation remain relevant, forecast opportunities and grow revenue. The annual Gartner CMO reports were a great way for me to see if I was aligned with other execs in strategy, budget allocations and priorities. Now I have the opportunity to use this information to help those in the cannabis industry prioritize their precious time & resources.

What is my key recommendation for you? Less but better. Use the budget and resources you have to reexamine your brand strategy and digital platforms to focus on improving customer experience design, segmentation & product offerings for your existing customers.

Here are some of my other key findings and recommendations from part 1 of this report:

• Focus your cannabis brand investment on building trust and credibility by delivering informative experiences and messages focused on relevance and compassion.
  
• A majority of CMOs expect COVID-19’s negative impacts to be short-lived. They are focusing on recovery and renewal. Budget cuts are inevitable, but that allows companies to reallocate their energy to what's essential. The customer.
  
• CMOs expect 55% significant positive impact in business performance for retail in the next 18 to 24 months. The top two strategies included deploying listening tools to monitor customer feelings or trends and increased promotion of their eCommerce offerings. It's time to focus on your digital presence and make it an informational resource and delightful eCommerce experience.
  
• Adjust your key performance indicators (KPIs) to show how spend drives both return  on objectives (ROO) and ROI. Your ROOs are based on the customer outcomes that make up your experience vision. Focusing on these customer outcomes will ensure that investment decisions are not overly focused on near-term revenue at the expense of longer-term opportunities.
  
• 79% of CMOs look to their existing markets to fuel growth  in the year ahead. That means increasing sales of new and existing products. Maintaining your existing customer and product mix may require channel shifts and augmentations such as brands accelerating their focus on direct to consumer and eCommerce to adapt to rapidly evolving journeys.
  
• Recognize that not all customers are equal —  even loyal customers. Look at ways to provide value throughout the customer journey by knowing your customer segments  and delivering on what matters most to them.
  
  

Contact Laura Loo Experience Design for a free 30 minute Customer Delight Process consultation. From the outside in, we work with you to evolve your customers' end-to-end experience strategy - from prospect to loyal customer.

Read the full report here:Gartner Annual CMO Spend Survey (part 1)‍