The CMO50 is an annual list that recognises Australia’s 50 most innovative Chief Marketing Officers. Aimed at shining a spotlight on the crucial role of marketing leaders in business, the CMO50 highlights the role of CMOs in directing business growth and opportunity.

Based on several criteria, factors for judging include strategic thinking, innovation, the ability to drive business change, commercial success, displaying strong marketing leadership, and more.

Kate Massey, CMO for JCurve Solutions (ASX: JCS), is among the top 50 this year and shares some insights into her role as a modern marketing leader.

Building an ambitious team

Massey comments on the importance of teamwork in achieving company goals, “Invest in creating an awesome team and high-performing culture. I’ve always been a high performer but our CEO taught me a very valuable lesson: ‘Individually we can go fast, together we can go far.’

“By building a highly engaged and ambitious team we are unlocking the potential of the organisation, accelerating growth and consistently achieving impressive results while nurturing the company’s rising stars.”

A customer-centric mindset

Massey is passionate about promoting JCS customer’s brands and growth stories and has been instrumental in growing JCS’ ERP customer base to over 600 – making JCS the #1 NetSuite 5-Star partner in AU and NZ.

“To ensure as we grow we don’t experience growing pains that result in the customer experience being negatively impacted, we improved how we were listening to customer feedback and have automated satisfaction surveys on closed projects and support cases,” she explains.

“A big win was identifying inconsistent experiences and standardising this with our account managers, project managers, and consultants.

“With over 600+ cloud ERP customers, we understand the need to consistently become more efficient, automated, and personalised in implementing and supporting customers to get the most out of their investment in the software,” Massey explains.

Employee engagement

Another key motivator for Massey is employee engagement. She firmly believes that a company’s success is only possible through investment in its people, culture, values and customers.

“We have been recognised as an employer of choice and have built a standout brand in the ERP community as the best to work for – allowing us to attract and retain top talent in a tight talent pool. I’ve established a graduate program recruiting and mentoring business development reps to nurture their career objectives and improve their contributions to the business, passing on skills, knowledge, experience and coaching,” she says.

Massey also organises six-monthly company days, a calendar favourite for all. “These realign our strategy, create a forum for teams to brainstorm business improvement initiatives, plus celebrate our successes. Video challenges break down silos and showcase our values keeping them alive within the business. The videos are a hit with the team, and each challenge the creative and production quality continues to impress the judging panel and we include them as part of our induction program.”

Smart thinking

Massey invests heavily in the use of new and emerging technology solutions that support the company’s growth – without continually increasing employee headcount.

“I have established and chair our customer experience workgroup rolling out items like our Go-Live Customer Kit, a revamped support hub, more automated emails and our Artificial Intelligence AnswerBot, ‘Jay’, to assist supporting an increasing number of customers through the smart use of technology – rather than relying on adding headcount as we grow,” Massey says.

“We use data for smarter decisions and have shifted the thinking from: How do you reach the most people? And how do you reach the right people, at the right time, with the right message?

The right mindset

After beating cancer several years ago, Massey gained a refreshed determination and a drive to continually aim higher.

“This made me a more driven, results-focused and resilient leader. I thrive on professional development to be the best B2B marketer and executive leader, while making a difference in the world,” she says.

Massey has been a champion of Cure Cancer fundraisers, completing some significant challenges including Kokoda, Kilimanjaro, and the New York Marathon, raising over $60,000+ for cancer research. Her latest initiative will see her summit Mount Kosciuzsko four times in just three days.

“One of the most valuable skills is resilience as a leader in a fast-paced company. Success is never straight-forward, but developing a fighter mindset impressive results are achieved in and out of the office,” she says.

Empowering a winning team

Massey is always challenging the status quo to ensure continuous improvement – within the team, and within the company. At the same time, she recognises the need for celebrating success and providing recognition for the impact that teams have on achieving company goals.

“We have monthly company updates where teams share their progress, peer-to-peer monthly values awards and have a Slack channel for win announcements, encouraging teams to celebrate their successes,” Massey explains.

“People are the driving force behind the organisation and by developing an awesome culture and high employee engagement this is where the magic happens. You attract and retain top talent, the team go the extra mile to make a difference and customers become raving fans.

“When you have alignment, and buy-in from the team to what the organisation is trying to achieve the momentum quickly takes off and the results follow.”