If It Touches The Market, It’s Marketing: Why Seth Godin's Vision For Modern CMO Is The New Imperative

Guide to be an effective CMO - and empowering one

(Here, “CMO” is a shorthand for any senior marketing leader, whether they run a centralized or decentralized function. The core principles and ideas apply just the same, regardless of title or structure.)

Even the most seasoned marketers sit up and take notice when Seth Godin speaks. he has a knack for cutting through the noise and delivering uncomfortable truths. At a recent Global Marketer Week, Godin delivered a rallying cry that cut through the usual industry chatter: "What the people in this room need to be in charge of is everything that touches the market," he urged. "If it touches the market, it’s marketing."

It's a bold and provocative statement, one that might initially sound like common sense for a nimble startup where an entrepreneur wears every hat. But what about the colossal, complex global enterprises? Is it truly realistic for a Chief Marketing Officer at a Volkswagen or a Hewlett Packard to have such wide-ranging influence?

Godin's reply is incisive: "If I’m the CMO of Volkswagen and there’s a group of people who are meeting to figure out how to bypass diesel emission rules...that affects all the comms, internal and external so why isn’t that the marketing purview?”

His point is stark: the brand is no longer just built by campaigns, but by every customer interaction, every product decision, and every operational choice. If the CMO isn't influencing these critical touchpoints, they're losing control of the very thing they're tasked with protecting: the brand itself.

Godin's premise challenges the traditional, often narrower view of marketing. He argues that if the CMO's ultimate mandate is to build and protect the brand, cultivate trust, and foster enduring relationships with customers, then their influence cannot be confined to customer facing communications alone.

With that view in mind, Marketing’s mandate extends to every single touchpoint, every interaction, every element that shapes a customer's perception and experience. The CMO, in Godin's vision, becomes the conductor of the entire customer journey, ensuring every instrument plays in harmony to create a consistent, compelling, and trustworthy brand symphony.

Putting it in perspective: the CMO doesn’t have to own every function, but they do need a seat at the table. When the CMO is consulted, the team can weigh brand repercussions in real time. When the CMO is simply informed, marketing still gains a crucial head start on what’s coming down the pike.

The Irrefutable "Why": The Erosion of Boundaries and the Rise of Experience

Why is this level of holistic control no longer a luxury but a necessity? The answer lies in the fundamental shifts that have reshaped the modern marketplace:

1. The Blurring of Marketing Boundaries: In the digital age, the lines between marketing, sales, product, and customer service have all but dissolved. A customer's first "marketing" experience might be a peer review, a customer service interaction, or the product's onboarding flow. Every employee, every policy, every operational decision now contributes to the brand narrative.

   A slow loading website, a confusing return policy, or an unhelpful support agent isn't just an operational hiccup; it's a direct marketing failure that erodes trust faster than any ad can build it. The CMO, with their finger on the pulse of market perception, is uniquely positioned to identify and address these disparate, yet interconnected, brand touchpoints.

2. The Experience Economy is Here: Consumers no longer just buy products or services; they buy experiences. From discovery to purchase, usage, and post-purchase support, the entire journey is the product. A brand's promise is not just what it says in its advertising, but how it delivers on that promise at every single interaction. If the marketing team promises "effortless convenience" but the product is clunky or customer service is a maze, the brand's credibility is shattered. The CMO, as the primary advocate for the customer's voice, must ensure that the entire organizational machinery is geared towards delivering on that experience.

3. Brand as a Promise Delivered, Not Just Proclaimed: In a world of unprecedented transparency, authenticity is paramount. A brand is no longer what you say it is, but what they (your customers) say it is. This collective perception is formed by every interaction, every review, every word-of-mouth endorsement or condemnation. If the product doesn't perform as advertised, if the sales process is pushy, or if the delivery is late, the brand's reputation suffers. The CMO, therefore, must be the guardian of this promise, influencing product development to ensure it meets market needs, sales to ensure ethical and aligned selling, and operations to ensure consistent delivery.

4. The Power of Data and Insights: Modern CMOs are increasingly data-driven, possessing a unique vantage point into market trends, customer behavior, competitive landscapes, and brand sentiment. They understand what customers value, what frustrates them, and where unmet needs lie. This strategic insight is invaluable not just for crafting campaigns, but for informing product roadmaps, optimizing service delivery, and even shaping company culture. Limiting this insight to just promotional activities is a colossal waste of strategic intelligence.

5. Competitive Differentiation Through Cohesion: In crowded markets, true differentiation rarely comes from product features alone. It comes from the holistic customer experience. A brand that consistently delivers on its promise, that feels seamless and trustworthy across all touchpoints, stands out. This cohesion, born from a unified strategic vision led by the CMO, becomes an unassailable competitive advantage that competitors struggle to replicate.

The "How": Making Progress Towards Holistic CMO Influence

Embracing Godin's vision requires more than just a philosophical nod; it demands fundamental shifts in organizational structure, leadership mindset, and the CMO's own capabilities.

For the CEO and Board:

1. Elevate and Redefine the CMO Role: The CEO must explicitly redefine the CMO as a strategic, cross-functional leader, a true peer to the CFO, COO, and Head of Product. This means granting them a seat at every strategic table where customer-facing decisions are made, from product innovation to supply chain optimization. Their mandate should explicitly include influencing customer experience across all departments.

2. Break Down Silos with Shared Objectives: Encourage and enforce cross-functional collaboration. Implement shared Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that span departments (e.g., customer lifetime value, net promoter score, customer satisfaction across touchpoints) rather than departmental-specific metrics that foster insular thinking. Establish regular, mandatory joint planning and review sessions where marketing, product, sales, and service teams align on customer journey goals.

3. Empower with Data and Authority: Provide the CMO with unfettered access to all relevant customer data, operational metrics, and financial insights. Crucially, empower them with the authority to challenge decisions that undermine the brand promise or customer experience, even if those decisions originate outside the traditional marketing department. This doesn't mean dictating, but having the executive backing to ensure alignment.

4. Lead by Example: The CEO must be the ultimate champion of customer-centricity and the CMO's expanded role. By consistently reinforcing the importance of the customer experience in all internal communications and decisions, the CEO sets the tone for the entire organization, signaling that the CMO's holistic influence is not just tolerated, but expected and valued.

For the CMO (and Aspiring CMOs):

1. Master P&L fluency. Speak revenue, margin, and cash conversion cycles as comfortably as impressions and clicks. Credibility across the C-suite hinges on financial rigor.

2. Develop and Articulate a Holistic Brand Strategy: The CMO must craft a clear, compelling, and actionable brand strategy that transcends departmental boundaries. This strategy should define the brand's promise, values, and desired customer experience. Crucially, it must be communicated effectively across the entire organization, ensuring every employee understands their role in delivering on that promise.

As a part of articulating brand strategy, CMO must cultivate peer coalitions. Replace presentation decks with co-creation workshops where product, operations, and finance leaders see their own goals advanced by customer-centric moves.

3. Instrument the journey. Build a closed-loop measurement system that attaches hard numbers to every friction fix and delight moment. Share results in plain language company-wide to reinforce collective ownership.

4. Champion the Customer Voice with Irrefutable Data: The CMO's most potent weapon is the customer's voice, backed by robust data. Bring customer insights, feedback, and behavioral data to every strategic discussion. Quantify the impact of poor experiences and the ROI of improved ones. Use customer empathy as a strategic lever, demonstrating how customer-centric decisions lead directly to business growth.

5. Act as cultural storyteller. Translate insight into narratives employees can retell. Southwest Airlines famously says “We are in the freedom business.” Craft your version and repeat it until it shapes priorities organically.

6. Lead change, not just campaigns. When policies, packaging, or pricing undercut the brand promise, raise the flag immediately and propose solutions. Your authority is earned through decisive stewardship.

Companies turning the vision into practice

Walmart. Early in 2025 the retail giant unveiled a comprehensive brand refresh: new store layouts, upgraded signage, and a modernized logo announced jointly by CMO William White and the chief merchandising officer. The message was clear—marketing now influences everything from physical architecture to private-label packaging so that the promise of “Save money, live better” is felt, not just heard.

Ulta Beauty. Ulta’s marketing and store-operations teams piloted LUUM robotics for precision lash services. By owning both the technology launch and the in-store storytelling, the CMO’s group created a beauty-tech experience that shortens appointment time and positions the retailer as an innovation hub. Store traffic and basket size in pilot locations have outpaced chain averages since launch.

Adobe. At Adobe Summit 2025 the company rolled out Agent Orchestrator and Brand Concierge, AI agents that stitch customer data, content, and decision logic into real-time interactions. Marketing leads the product’s go-to-market but also co-owns use-case design with customer-success and engineering, ensuring the promise of “personalized at scale” is delivered consistently

Starbucks. With the appointment of Tressie Lieberman as the first Global Chief Brand Officer, marketing now governs product R & D, digital platforms, and store design in one P&L. The integrated holiday launch that followed halted a multi-quarter traffic decline and reinforced the brand’s experiential cachet.

These cases share two traits: the CMO speaks the language of product, operations and finance, and the CEO publicly declares that customer experience is the company’s North Star.

Seth Godin's argument is a clarion call for organizations to recognize that marketing is no longer a department; it is the outcome of every interaction a customer has with your brand.

By empowering the CMO to truly conduct this complex symphony of touchpoints, leaders can move beyond fragmented efforts and build businesses that are not only profitable but also genuinely beloved, trusted, and sustainable in an ever-evolving market.