Sheryl Daija and Louis Jones: 5 Ways CMOs Can Lead Change—and Drive Growth—with DEI
Experts from BRIDGE explain how CMOs are uniquely positioned to commit their brands more fully to all aspects of DEI—and why it’s critical to a company’s bottom line.
By Sheryl Daija and Louis Jones
What is the role of the CMO when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion? BRIDGE CEO Sheryl Daija and board member Louis Jones share how marketers can practice intentionality by leading with heart, values, and action, and provide five best practices for marketers to lead change with DEI.
“As the voice of the customer, marketers must expand to take on new perspectives and also serve as the company’s conscience. While this adds to the CMOs ever-increasing list of responsibilities, it is also an incredible opportunity for advocacy and change.”
The role of a CMO is multifaceted—the champion of the consumer, the chief brand storyteller, and the lead marketing expert and product innovator. Where does DEI fit in?
CMOs have a mission-critical imperative to commit more fully to all aspects of DEI by making it integral to a brand’s ethos—and ultimately the company’s bottom line. In today’s transparent culture and business environment, the CMO is an essential connection point between the company and its customers. In collaboration with their Chief Diversity Officer, CMOs have the opportunity to act as a bridge between and among functional areas within the organization.
Committing to DEI and getting it right are two different but achievable constructs. Applied DEI is essential in today’s purpose-driven marketplace, where consumers expect more social responsibility from brands who want their loyalty, trust, and dollars.
According to a Harvard Business School study, 70 percent of Americans believe it’s either “somewhat” or “very important” for companies to make the world better.
55% think it’s important for companies to take a stand on critical social, environmental, and political issues.
54% of consumers say they’ve stopped buying from a company due to its public position on an issue.
48% of investors have decided not to invest in a company based on a public position or social issue.
On the employee side, the numbers are even higher. Ninety-three percent of employees believe companies must lead with purpose, with 88 percent thinking it’s no longer acceptable for companies to make money at the expense of society at large.
“It will be critical to create space to consistently convene teams reflective of society to achieve the right breakthrough ideas and innovations. Support efforts should not be performative, concerned with the show of solidarity, but rather long-term strategies and meaningful actions that drive structural change.”
At BRIDGE, we focus on nurturing a purpose-driven community. Our BRIDGE mission is to create a cultural shift in companies where DEI principles flow through all facets of an organization, from the C-Suite and marketing through product development, procurement and customer service. We recently convened board members to explore the path forward for CMOs and their colleagues. We explored how to advise and prepare companies to act with five takeaways for CMOs leading change with DEI as a growth driver.
1. Commit to being an advocate, not just an ally.
As we come to terms with the racial and social inequities in our society, people who are not in an underrepresented group can stand up as allies uniting and aligning in support of a common cause. While a positive step, allyship is passive and still leaves the drive for change to others. Choose to be an advocate instead, as you raise the bar from passive support to action and change.
Use your executive platform to effect structural and systemic change inside the organization and beyond. As advocates, you can amplify diverse perspectives of lived experiences, educate others in our organizations, and lead change by the actions we take personally and professionally. The work is active, not passive.
“While a positive step, allyship is passive and still leaves the drive for change to others.”
2. Increase your cultural competency.
According to the National Center for Cultural Competence at Georgetown University, cultural competency is the ability of an individual to understand and respect values, attitudes, and beliefs that differ across cultures and to consider and respond appropriately to these differences.
As a leader, you should have the capacity to do all the following:
Value diversity
Conduct self-assessment
Manage the dynamics of difference
Acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge
Adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of the communities you serve
The best way to grow in cultural competence is to immerse yourself in other cultures. Look around your inner circle of trusted advisors, and if they all look like you, you are likely relying on stereotypes that are not accurate. Expand diversity across all underrepresented communities and find opportunities to widen perspectives and gain more profound empathy. And do it often.
3. Identify gaps in your company and yourself.
As you begin or continue your personal and professional DEI journey, it is essential to identify the gaps in your organization across the workplace, workforce, and marketplace. Understand the structures that contribute to the lack of belonging, representation, diversity, equity, and inclusion – beyond talent and hiring. At BRIDGE, we are working on an assessment tool to assist with this process. The best way to grow in cultural competence is to immerse yourself in other cultures. Look around your inner circle of trusted advisors, and if they all look like you, you are likely relying on stereotypes that are not accurate. Expand diversity across all underrepresented communities and find opportunities to widen perspectives and gain more profound empathy. And do it often.
““Look around your inner circle of trusted advisors, and if they all look like you, you are likely relying on stereotypes that are not accurate.”
4. Be customer ready.
The Selig Center of Economic Growth issued estimates of minority buying power showing that underrepresented populations wield formidable economic clout. Companies can no longer take a one-size-fits-all approach to market consumer goods and services and expect to succeed. Based on data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Selig Center estimates the buying power for African American, Asian American, Hispanic, and Native American consumers increased from $671 billion in 1990 to $4.9 trillion in 2020. In addition to increasing sheer size, their combined share of the nation’s total buying power increased from 15.6% in 1990 to 28.3% in 2020. Marketers cannot ignore these growing populations of consumers.
The diversification of the U.S. consumer market is driven by many factors, including population growth, favorable demographics, entrepreneurial activity, and rising levels of educational attainment. However, to be clear, people of diverse backgrounds are represented at all levels of the socio-economic scales. While the inequities in the marketplace in terms of pricing products and services continue, entrepreneurial Black-, Asian- and Hispanic-owned businesses are on the rise to close those gaps.
For example: In 2016, Bevel was started by Tristan Walker, who, walking down the aisles, was challenged to find shaving products for Black men that didn’t cause razor bumps. Tapping into the already crowded $2.5 billion shaving market, Walker saw his niche and built a company staffed mainly by people of color, with BIPOC in leadership roles, so that the diversity of their employees reflected the diversity of their customers. This is a cautionary tale for brands not considering diverse populations as a crucial part of their customer segmentation.
5. Commit to the journey, not the destination.
With this significant diaspora comes some challenges as well. As we look at current events, we can be sure that conflict in ideals and values will continue to be a theme. Our DEI efforts will need to mature and become part of the strategic outlook of our business, not a line item in an operating agenda. Making the right consumer connections is about to take on factorial proportions. While values and outlook may hold groups of targets together, beliefs and aspirations will splinter them, requiring much deeper considerations for message tone, creative execution, and media placement.
“Applied DEI is essential in today’s purpose-driven marketplace, where consumers expect more social responsibility from brands who want their loyalty, trust, and dollars.”
It will be critical to create space to consistently convene teams reflective of society to achieve the right breakthrough ideas and innovations. This will allow our support efforts not to be performative, concerned with the show of solidarity, but rather on long-term strategies and meaningful actions that drive structural change.
As the voice of the customer, marketers must expand to take on new perspectives and also serve as the company’s conscience. While this adds to the CMOs ever-increasing list of responsibilities, it is also an incredible opportunity for advocacy and change. We advise CMOs lean hard into a partnership with your CDO and let them help light your path forward.
Learning is an opportunity for us all and with learning comes change. Those who can accept and traverse change will win. As Eric Hoffer so aptly put it: “In times of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the earth while the learned are beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”
August 10, 2022