Grocery Retail – Chief Marketing Officer

In a recent review, one shopper said, ‘I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS PLACE’! Another gushed, ‘best Natural Food Grocery in the city with a huge array of natural food, organic options and unique choices. Eat Clean and Enjoy!’

Launched as a passion project in 1981, our client has grown into a thriving health products retailer with 9 stores across Southern Ontario and plans for more. They exist to help people live longer, happier and healthier lives by providing the highest quality product offerings, a unique focus on education, and exceptional customer service. They assist their customers navigate the confusing world of health and nutrition to craft a plan specific and most beneficial to their individual needs.

As our client continues to grow, they are expanding and enhancing the means by which they identify, communicate and engage with customers and stakeholders. Building and designing the integrated marketing aspects of this collective undertaking will be the responsibility of the newly created role of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

Scope of the Position

Reporting to the CEO, the CMO will be responsible for driving the digital transformation of the marketing department while planning and executing high-impact, strategic marketing programs and campaigns to promote the firm’s unmatched offerings and positioning. This will include:

• Understanding the customers’ (and prospective customers’) perspective of the company’s brand and how the brand might be enhanced.
• Simplifying the company’s “message”.
• Developing and leveraging a full data-driven customer relationship engagement process.
• Achieving the goal of increasing the customer count dramatically.

Executing print and digital marketing campaigns, as well as a much-enhanced E-COM offering including a proprietary App and Loyalty program, while using the analytics and insights for further growth.

The CMO is a key contributor to achieving our client’s near and long-term objectives. The CMO works closely with other members of the senior leadership team to promote the company’s brand while delivering the exceptional shopping experiences that will be critical for organizational success.

This is an outstanding opportunity that features:

• Purpose driven company with strong commitment to significant growth.
• Well-established, committed leadership and ownership.
• An opportunity to make a real difference.
• Diverse, inclusive high performing team and a healthy work environment.

Functional Tasks

• Evaluate current technology needs for a progressive digital marketing organization.
• Develop and execute a public relations strategy to enhance brand awareness and promote the company’s position in the marketplace.
• Evaluate, develop, direct and execute effective marketing plans and strategies consistent with the company’s overall strategic objectives.
• Provide ongoing direction, performance management and developmental support of the marketing team in all functional areas.
• Focus the marketing team to drive the business to increased revenue generation, growth, sector leadership, and ongoing profitability.
• Develop and execute a strategic marketing plan that results in substantial revenue growth for the organization and continues to build equity in the company’s brand.
• Implement and execute a robust demand generation engine that will drive increased traffic in stores and online.
• Own and maintain the annual marketing plan and budget.
• Build brand awareness.
• Remain abreast of competitive offerings and best practices strategies. Make recommendations to ensure the unique positioning of the business is optimized.
• Perform market research, market validation and whitespace analysis to identify new opportunities for growth.
• Foster close relationships with all key market constituents (customers, non-customers, community stakeholders, partners, suppliers, analysts, and competitors) to validate strategy.
• Oversee / complete competitive analysis against key criteria.
• Identify, analyze, and distill customer requirements into a prioritized set suitable to achieve the business goals of the business.
• Maintain close oversight of market analyses to develop and provide market requirements in response to customer needs, and market opportunities.
• Understand the thorough business case for the business, including market trends, competitive analysis, risk analysis, industry best practices.
• Where appropriate, ensure that company is represented at relevant community and external activities such as industry and local food, health, and environmental events.
• Proactive member of the senior management team involved with expansion analysis and activities.

Key Performance Deliverables

In light of the identified responsibilities, the following are deliverables that the position is designed to achieve:

• Specific performance measures will be agreed upon with the successful candidate. Corporate measures include bookings, revenues, and profitability.

Competency Profile

The following competencies listed below define the role of CMO at our client:

Results Orientation

Focuses strongly on achieving agreed upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met. Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure. Aims to improve upon past performance. Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them.

Strategic Approach

Develops a strategic plan to realize the vision. Revises strategy in light of changing circumstances. Takes a long-term view of organizational success. Works to clarify long term organizational goals. Able to stand back from immediate problems in order to focus on more far-reaching ideas.

People Management

Establishes and communicates clear priorities and sense of direction. Clarifies roles and responsibilities. Adapts management style to achieve optimum results.

Planning & Objective Setting

Systematic in approach to work. Produces action plans in which objectives are defined and steps for achieving them are clearly specified. Plans by breaking down large tasks into subtasks. Develops plans that anticipate obstacles. Is realistic about timescales and builds in appropriate checkpoints, milestones, and controls in order to ensure that desired results are realized.

Communication

Expresses ideas in a clear, fluent, and concise manner. Written and oral arguments are compelling and responsive to the needs of the audience. Comprehends communications from others and responds appropriately.

Customer / Client Orientation

Strives to provide customers / clients with personalized and efficient service. Anticipates customers’ / clients’ needs. Quickly follows up on customer / client contacts and complaints. Monitors and acts on measures of customer / client satisfaction.

Team Skills

Helps to create a sense of team spirit and harmonious relations through cooperation and support. Balances personal goals with those of the team. Fosters collaboration among team members.

Initiative

Proactive. Seizes opportunities and acts upon them immediately. Takes responsibility for own actions and addresses problems before asked. Generates new ideas. Challenges existing assumptions. Goes beyond the status quo. Recognizes the need for new or modified approaches. Brings various perspectives and approaches together, combining them in a creative fashion to implement effective improvements.

Preferred Experience and Education

The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience / qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables:

• Proven experience developing revenue and demand generation programs and strategies for retail.
• At least 7 years of experience managing the strategic development and execution of marketing activities.
• Experience in building a digital strategy and developing data-driven digital marketing programs resulting in significant new customer revenue growth.
• Familiar with and understands strategic public relations, either from in-house or agency experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related field required; MBA, preferred.
• Knowledgeable with health-related products, foods or related, an asset.
• Experience with purpose driven organizations and how to leverage them in the market as an asset.
• Solid experience in development and implementation of lead generation and digital marketing campaigns.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Able to work with all levels of internal staff, clients, and prospective clients.
• Exhibit strong project management, planning and budgeting skills.
• Excellent in written and verbal communication skills.
• Familiar with CRM systems and predictive analytics.
• Highly detail oriented.
• Able to work on multiple projects and deliverables simultaneously.
• A self-starter with ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Proactive mindset that anticipates and drives initiatives when necessary.
• Possess a strong sense of urgency and ownership over projects and deliverables.
• Able to plan and execute the product strategy.
• Have proven business and market planning skills.
• Established a record of driving market adoption.