James Frost, CMO of Worldpay, reveals how to balance short-term sales-led goals with longer-term marketing goals
Tell us a little bit about what you do
I’m responsible for marketing and product strategy for the UK business at Worldpay. So that’s how we talk to our customers but also how we develop products and services to better serve them in the future.
We’ve got the sales team at the coalface trying to sign up new customers, we’ve got the operations team servicing existing customers, then we’ve got the technology and delivery team to do the heavy lifting and coding. The marketing team is very much sat at the apex of all that, trying to make sure we’re driving Worldpay’s strategy forward and helping to deliver better products and services to our customers. So, we really are the champion and voice of customers within the organisation as well.
With the past few years being all about sales and marketing alignment, do you have quite a close relationship with your sales department?
We do, but it is very interesting. Here lies a classic dilemma for any CMO. On the one hand, the organisation has got targets that it needs to hit in the short-term and you need to make sure you’re supporting the efforts there. But you also need to make sure you buy yourself space to develop the stuff that’s really going to help you win in the medium-term.
How do you overcome this problem of balancing the pressures of the short-term and long-term?
I think it’s got a lot to do with the art of good leadership. There is an increasing focus on proving ROI in the short-term and if you get too obsessed with that world you’ll never do the right things. It’s having the ability to live in that world of the short-term, but also realising there are some things we have to do that are in line with external trends.
What is it like managing a large team?
I find it a privilege and we’ve got some very talented people here. My role is about motivating, advising, but most importantly helping them to do a brilliant job. One of the classic transitions you have to make as a CMO is learning to let go, because you can’t be a part of every decision that everyone is making. If your team is making eight decisions out of 10 correctly, then that’s a pretty good ratio.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
A boss of mine told me: “No-one will ever remember that something was late, but they will always remember if it was no good.” In a world where we’re under pressure and we’ve got to hit deadlines, I think it’s sometimes worth standing back. No-one’s going to remember if you’re a week late or a month late, but if a campaign turns out to be a complete disaster because you haven’t put the right amount of effort in, then they’ll remember that for a long time.
What do you think the next big change in B2B marketing will be?
Consumer expectations are rising exponentially and the kind of slick, seamless service that you can get from many brands as a consumer is phenomenal these days – and it’s all data driven.
Companies are now getting incredibly good at understanding who you are and what you like and giving you stuff that’s really relevant. This rise in expectations is something we’re seeing as a trend.
