The CMO Spotlight is a chance to get an inside look into the minds and journeys of high performing marketing leaders. 

Setup CEO Joe Koufman virtually sat down with Mark Roberts, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at TPx Communications. The full conversation covers his marketing leadership experience with private and public companies, his advice to new and seasoned marketers, and his innovative-focused leadership mentality.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW AND READ THE RECAP BELOW. 

Q1 | Tell us about your career path.

Mark Roberts’ career path began during an incredibly dynamic time for tech. With 20+ years of experience in marketing for world-class, multinational, private and public telecommunication companies, Roberts has worked for a range of businesses from Mitel, to startups, to Polycom, to ShoreTel, and then to PGi - which led to his most recent role as CMO of TPx Communications.

Q2 | What is your super power? 

“Being able to see the entire picture of that buyer's journey,” Roberts shared in response to being asked about his marketing super power. 

Since marketing has gotten more technical, leaders need to have a deeper understanding about the different disciplines within the organization so they can unite teams under a common goal. He shared that from every stage of the customer experience, he knows how the customer’s behavior “rolls through and impacts the brand,” and how “to map that out for a marketing organization, and pull all of that together” so the team can head in the same direction.

Q3 | Is there a piece of advice that you would like to pass onto other marketers?

Roberts pointed out a few important pieces of advice for marketers:

1. Listen

2. Get involved with sales

3. Define KPIs

Listen Intently

“Just shut up and listen,” he advises. “Early on in your career you're so keen to make an impression and want to engage and be heard and I don't think it's really the right way to approach it. Looking back on it, I would have been much better served just listening, thinking through the responses, and trying to figure out who I am versus who I wanted everybody to to see me as. Take a look at yourself take a look at the surroundings what actually makes you tick. Are you getting that from your surroundings? And, if you're not, what can you do to actually make that right? Because, quite often, it's not speaking. It's listening.”

Sales Involvement

It may not be glamorous, but knowing sales helps marketers become acquainted with the consumer and the consumer’s journey. 

“Early on I took a stint in sales and I would encourage anyone that wants to be in marketing for any length of time to go do that to just take a maybe a year might be two years. Go see what it's like to be doing that role because it's the easiest job in the world when it's going well. And when it's not, it's horrific. And as a marketeer you can massively impact that and I think having a clear understanding of that is critical.”

Define KPIs

In order to prove value to the rest of the organization, marketing needs measurable results. Once goals that will lead to value are defined, Roberts stated that it is much easier to experiment. “Get your KPIs nailed down first - what you think you're measuring and what you think is actually going to contribute in a meaningful fashion.”

Q4 | What are the most important values that you demonstrate as a leader, or that you may even demand from people on your team?

“Integrity and a willingness to explore and be curious” is a priority for Roberts. 

To promote this attitude, Roberts encourages innovation by setting aside a budget specifically for experimentation. 

“Sometimes it's really paid off and sometimes it really hasn't, but, over a period of time, you get a feel for what's going to work and who's actually really good at experimenting and playing around with that.” By introducing experimentation into a team, members can identify problems and work to find solutions - even if there are some learning hiccups. 

Other highlights include his outlook on agency partners, his love of cars and car brand marketing, and the value of Slack for team collaboration during COVID.

For more marketing leadership advice and a view into the mindset of a Telecommunications marketing executive, be sure to watch the full interview with Mark Roberts, and keep an eye out for more thought leadership from our CMO Spotlights.