Walgreens’ New CMO Seems On Track
December 5, 2008 2 Comments
I just read an interview with Walgreens’ new CMO, Kim Feil. Here are some quotes from her in the article:
No drug retailer has a clear and distinctive position from the consumer’s perspective… we are all known for being a great pharmacy and for being convenient… Those are the cost of entry.
I believe that the fundamental caring that our organization has for people is something that will be one of the most distinguishing characteristics in defining who Walgreens is.
I want to see us elevate the Walgreens brand to… be consumers’ first choice for remedy and relief, including finding their beacon of health and personal wellness at Walgreens.
My take: Feil seems to have the right perspective. How am I evaluating her? By looking at how effectively she’s following my 8 steps for a new CMO. In this short interview, she’s demonstrated a bias towards three of those steps: Re-establishing the brand, increasing investment in customer insight, and building-up employee brand advocates. Nice job!
The bottom line: You can’t go wrong focusing on customers and employees.
About Bruce Temkin, CCXP
Customer Experience Matters® 
She’s also on a little bit of crack, if she doesn’t think that Target’s ClearRX system is not providing a distinctive position… And it’s one driven by experience design!
Peter: I don’t think that’s a fair thing to say about her. It makes sense to assume that noone has developed a clear and ditinctive positioniing; pushing her organization to uncover, and ultimately meet, the deep needs of customers. Having said that, I do think that ClearRx is doing some pretty cool things.