To succeed, marketers must stop passively accepting the data they're given. Instead, they must proactively partner with IT and privacy teams to advocate for the specific data collection and governance required to power their growth and personalization initiatives.

A platform's immediate user is the developer. However, to demonstrate true value, you must also understand and solve for the developer's end customer. This "two-hop" thinking is essential for connecting platform work to tangible business outcomes, not just internal technical improvements.

Before scaling paid acquisition, invest in a robust brand system. A well-defined brand DNA (art direction, voice, tone) is not a vanity project; it's the necessary infrastructure to efficiently generate the thousands of cohesive creative assets required to test and scale performance marketing campaigns successfully.

As software commoditizes, the buying experience itself becomes a key differentiator. Map the entire customer journey, from awareness to renewal, and design unique, valuable interactions at each stage. This shifts the focus from transactional selling to creating a memorable, human-centric experience that drives purchasing decisions.

For a legacy company like Nestle, the business case for data unification and digital tools is not a one-time approval. It's an ongoing process that must be defended every quarter and year. This treats digital investment as a continuous commitment that must consistently prove its value, not a project with a defined end.

The "build it and they will come" mindset is a trap. Founders should treat marketing and brand-building not as a later-stage activity to be "turned on," but as a core muscle to be developed in parallel with the product from day one.

Nestle's concept of an "intelligent CDP" isn't primarily about AI. It's about the human intelligence driving the system—the strategy, vision, and purpose. The technology is a tool, but its effectiveness depends on skilled people thinking critically about its application to achieve business goals.

In government, digital services are often viewed as IT projects delivered by contractors. A CPO's primary challenge is instilling a culture of product thinking: focusing on customer value, business outcomes, user research, and KPIs, often starting from a point of zero.

To sell large transformation projects, present the ambitious "North Star" goal but break it into sequential stages. Critically, Stage 1 must deliver tangible business value on its own. This approach wins over skeptics by providing an early return on investment, securing the momentum and buy-in needed for subsequent stages.