The changing role of the CMO
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 4:51 am
As companies face changing consumer behavior and more diverse target markets, they must expand the roles of marketing and the CMO.
Today, many Marketing Directors focus primarily on brand building, more effective advertising, and perhaps market research.
While these responsibilities aren't going christian churches email list away, CMOs must address other areas as well.
They must lead the company's change in response to evolving purchasing patterns, step up efforts to shape a company's public profile , manage complexity, and develop new marketing capabilities across the organization.
The relative importance of these new priorities will vary by company and industry. However, it is essential to reinvent the role of the CMO as a strategic activist in each of these companies.
Change to reflect new consumer purchasing behavior
what-is-a-CMO
Consumers who are familiar and comfortable with online research and sales will cause many companies to change their business models.
Overall, there is a need for closer integration between corporate marketing and sales. This is deepened as web-based channels expand their role in advertising, sales, and marketing.
The resulting business changes will extend far beyond traditional marketing.
A company will not be successful without paying attention to the voice of customers and their habits, the evolution of the purchase of goods and services and the interaction with companies and brands.
The CMO is a natural fit to help lead the company as a whole toward business changes that reflect changing customer needs.
This close relationship between marketing and critical business changes extends to emerging markets.
Its growing importance will place stringent demands on the entire organization to develop, produce and deliver lower-cost goods and services.
Since engineers and store design teams in developed markets will likely not have the necessary information, CMOs will need to develop partners and capabilities to access high-quality local sources of customer information, i.e. databases.
Shaping the company's public profile
The growing importance of third parties will force companies to increase their awareness of blogs, chat rooms and other social media outlets .
They will also need to develop new strategies to capitalize on marketing opportunities revealed by consumers.
Many companies will find that their initial efforts will be defensive and involve changes to the proven approach to managing their public profile.
Traditionally, companies have tended to separate marketing (focusing on customers) from corporate affairs (targeting government officials).
Other elements that are often separated are investor relations (focus on financial analysts) and public relations (directed at the press).
Often, these groups report to different executives: Marketing to the CMO, investor relations to the CFO, and corporate affairs (and perhaps also public relations) to a corporate secretary.
Most corporate affairs executives do not have the background to lead these types of efforts. This means they are therefore increasingly turning to their marketing counterparts for assistance.
CMOs are the natural coordinators of an integrated effort because they understand customers and sophisticated marketing techniques.
Today, many Marketing Directors focus primarily on brand building, more effective advertising, and perhaps market research.
While these responsibilities aren't going christian churches email list away, CMOs must address other areas as well.
They must lead the company's change in response to evolving purchasing patterns, step up efforts to shape a company's public profile , manage complexity, and develop new marketing capabilities across the organization.
The relative importance of these new priorities will vary by company and industry. However, it is essential to reinvent the role of the CMO as a strategic activist in each of these companies.
Change to reflect new consumer purchasing behavior
what-is-a-CMO
Consumers who are familiar and comfortable with online research and sales will cause many companies to change their business models.
Overall, there is a need for closer integration between corporate marketing and sales. This is deepened as web-based channels expand their role in advertising, sales, and marketing.
The resulting business changes will extend far beyond traditional marketing.
A company will not be successful without paying attention to the voice of customers and their habits, the evolution of the purchase of goods and services and the interaction with companies and brands.
The CMO is a natural fit to help lead the company as a whole toward business changes that reflect changing customer needs.
This close relationship between marketing and critical business changes extends to emerging markets.
Its growing importance will place stringent demands on the entire organization to develop, produce and deliver lower-cost goods and services.
Since engineers and store design teams in developed markets will likely not have the necessary information, CMOs will need to develop partners and capabilities to access high-quality local sources of customer information, i.e. databases.
Shaping the company's public profile
The growing importance of third parties will force companies to increase their awareness of blogs, chat rooms and other social media outlets .
They will also need to develop new strategies to capitalize on marketing opportunities revealed by consumers.
Many companies will find that their initial efforts will be defensive and involve changes to the proven approach to managing their public profile.
Traditionally, companies have tended to separate marketing (focusing on customers) from corporate affairs (targeting government officials).
Other elements that are often separated are investor relations (focus on financial analysts) and public relations (directed at the press).
Often, these groups report to different executives: Marketing to the CMO, investor relations to the CFO, and corporate affairs (and perhaps also public relations) to a corporate secretary.
Most corporate affairs executives do not have the background to lead these types of efforts. This means they are therefore increasingly turning to their marketing counterparts for assistance.
CMOs are the natural coordinators of an integrated effort because they understand customers and sophisticated marketing techniques.