CMOs Need to Revamp Their Roles as 2021 Approaches

    CMO roles

    The pandemic has triggered the significance of the CMO role across all the business spectrums – especially as the comeback year nearing.

    A CMO’s role is ever-evolving as it increases being cross-functional areas– and not just limited to marketing. And with the economic downturn, this leadership role will continue to reinvent as a robust business momentum. Marketing leaders will soon be required to re-establish their positions at US companies –to make the consumer experience core to their operations.

    No wonder this would expand beyond advertising, promotional endeavors, and management. Going into 2021, the economic disputes are expected to expose the deficiencies of certain marketing technology, processes, and systems that survived under the more robust growth.

    Read More: Customer Engagement in 2021 – The Shorter The Better

    The near future will see CMOs becoming Chief Market Officers, building a brand through company culture, and delivering top-notch experiences to drive revenue. CMOs will need to be savvier at communicating the market’s point of view and outlook, which means shedding MQLs in favor of revenue-driven success metrics.

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    Latané Conant, Chief Market Officer at 6sense

    Latané Conant, Chief Market Officer at 6sense, cited –“CMOs are likely to see a year of fewer internal resources, reduced media budgets, and less support from the advertising partners. To get through the chaotic times ahead, marketing leaders will need to foster diversity within their teams to consider changes in the marketplace.”

    Besides, there will be the need to upend their business models for prioritizing consumer experiences while focusing on retaining their valuable customers. Hence, CMOs are planning to increase engagement with their employees and use the leadership by getting tasks done – instead of delegating key priorities.

    In this context, Latané Conant also explained, “Traditionally, CMOs have been relegated to completing more of the ‘ing’ in marketing, the activities like video and blog production. While that’s necessary work, it misses out on the real value a great CMO brings: an understanding of a company’s market.”

    Clearly, the responsibilities of the CMO are the overall business operations, including brand, experience, and revenue. This reinvention is expected to help create new, advanced opportunities for the businesses while coping with the disruptions brought by the pandemic.

    Indeed, companies are going through a hard time as COVID-19 has broadly disrupted consumer behavior. Furthermore, they now have fewer financial resources in order to support their marketing programs.

    The marketing spending in the US will drop by 30% from the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2022 – claimed a Forrester study. This is followed by an earlier projection that the advertising industry will cut off thousands of jobs, leaving the CMOs with fewer resources than external marketing agencies. Such prolonged disruptions will compel the marketing heads to take more responsibilities to augment brand loyalty and customer experience.

    The study also indicates that more companies need to consider ‘belonging’ as an essential part of their team culture. Besides, they need to keep away from prolonging existing marketing stereotypes; otherwise, that will alienate consumers. There are already signs that brands have/ need to have prioritized diversity and acceptance of all.

    Read More: Customer Data Platforms and Their Role in Driving Marketing Initiatives

    Earlier, CMOs were in a fight for the existence of their role. Many companies had eliminated this role with the evolution of technological advances and the demand for a more holistic approach for generating revenue. The pandemic has somehow enhanced the importance of the CMO role.

    Certainly, it is only an outdated CMO who focus on running promotions, sales support, or media buying teams will not be able to hide their insubstantial contributions behind the enormous returns of a good economy. Marketing decision-makers need to drive more customer focus at their organizations, instead of guiding ad buying and promotions.