The role of chief marketing officer is a juggling act of managing employees, understanding fast-paced socioeconomic, political, and technological changes, and driving measurable contributions to company profit, among other responsibilities that can affect a firm and its relationship with customers. This position provides leadership to marketing teams as well as strategic marketing direction for an entire firm. CMOs are always adapting, a trend that will likely continue into the future.
A chief marketing officer or CMO has the “primary responsibility … to generate revenue by increasing sales,” which can be accomplished through things like “brand management, marketing communications, market research, product marketing, distribution channel management, pricing, and customer service.” 1 A CMO may oversee public relations through marketing activities like emails or advertisements in order to “ensure that all these communications are on brand and aligned with the current marketing campaign.” 2 CMOs can play a role in determining or developing a firm’s organizational strategies, including an organization’s goals, missions, and objectives and how it plans to achieve those. They will also “collaborate with other C-suite positions … to determine things like product pricing, new product development, and the brand’s direction.” 3
“An excellent CMO will always have excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills. These talents are all important for leading their marketing teams, solving conflicts, motivating their employees, and working well with the other high-level executives at the company.” 4
Most importantly, CMOs today have responsibility over the customer experience and customer lifetime value.
Like any great marketing manager, CMOs must understand the customer and adapt to ever-changing consumer preferences: “You can’t be customer-centric if you don’t understand customers and the holistic reality of the world they live in.” 5 The most influential CMOs are often the most knowledgeable as well. 6 It is especially important that they understand the influence of technology in marketing and how to manage various technological platforms – everything from social media to artificial intelligence. 7
CMOs must also understand the financial impact of their marketing decisions. Customer lifetime value is a metric that compares a customer’s revenue value to predicted lifespan, 8 which can be used to determine the potential revenue to be generated from a long-term customer. “The increased friction and costs to acquire new customers can be high, so finding and keeping the right customers has become much more important.” 9 Balancing both marketing and financial objectives allows CMOs to make better informed strategic decisions for the firm and its customers.
Depending on a firm’s strategic objectives, hiring a new CMO can improve business practices or help a firm achieve its goals. This month, “Linh Peters, the former global chief marketing officer of Calvin Klein, was named chief marketing officer” for Walgreens. 10 As Walgreens pursues “an expansion into the healthcare business” and focuses more on long-term customer loyalty, “Ms. Peters’ knowledge of membership programs will be critical to her new role.” 11 Aligning a CMO’s skillset and experience to a company’s goals and culture can prove beneficial to their success.
Another example is Zappos: “Zappos.com Inc. has named Amazon executive Ginny McCormick as its first chief marketing officer in its 23-year history.” 12 Despite adding this new position, they plan to maintain their company structure because it works best for their employees. Additionally, “Zappos’s reputation for customer experience created favorable word-of-mouth that supported its marketing efforts.” 13 So, in the new role, “Ms. McCormick said she plans to examine what consumers want from Zappos now, from their buying preferences to their expectations of customer service and community.” 14 While some changes are necessary to improve the firm as it continues to grow, it is also necessary to keep the employee-favored internal structure and their reputation for customer service.
For other firms, hiring a full-time CMO may be too expensive or a too significant change for their needs and stage of growth. In this case, they may choose to hire a fractional CMO instead. “Many mid-sized companies” may hire this type of part-time leader that can provide a beneficial influence to their teams without the cost of a full-time executive. 15 “Digital marketing is more complicated every day, and it’s often difficult for an organization’s in-house marketers to be experts in all aspects of marketing. That’s where a Fractional CMO comes in to act as an extension of a company’s team, augmenting the skills and expertise of their in-house talent.” 16
“Next-generation CMOs will need to understand the nuances and power of brand, the emerging capabilities of technology and the hyper-speed shifts in culture and consumer behavior. They’ll need to build fluid, adaptable teams, work seamlessly with external resources and, of course, measure and optimize everything they do.” 17
Looking forward, the role of CMO will continue to evolve as firms and markets demand more from these marketing executives. According to data from 100 U.S. brands last year, “CEOs now stay in their roles more than twice as long as CMOs.” 18 This may be a result of “intense pressure to drive profitable growth, meet changing demands for business transformation and keep up with increasing complexity in the broader marketing landscape.” 19
Questions marketing managers would consider:
- What qualities will CMOs need going into the future?
- What differentiates a successful CMO from an unsuccessful one?
- How can you be a strong, adaptable leader for your team?
Resources
1 Gartner. (2022). Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Gartner, Inc. https://www.gartner.com/en/marketing/glossary/chief-marketing-officer-cmo-
2 American Marketing Association. (12 April 2022). The Role of the CMO. American Marketing Association. https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/the-role-of-the-cmo/
3 MasterClass Staff. (25 February 2022). What Is a Chief Marketing Officer? A Look at the Role of CMO. MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/chief-marketing-officer-role-explained#what-are-the-responsibilities-of-a-chief-marketing-officer
4 American Marketing Association. (12 April 2022). The Role of the CMO. American Marketing Association. https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/the-role-of-the-cmo/
5 Blum, K. (28 March 2022). How the CMO Role Has Evolved – And What’s Next. Gartner, Inc. https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/how-the-cmo-role-has-evolved-and-what-s-next
6 Blum, K. (28 March 2022). How the CMO Role Has Evolved – And What’s Next. Gartner, Inc. https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/how-the-cmo-role-has-evolved-and-what-s-next
7 Graham, M. (5 May 2022). Average CMO Tenure Holds Steady at Lowest Level in Decade. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/average-cmo-tenure-holds-steady-at-lowest-level-in-decade-11651744800
8 Fontanella, C. (1 April 2022). How to Calculate Customer Lifetime Value. HubSpot, Inc. https://blog.hubspot.com/service/how-to-calculate-customer-lifetime-value
9 Blum, K. (28 March 2022). How the CMO Role Has Evolved – And What’s Next. Gartner, Inc. https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/how-the-cmo-role-has-evolved-and-what-s-next
10 Deighton, K. (4 May 2022). Walgreens Names Heads of Marketing, Merchandising and Product. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/walgreens-names-heads-of-marketing-merchandising-and-product-11651669203
11 Deighton, K. (4 May 2022). Walgreens Names Heads of Marketing, Merchandising and Product. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/walgreens-names-heads-of-marketing-merchandising-and-product-11651669203
12 Deighton, K. (22 April 2022). Zappos Names Amazon Executive as Its First CMO. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/zappos-names-amazon-executive-as-its-first-cmo-11650664528
13 Deighton, K. (22 April 2022). Zappos Names Amazon Executive as Its First CMO. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/zappos-names-amazon-executive-as-its-first-cmo-11650664528
14 Deighton, K. (22 April 2022). Zappos Names Amazon Executive as Its First CMO. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/zappos-names-amazon-executive-as-its-first-cmo-11650664528
15 Reiss, R. (29 December 2021). The Fast Growing Fractional CMO Model. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertreiss/2021/12/29/the-fast-growing-fractional-cmo-model/?sh=f1dc020655f8
16 Reiss, R. (29 December 2021). The Fast Growing Fractional CMO Model. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertreiss/2021/12/29/the-fast-growing-fractional-cmo-model/?sh=f1dc020655f8
17 Blum, K. (28 March 2022). How the CMO Role Has Evolved – And What’s Next. Gartner, Inc. https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/how-the-cmo-role-has-evolved-and-what-s-next
18 Graham, M. (5 May 2022). Average CMO Tenure Holds Steady at Lowest Level in Decade. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/average-cmo-tenure-holds-steady-at-lowest-level-in-decade-11651744800
18 Graham, M. (5 May 2022). Average CMO Tenure Holds Steady at Lowest Level in Decade. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/average-cmo-tenure-holds-steady-at-lowest-level-in-decade-11651744800
Marketing Management 