Chris Ross, VP Analyst at Gartner, recently weighed in on the current state of the CMO role and where it may be going, according to an article posted on the Gartner website.
Here are highlights from the Q&A:
- Many CMOs are being considered more as “chief customer officers” because businesses have become much more customer-focused in the last few years. “A lot of that gets directed to things that operate under the banner of CX. CMOs are frequently the owners and drivers of CX, the scope and depth of which can be expansive and stretch beyond the traditional domain of a marketing organization.”
- Ross also noted that CMOs and their teams “need to be absolute experts on consumer or customer behaviors and trends.”
- In response to this shift, CMOs are “re-embracing a more intelligent approach to strategy” that’s based on “deeper insight and designed to be dynamic and adaptable.”
- CMOs that are finding more success and greater influence within the c-suite are the ones who know more “about the business, marketplace and customers than anyone else.”
- The CMO role will “no doubt” become more challenging thanks to “expectations for supporting the scope, speed and complexity the business requires. 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.”