So much has been written about the prognosis for CMOs, much of it negative. It is Deloitte’s view that their future prognosis is not so bleak, but the role and function needs to evolve at a much faster pace. CMOs need no reminding that they have the shortest average tenure of the key C-suite roles. Marketing has been transformed potentially more than any other business function, by the digital age, by changing customer preferences and by the shift in power from the business to the consumer. Today, the modern marketer needs to connect and focus the business on the customer, but must also understand and drive the marketing technology stack and analytics. They need to be creative and narrative leaders through countless channels, all while organising the business behind their revenue growth and innovation agenda.
With a broadening of responsibilities at a time when the narrative around customer orientation has never been louder, roles such as CDO, CCO and CGO have begun to appear more and more within the c-suite. In this time of change however, CMOs are often struggling to have their voices heard, with many marketing teams now performing more of a tactical function, rather than customer focused organisation-wide strategy. Their influence at the executive level appears to be diminishing in Australia for a number of reasons.
Deloitte’s latest report on the ‘New CMO’ considers what the role of the successful CMO will look like in the near future, what many existing CMOs need to do to reinvigorate their role, and how CMOs can raise the quality of marketing within their organisations.
Getting the brand back together
Brand needs to belong to everyone, but CMOs are struggling more and more to demonstrate the true value of a strong brand to their peers.
“Only organisation that realise that only the customer matters and centre the business around that will survive. Take the CMO away from the C-suite and the business will be doomed. It’s working here because there is one team and one escalation point for marketing and sales. We all own the customer.” Melissa Reynolds, CCO AGL
Marketers are losing the battle for brand for these three reasons:
Reason 1: Executive understanding
There is a lack of appreciation of what brand is and its value across C-Suite and senior management. Many still see brand as logo and marketing a ‘fluffy’ pursuit. In fact, between 30-40% of business value is not captured in management accounting; technology and brand represent the largest proportion of this value.
Reason 2: Fortress brand
Many marketers still put up walls around brand, believing they are the custodians. Excluding the business from the management of brand can only lessen their appreciation and understanding
of its importance.
Reason 3: Lack of transparency and trusting in the wrong brand metrics
For too many organisations, the right brand measurements are either not in place or not shared with the right people. Many marketers see brand metrics as a reflection of their performance
when in reality so many aspects of the organisation impact brand. Brand tracking has not evolved in decades and for most organisations, the results seldom move.
Read the full report by Deloitte here.
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