B2B CMOs are the ‘CEO’ of customer growth

The CMO role, traditionally an enabler to sales teams in B2B organisations, now spearheads a multi-disciplinary growth engine within businesses, new research shows. 

A report* from media agency EssenceMediacom explains how B2B CMOs are expected to take ownership for driving revenue from multiple sources, including acquisition, retention, renewal, and up and cross-selling, while also owning data responsibilities and utilising technology in ever more innovative ways. 

Why it matters

Describing this role as the ‘CEO’ of customer growth, the report notes that as the requirements of the role expand, so does the necessary skill set: almost 90% of marketing leaders surveyed said their role has become more complex.

At the same time, however, without organisational transformation, departmental silos hinder many marketing teams and force them to rely on legacy practices.

Takeaways  

• Six in ten B2B CMOs (62%) said the customer experience has shifted from sales-owned to marketing-owned, resulting in a need for more advanced tools for data utilisation and audience segmentation.
• Accordingly, 70% reported an increased marketing budget in the last three years, primarily allocated to data and technology. Talent is also critical; half of the marketing leaders expect to expand their teams, and 29% will see the most growth in data and technology teams. 
• The vast majority (80%) of respondents stressed the growing significance of customer centricity as buyers prefer self-directed research over traditional sales pitches. 
• Content development and distribution is a core marketing responsibility, second only to measurement; 60% are using generative AI for content development.

* The CMO Coming of Age Story: How digital transformation has elevated marketing to a C-suite growth driver is based on a global study of 188 senior B2B marketing leaders in companies with a revenue of at least $250m.

Sourced from EssenceMediacom