The changing role of today’s Chief Marketing Officer

With existing business models under threat, customers increasingly unpredictable, and competitors ever more diverse, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are facing an unprecedented challenge. New research, based on insight from over 12,800 CMOs across 20 industries and 112 countries, suggests that today’s CMO must reimagine their role and extend their value within their organisation in order to succeed.

Carried out by The IBM Institute for Business Value, in cooperation with Oxford Economics, the survey shows that a considerable number of CMOs report that their organisations are struggling. For the first time since 2010, market factors have surpassed technology as the most important external force perceived to be impacting businesses, and 84% of CMOs surveyed believe their business model is under threat.

With the business environment shifting from one which is product-led to one which is experience-led, the role of the CMO is evolving into that of “Chief Experience Officer”, with the need to own the client experience from beginning to end across the organisation. As a result, IBM’s Modern Marketing Mandate suggests that as brand stewards and customer champions, CMOs need to strategically address how to help their organisations compete.

How can this be achieved? As more C-suite leaders recognise that customer experiences define and differentiate their organisations, CMOs find themselves with an expanded mandate to prioritise three key areas:

1. Increasing value
   As strategic influencers in the C-suite, establishing marketing’s value is on the CMO’s must-do list. This includes assessing market trends and implementing measurable, customer-oriented metrics that can be adopted across the business to help contribute greater value and quantifiable results.
2. Creating exceptional, personalised customer experiences
   As customer champions, CMOs should design customer experiences that are personalised and responsive, answering needs customers didn’t realise they had – and are ultimately so meaningful to the customer that they drive incredible advocacy. Using customer-oriented metrics they should assess how emerging technologies could contribute to reimagined customer experiences and give their organisation a competitive edge.
3. Transforming corporate cultures to think and operate in customer-centric ways
   To respond quickly to customer demands CMOs need to create an agile workplace with a customer-centric culture, where change is the only constant. This dynamic vision is continually refreshed by collaborating with, and soliciting ideas from, employees and customers, engaging with them to generate new concepts for products or services.

But while the vast majority of CMOs surveyed (74%) recognise that driving continuous, innovative, purposeful reinvention is an increasingly important part of their role; how many are equipped to assume these broader responsibilities?

Wrexham University’s unique Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Marketing includes modules such as creative change and innovation and customer continuity and growth equipping aspiring marketing leaders with the skills and knowledge to deal with the challenges CMO’s are identifying. It’s designed for ambitious, self-starters who are keen to climb the career ladder and expand their understanding of business and leadership.

Industry-led and career-centric, it is built for professional enhancement across a wide range of industries. You will hone your communication skills, learn how to create and execute best-in-class integrated marketing strategies, and deepen your understanding of consumer motivation. With key business disciplines including marketing, finance, strategy and human resource management, developing practical and theoretical business leadership skills, you will learn how to think critically, plan effectively and implement strategic plans with maximum impact.

This 100% online MBA has been designed to enable you to study at your own pace, on your own terms. With six start dates a year, you can start within weeks of taking the decision to enrol. There are flexible payment options and, for those who are eligible, postgraduate government loans are available that can cover the full programme cost.

Applications are now open. To learn more or to apply.