The changing role of the CMO

If there’s one thing I know about CMOs it is that they have to wear a lot of different hats. Change maker, brand guardian, the voice of the customer, communications specialist, data ninja, digital guru, growth driver, value creator, collaborator.

The list goes on and on. And, it’s getting longer.

We live in a frequently fragmented world, with Brexit threatening the future of the European Union and the looming US presidential elections, arguably one of the most important political events of the decades. Then for businesses, there’s also the digital transformation of everything with the proliferation of data that this brings, along with the changing expectations of customers.

The age of bravery
Against this context, now, more than ever, juggling all these different roles, wearing these different hats - CMOs must also be brave.

Being brave is not simply about holding your nerve when political events unravel shareholder confidence and squeeze customer spending.

Being a bold marketing leader means a number of different things.

It means being brave with career decisions, with brand decisions, with agency decisions. It means being brave enough to hire somebody better than you.

It means being brave enough to stand up in the boardroom and speak on behalf of your customers, so their voice can be heard when other stakeholders shout louder. It’s about always putting the customer at the centre of everything, even when outside forces suggest other parts of the business are more important.

Acknowledging uncomfortable truths
Being brave is also about telling the truth. The best CMOs are those that speak honestly about challenges and are prepared to address the elephant in the room, something we call uncomfortable truths. This might be about making the most of data, or grappling with digital transformation or simply the challenge of keeping up with the pace of change.

For example, at The Marketing Society we all know that digital transformation is the biggest opportunity but also the greatest threat to marketers. It was highlighted as one of five themes in our 24-hour global conversation, when we asked 40 marketing leaders across the world to discuss the greatest challenge and opportunity for their business.

Four other themes emerged from our global conversation: the importance of cyber security, the collaborative economy, the age of customer-centricity and the continuing hunt for talent.

Customers at the heart of everything
What CMOs have always known is that brands build value and customers drive growth. The Marketing Society Manifesto states that: Bold marketing leaders sense what customers want and find new and better ways to respond: profitably and competitively.

Jill McDonald, former CMO McDonalds, now CEO, Halfords recently spoke to our members about the importance of customers as a beacon for CMOs. She said: “Always understand your customers better than the competition (it’s as much a competitive weapon as having great manufacturing capability) and use that to influence the rest of the business.”

Another former marking director and now chairman of Fitness First, Andy Cosslett, echoed this, telling members: “There’s a need to have someone at the heart of the business who instinctively understands the brand and the customer.”

Better together
Digital transformation also means lines are blurring, around brands, around companies, around relationships, around roles.  What CMOs are really good at is persuasion and I’d like to encourage them to harness these talents to make the world a better place.

So adding to the list at the beginning of this article, this about the CMO as strategic activist. This is about collaborating with causes and needs, this is about understanding citizens as well as consumers. It’s about marketing for good.

Follow her @gemmahgreaves

This report appeared in 'The Future CMO' supplement in print in The Times on 5 September 2016. It also appears on The Raconteur's site here.