EssenceMediacom, GroupM’s media agency, has launched its new report ‘The CMO Coming of Age Story: How digital transformation has elevated marketing to a C-suite growth driver’. According to the agency, the report is based on a global study of 188 senior business-to-business (B2B) marketing leaders in companies with a revenue of at least $250 million, identified an increasingly complex set of requirements for this role.
The report highlights that almost 90% of marketing leaders surveyed said their role has become more complex as the requirements of the role and necessary skill set expanded.
Talking about the report, Nick Lawson, global CEO, EssenceMediacom, said, “I am extremely proud of our first of its kind CMO survey, which underscores the pivotal role of marketing in driving growth and digital transformation in the B2B landscape. This work is a testament to our commitment to delivering breakthroughs for brands in the new communications economy. Emphasising our role in reshaping the B2B marketing playbook and supporting all CMOs in their journey to orchestrate a multifunctional growth engine within their organisations.”
As per the report, nearly two-thirds (62%) said the customer experience has shifted from sales-owned to marketing owned. Marketing departments need to understand the full picture of the customer at each stage of their lifecycle with the business. To meet these demands, marketers need 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.
Additionally, 80% of respondents stress the growing significance of customer centricity, surpassing ROI as today’s B2B customer expects experiences tailored to their needs. While organisations may understand the importance of customer centricity, few are able to support their marketing departments in delivering it. The second biggest global challenge for marketers (number one in the US and APAC) is understanding buyer needs because only half say their organisations prioritise sharing audience data, while less than a quarter utilise AI to understand, segment and target buyers.
“Today, CMOs must navigate three core challenges as they become what we’re terming ‘Growth Orchestrators’ within their organisations. These include the reality that marketing departments often outpace their organisations and must use this opportunity to drive cross-organisational innovation; the rising importance of delivering customer-centric experiences to the B2B buyer; and the need to rewrite the rulebook as marketers face increasingly complex ecosystems for gaining buyer attention. To support the CMO in this effort, organisations must rally behind this vision of marketing-driven growth and lean on the CMOs’ expanding remit and cross-functional influence to unlock new unprecedented business outcomes,” Kristin Gower, global B2B president, EssenceMediacom, added.
Furthermore, as the role of the CMO expands, their toolkit and skills must evolve. However, many still rely on outdated B2B marketing approaches that don’t align with today’s dynamic market.
The survey results further revealed content development and distribution as a core marketing responsibility, second to measurement. This highlighted the increased need for captivating content across the customer journey. To support this demand, marketers are leveraging data and technology, with 60% using generative AI for content development.
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