What does it take to become a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)? According to new research from Deloitte in the UK, gaining insight into the thoughts, experiences, behaviors, and activities of CMOs is crucial. This comprehensive study compares CMOs with senior marketing executives (SMEs) to uncover key factors for achieving success in the CMO role. Learn how to excel as a CMO with these valuable insights.
Redefining the Role of Chief Marketing Officers: Visionaries, Strategists, and Enterprise Leaders
In today's dynamic business environment, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are no longer just visionaries and strategists for an organization’s marketing efforts. Their role now encompasses a wider scope than ever before. Increased expectations from other C-suite leaders, budget constraints, digital transformation, and evolving customer preferences have transformed the CMO from a department head to an enterprise business leader. Delivering elevated customer experiences requires effective coordination across all functions of the business. As custodians of the customer experience, CMOs must exert responsibility and material influence across the entire organization. Positioned at the intersection of consumer behavior, technological innovation, and human storytelling, CMOs need to be at the forefront of these changes.
Enhancing CMOs' Leadership Capabilities
This research aims to help CMOs understand how they compare with their peers and guide senior marketing leaders on what they need to do differently as they transition to the top role and the C-suite. The study explores critical topics related to leading your board, leading your colleagues and team, and leading yourself. The report examines how CMOs and senior marketing executives (SMEs) compare in their behavior, activities, and experiences, providing valuable insights into becoming a successful CMO and leader.
Methodology
The study was conducted by Deloitte UK during October-November 2023 and surveyed 38 Chief Marketing Officers and 34 senior marketing executives in the United Kingdom. The respondents had a wide range of experience, with half having 11 or more years in marketing, and nearly a quarter of the CMOs having more than 20 years. The survey covered organizations across six key industries: Consumer; Energy, Resources & Industrials; Government & Public Services; Life Sciences & Health Care; Professional Services; and Technology, Media & Telecommunications. Annual revenues of the organizations ranged from less than €5.8 million to more than €58.2 billion and included a mix of B2B and B2C companies.
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Trend 1: Senior marketing leaders building influence with soft skills
Modern marketing leaders finds themselves as the vanguard of corporate leadership and collaboration. As custodians of their organisation’s narrative, they collaborate not only with their marketing colleagues, but with colleagues throughout their organisation. Soft skills, rather than technical skills, have emerged as the key currency for marketing leaders – and are essential for effective cross-functional collaboration.
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Trend 1: Senior marketing leaders building influence with soft skills
Modern marketing leaders finds themselves as the vanguard of corporate leadership and collaboration. As custodians of their organisation’s narrative, they collaborate not only with their marketing colleagues, but with colleagues throughout their organisation. Soft skills, rather than technical skills, have emerged as the key currency for marketing leaders – and are essential for effective cross-functional collaboration.
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Trend 2: The evolving role of marketing leaders
From navigating digital transformation to changing ESG policies or the increasing impact of generative AI, marketing leaders need to be able to respond quickly and dynamically. Understanding the most pressing issues for CMOs provides invaluable insight into what is important today and what will be critical tomorrow.
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Trend 2: The evolving role of marketing leaders
From navigating digital transformation to changing ESG policies or the increasing impact of generative AI, marketing leaders need to be able to respond quickly and dynamically. Understanding the most pressing issues for CMOs provides invaluable insight into what is important today and what will be critical tomorrow.
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Trend 3: Striving for success: the path to becoming a CMO
Senior marketing leaders face many challenges and obstacles as they strive for the role of CMO. Providing unique and deep insight into the personal experiences of both senior marketing executives and CMOs, our research reveals the specific challenges encountered and provides advice for career development. Today’s marketing leaders need to make the right connections, navigate the potential pitfalls of self-doubt and develop the right skills and traits the role of CMO requires. Once they have achieved the position CMOs need to stay on top with essential behaviours and strive for a healthy work-life balance – often not an easy task.
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Trend 3: Striving for success: the path to becoming a CMO
Senior marketing leaders face many challenges and obstacles as they strive for the role of CMO. Providing unique and deep insight into the personal experiences of both senior marketing executives and CMOs, our research reveals the specific challenges encountered and provides advice for career development. Today’s marketing leaders need to make the right connections, navigate the potential pitfalls of self-doubt and develop the right skills and traits the role of CMO requires. Once they have achieved the position CMOs need to stay on top with essential behaviours and strive for a healthy work-life balance – often not an easy task.
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Kasia Blicharz
Kasia is a partner in Advertising, Marketing and Commerce practice with focus on Consumer and Retail. She has 20 years experience in digital, data and marketing. She has worked with some of the leading FMCGs around embedding tech, making sense of data, instilling digital first culture and helping to create robust marketing organizations. Her passion is helping to translate and elevate human experiences into daily work of organizations. Her leading role in AM&C is helping clients to elevate their customer experiences through defining and building digital capabilities and way of working to execute on this. Typically this involves new digital and marketing strategies, technology (customer data, marketing automation, ecommerce tooling), content (brand strategy, UX/UI design, campaign content) and operating model components (governance set-up, make/buy/partner decisions, skill building and organization restructuring).