With teetering market conditions, recent developments from the COVID-19 crisis and changing customer and business expectations, chief marketing officers are facing a precarious marketing landscape in 2020, as they are called upon to bridge new customer and brand needs and manage the current health crisis.
2020 was predicted to be a tough year for CMOs around the world, even before recent events. This can be traced back to the beginning of the digital era and its impact on the role itself.
The good news is that new customer and brand expectations — instant, real-time, coordinated, personalized and data-led interactions — have led the CMO role to be transformed, from a brand-building and direct marketing boss to a generator of customer outcomes. This new and extended position involves owning everything from branding and communications to Martech investments, product innovation and operations.
The bad news, in reality, is that most CMOs haven't effectively navigated this transition.
In 2018, Forrester predicted a decline in Fortune 100 CMOs. Since then, some of the world’s most recognizable brands, including Johnson & Johnson, Lyft, McDonald's and Walmart have parted ways with their CMOs.
And according to this Forrester report, 2020 will be a critical year for those who remain, as their responsibilities have risen in importance, and they will have to prove their value in their organizations in order to thrive. This will be even more crucial, as CMOs will be called upon to deliver new approaches and results to manage the COVID-19 crisis.
In order to thrive in 2020, CMOs must foster an integrated marketing and data approach across their teams to guarantee brand consistency, deliver more connected experiences and drive customer obsession.
“You can't build, express, sell, communicate, connect or service today's brands without continuity: A company must demonstrate its brand promise everywhere. So, the CMO must establish a span of control in the name of customer value.” - Predictions 2020: CMO, Forrester Research, Inc., October 28, 2019
As CMOs lean on technology and innovation to drive growth, tech spend is on the rise and continues to take a solid chunk out of their budgets. Human ingenuity is becoming critical and Forrester advises CMOs to hone in on needs, expectations and strategy before investing in technology.
“Creativity and strategy will recalibrate the tech mess, lifting brands out of this rut and onto the growth path via emotion-laden expressions of brand personality and by using existing underlying technologies to deliver uniqueness to customers. Those that don't take this path will be lost in a sea of tech-fueled commoditization.” the Forrester Predictions 2020: CMO report says.
Download this Forrester report to learn more about what 2020 has in store for CMOs and find out what it will take to capitalize on these predictions, in order to gain a competitive edge.
- Why successful CMOs must become accountable for it all — the brand, communications, sales enablement, CX, technology selection and innovation
- How CMOs must seamlessly tailor these components to engage customers and orchestrate strategies that unite the business, drive strategic outcomes and feed long-term relationships with customers
- How to use creativity, strategy and technology to drive brand continuity and growth for your organization.
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