What are the Best Career Paths for Marketers with the CMO Position Under Threat?

Many top brands have recently done away with the Chief Marketing Officer position. Why is this happening? How does this impact your marketing careerOpens a new window path? We decided to find out.

Marketers are at a crossroads in their careers with the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) position seemingly under threat. While some brands are doing away with the CMO position altogether, others are making strategic changes to their organization structures.

Let’s first look at a few stats and facts:

• According to a study by the Korn Ferry InstituteOpens a new window , a CMO’s average tenure is the lowest among C-suite titles, at an average of 4.1 years.
• 70% of Fortune 500 companies have a CMO, down from 74% in 2009, according to executive search firm, Spencer StuartOpens a new window .
• Several big names such as Johnson & Johnson, Uber, Lyft, Beam Suntory, Taco Bell, Hyatt Hotels, etc. have recently done away with the CMO position, reports AdAgeOpens a new window .
   

Why Are Organizations Eliminating the CMO Position?

Consumers now have far more choices and a little less patience, leading to higher expectations from brands. Organizations recognize the need to be customer-centric to deliver exceptional customer experiences. To keep up with this need, they have introduced positions such as Chief Customer Officer, Chief Experience Officer, Chief Digital Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, etc. with targeted responsibilities for each.

Learn More: What’s Going to Keep CMOs Awake at Night in 2019Opens a new window

Let’s discuss some factors driving these changes.

1. Customer Experience Matters More Than Ever
 

Traditionally, the CMO was responsible for market research, product feasibility, advertising, and brand management. But today’s marketer must go beyond push marketing and make an impact on prospects or customers even before they think of buying the product. Consumers today research and review products (or services), trust their social circle more than advertisements, expect engaging experiences and exceptional service(s) before they make a purchase. Hence marketers must create experiences that are engaging and can win customers’ loyalty and trust.

Learn More:

Customer Experience (CX) Specialist: Key Role, Skill Set And Job DescriptionOpens a new window

2. Digital Transformation Takes the Lead
 

A pivotal element of the customer experience journey is digitization, which has enabled customers to access a wealth of knowledge before making a purchase decision. The purchase process has thus become more complicated and scattered.

Marketers are now responsible for gathering customer dataOpens a new window to improve personalization, using analytics, equipping themselves with the latest technology that can ease and streamline the processes, and following latest trends (for example: customers’ favorite platforms), etc. to devise an effective strategy.

3. Creativity Meets Growth
 

Today’s CMOs juggle the responsibilities of customer acquisition and revenue management. To acquire customers, they must adopt the latest trends, brainstorm for innovative ideas, and create immersive and emotional experiences — all this without impacting the bottom line. So a CMO has the responsibility of being a revenue generatorOpens a new window and not a cost center.

Phew!

Integration Is the Key to Success
 

Also, a CMO’s role requires integration and communication with various business processesOpens a new window like sales and customer service, across all physical and digital channels. Moreover, a holistic view of the customer can only be generated by integrating data across channels and touchpoints. Marketing can no longer operate in silos and needs to work in collaboration with teams across business verticals.

Learn More: The Changing Role of the CMO: Collaboration will be a Catalyst for Change in 2019Opens a new window

How Does a CMO’s Marketing Career Path Look Like, Today?

This shift is a golden opportunity for marketers to evolve and better fit the organizational needs. Here is what your marketing career path could look like.

Marketing Career Path 1
 

You can expand your skillsetOpens a new window to embrace more valuable responsibilities. You can start with:

• Participating in projects that involve managing customer experiences and customer services, product planning, financial planning, revenue assessment, digital transformation, etc. to understand how things operate at the grass-root level.
• Enrolling yourself in courses to learn about the latest tools and technologies that are important for digitization, streamlining business operations, and understanding customers.
• Conduct a Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats (SWOT) analysis to learn more about your competition and customer expectations. This will help you bring together your creativity and analytical skills to balance customer acquisition and revenue growth.
   

Marketing Career Path 2

You could also specialize in an area of expertise which best fits your strengths. For instance, if your strength is Customer Experience (CX), you can present yourself as a CX specialist to move to a new role — CXO. If technology is your forte, you can prep for the Digital Officer role.

A marketer’s role can never be truly eliminated from an organization; it will, however, evolve to take on new titles with added responsibilities. You need to identify what your strengths and passions are and tweak your marketing career path accordingly.

Which marketing career path would you like you go down in the future? Tell us on TwitterOpens a new window or LinkedInOpens a new window or FacebookOpens a new window ; we’re always listening!