Whilst it might be certain that digital transformation will emerge as an imminent priority, it is shocking to see that only 44% of business leaders indicate that they work for companies where digital disruption is a board-level concern.
As old-guard CMOs are seized by the millennial, this could be a case of them having the wrong marketing representation on the board.
Enhancing CMO skills (and influence)
CMOs undeniably have the unique role of being able to deliver technical knowhow instantly, as well as the ability to anticipate consumer trends quickly, but is evolving technology making it pointless to enhance these skills?
The demands of leaner, faster technology means that the skillsets held by CMOs need to evolve. An understanding of the marketing technology industry, as well as the insights and analytics that are provided from it, will place them in a position to demand greater injections of investment when it comes to new budget allocation, providing major innovation and best-in-class technologies across more categories than ever before.
From personalisation tools to intuitive CRM databases, the millennial CMO will be able to leverage their functionality to do more with less, easily.
The speed to market and ROI that these technologies can afford will give those willing to embrace it more in terms of interest, revenue and data, enabling CMOs to prove marketing’s real value to the business and ensuring an even greater role for the CMO within organisations – particularly when it comes to customer experience.
No place for the old guard
This new world, while generating rich pickings for the modern-day marketer, affords no place for the old-school CMO.
The new generation of marketers are digital natives, and getting ‘up-to-date’ with today’s tech-savvy trends is ingrained in their makeup. The millennial CMO is much more likely to be plugged in and switched on to the changes in consumer habits and technology that are accelerating the need for transformation.
With Millennial CMOs becoming well versed in the strategic rationale for technology, we believe that transforming organisations to become digital-first won’t be seen as an ‘option’ going forth, but rather a ‘necessity’. New CMOs will implement technology throughout organisations to ensure an impact on the whole business, which will ultimately put them in a very strong position between the theorists and the technical experts on the IT team.
By proving marketing’s real value back to the business, millennial CMOs will be in a position to push consumer tech trends across their business and drive change in agendas.
Businesses will consolidate their marketing platforms
To date, we see marketing departments performing more strongly than ever. They are leaner, faster and more effective in engaging and converting target audiences. With an increase in consumer expectations within the last two years, largely down to the variety of different digital platforms now available, this shows no signs of relenting.
At the start of the year, Squiz predicted that the growing number of marketing technology platforms available would drive consolidation over the next three years as people try to integrate the systems in an attempt to provide seamless experiences.
Going forward, businesses must adapt to this ‘new world’ by ensuring that they are truly digital in every aspect.
This will mean that brands will be managing multiple campaigns across numerous platforms and channels, and CMOs will need to understand the role that each one is playing in their marketing strategy.
Such an approach will ensure that all insights delivered by each channel are being integrated so to deliver a single view to the customer.
Consumers now expect every touchpoint to be seamless, relevant and effortless, whether they’re using a smartphone, tablet or laptop. This ultimately means that digital is far from an update or an add-on – it’s the catalyst to create businesses that will thrive into the future.
