CMOs are gradually taking complete ownership of the customer experience, according to a global survey by Forrester and Heidrick & Struggles.
The research revealed two-thirds of CMOs now have responsibility for customer experience, with 75 per cent of those surveyed confident or very confident in their teams’ ability to meet annual business objectives.
However, although CMOs are increasingly taking charge of the customer experience, only a third of them have performance goals tied to their customers’ overall satisfaction.
Indeed, 82 per cent of CMOs report their goals are aligned to revenue targets, indicating there needs be more top-level support in setting specific performance objectives for customer satisfaction.
The fact that organisational structure and a lack of confidence in top-level support for change were cited as the main issues hindering results goes some way in supporting this theory.
Sheryl Pattek, VP, CMO executive partner at Forrester, commented: “The purview – and influence – of the chief marketing officer looks different today than even a year ago. We see CMOs moving beyond functional expertise to assume responsibility for driving overall growth within their organisations.”
She added: “They are evolving into key strategic partners on the executive team, and know that the collaboration with the rest of the c-suite will be instrumental to their success.”
