B2B Marketing’s

 latest research

 has highlighted how CMOs will be crucial in guiding B2B businesses throughout the pandemic and beyond. 

The research concluded that B2B businesses are shifting towards a marketing-led model overseen by a CMO with a commercial-mindset. The CMO role is already evolving to include growth responsibilities for 39% of respondents’ organisations, although it remains an emerging role. Some 28% of marketers believe the CMO currently has equal influence to other C-suite members but 90% believe this will grow significantly by 2030.

The report also warns businesses of the risk of focusing purely on sales and short term goals, when they should be focusing on a customer-driven environment for further engagement and growth. 

Some other key findings from the report included:

• 61% of B2B organisations have a CMO or equivalent in place, with more (7%) expecting to do so soon.
•  The top three areas of a CMO’s focus will be: value growth, customer experience and brand development by 2030.
• Covid-19 has accelerated the pace of transformation, forcing organisations to re-evaluate and create solid strategies to build and retain customer relationships and react to changing priorities.

The research was commissioned by integrated B2B agency The Marketing Pod, working with B2B Marketing to survey 140+ senior marketers and conduct in-depth interviews with CMOs or equivalents at B2B organisations during March 2020. 

Jodie Williams, co-founder and director of The Marketing Pod, said: “The CMO’s remit is expanding far beyond what has traditionally been thought of as marketing. It has never been more important for firms to have their finger firmly on the customer’s pulse, and marketing is perfectly placed to provide a 360 degree view of attitudes, needs, behaviour and the wider marketplace.  Armed with this knowledge, the CMO role and influence is expanding as recognition grows that revenue and growth are intrinsically linked to a deep understanding of customer attitudes.

“Covid-19 has increased the pace of change towards businesses becoming marketing-led. To pull through the pandemic and succeed, businesses are realising that short-term, sales-focused tactics may not be enough. Organisations are swiftly shifting to customer-centric strategies, focusing as much on engagement and retention as acquisition. This research shows that tomorrow’s CMO will spearhead this approach from the boardroom and bring together teams across the business to secure value growth and succeed.”