Beyond marketing: CMOs redefine their strategic role in business

Just over three years ago, I took on the role of chief marketing officer (CMO) at the semiconductor manufacturer onsemi to lead the restructuring of the company and reformulate the marketing team from scratch.

One thing I soon realized was that the sector only acted as a marketing communications team, without any strategic focus to build an excellent brand identity and generate demand for business growth. I needed to make profound transformations in our marketing organization.

One of the sector's main challenges was to become a growth engine for the company. Faced with a lot of outdated marketing technologies and a lack of governance, many leads were left aside, which resulted in lost sales opportunities.

It was clear what I should do: define the company's vision, establish a solid marketing technology to support that vision, hire high-level talent, train the already formed team, develop a set of efficient marketing strategies and define new marketing criteria. success.

CMOs REINVENTED

My challenges at onsemi are no different from those faced by many CMOs in today's dynamic market, in which the reinvented marketing director needs to deal with a multifaceted reality, made up of customers and digital interactions, among others – which marks a significant change in traditional logic marketing, which used to focus more on brand management.

The task of CMOs is not restricted to implementing changes in teams; It also includes a constant reinvention of your role within the organization and the executive board. This change reflects a broader transformation in the area, in which the role of the CMO expanded and began to include new responsibilities.

B2C companies took advantage of generative AI and knew how to guide the customer step by step in the digital environment.

With successive changes in market dynamics, transformations in customer expectations and the rise of digital interactions, CMOs are being the first to identify business trends. They are also demonstrating how marketing can strengthen brand equity. This includes customer engagement, which contributes to the company's success.

It is for this reason that CMOs must expand their area of ​​activity beyond the main functions related to marketing. They deal with a wide range of goals, ranging from strategies related to digital experience to customer experience, including the formation of the organization's core values.

Additionally, CMOs are proposing more digital transformation and AI initiatives to adapt to the expectations of customers seeking increasingly personalized experiences. With this, they gather valuable information to optimize the management of leads and business management.

Due to this broader competence, the evaluation of CMOs has become indispensable for boards of directors. They offer a more detailed understanding of the company's marketing functions, growth strategies, and social and environmental contributions.

In this way, CMOs are gaining a more prominent role in the C-suite, which includes refining brand messaging and driving business strategy, as well as cultivating customer relationships and discovering new growth opportunities.

INSPIRATION FROM B2C PROFESSIONALS

Faced with a scenario of constant transformation and the need to boost growth even further, company CMOs business-to-business (B2B) are looking at companies like business-to-consumer (B2C) to seek inspiration and discover different, innovative approaches.

Even though the marketing activities of B2B and B2C companies are different in terms of target audience, customer engagement and purchasing decision processes, important lessons can be drawn from B2C marketing strategies – for example, adopting strategies such as the use of digital platforms and personalization.

CMOs have a more detailed understanding of the company's marketing functions and growth strategies.

B2C companies were pioneers in the area of ​​digital personalization. They took advantage of generative AI technology and knew how to guide the customer completely step by step in the digital environment, from the initial discovery and engagement stage to the transaction and post-purchase stage.

On the other hand, many B2B companies are still in their infancy in the digital area. In general, they still rely on call centers traditional and internal sales to expand their opportunities, instead of implementing fully digital information exchange through the use of AI.

Furthermore, B2C companies have a greater understanding of each customer’s profile and their behavior. This way, they can personalize recommendations according to individual preferences and previous interactions.

Although B2B companies are developing their own personalization tactics, they need to face the difficult challenge of coordinating different collaborators in the purchasing process.

At the end of the day, marketing executives, whether B2B or B2C, are responsible for generating demand and maintaining brand reputation. These are the main functions of marketing activity.

However, with the advent of artificial intelligence and the emergence of new technologies, the role of the CMO is about to grow even further. What we are seeing now is just the beginning of the many transformations we will witness over the next 10 years.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Felicity Carson is chief marketing officer at technology company onsemi. find out more

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