The role of the CMO is changing — instead of just sitting back and overseeing mass marketing campaigns, the modern CMO needs to own the entire customer experience from start to finish. It can seem like an overwhelming task, but it can make a huge difference in creating a cohesive omnichannel experience for customers. CMOs have a lot of responsibilities, but there are three things they absolutely must know when they take on the new role:
1. What’s going on in the contact center. Too many CMOs aren’t familiar with the contact center, and that can lead to a poor experience for the employees and customers. CMOs must be familiar with the technology in contact centers and how it can be used to reach out to customers. By owning the entire customer experience, CMOs need to know exactly what the customer is experiencing at every step of the journey. The contact center can make or break customer experience, so CMOs must put a lot of energy here and be very familiar with what happens within its walls.
2. What’s going out and what’s coming back? Many CMOs are used to the old model of simply sending out marketing communication to customers and then moving on to the next campaign. However, many marketers are oblivious to the feedback that comes back in about their messaging and the product, especially on social media. As the leader of marketing, the CMO should always know what communication is going out to customers and what feedback is coming back. They can then take this information and share it with marketing, sales, and customer service to keep everyone on the same page about what customers are saying about the company and what each department can do to improve the overall customer experience.
3. How customers are behaving and changing. Societal trends and customer behavior are changing all the time. What was popular one day might be outdated just a few weeks or months later. CMOs must have their finger on the pulse of modern society to see trends before they hit the big time. Customer changes will undoubtedly affect the business at some point, so CMOs need to stay informed to see how trends and future projections could impact their business. CMOs need to open their eyes to see what customers value and want and how that will impact their business in the future.
The modern CMO has one of the most challenging and diverse roles in the organization. In order to coordinate a strong customer experience, they need to be aware of their surroundings, both inside and outside of the organization, to lead their teams in the right direction to meet the needs of customers.
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Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker and author of More Is More. Sign up for her weekly newsletter here.