I read an article last week about UPS. UPS or United Parcel Service, Inc. is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907—per Wikipedia. It is a Fortune 500 company and one of the world’s largest shipping couriers. UPS recently replaced the CMO role with the Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer.
To tell you the truth, I’m not sure whether they completely lost trust in the CMO, completely unaware of the actual role of the CMO or the reason could be something else. But one thing is for sure, the role is now scrapped. Personally, I disagree with the decision. Only time will tell whether the decision made here is right or wrong.
UPS should’ve realised that CMOs are not just about brand awareness, marketing products and services and generating revenues. The role has evolved—in a big way. Brands across the globe are now hiring the right CMOs whom they wish to tap into their insights to gain a deeper understanding beyond marketing.
UPS should’ve realised that CMOs now are playing a crucial role in connecting almost all dots within the business and marketing spectrum, from understanding the market trends, customer understanding and behaviour, internal processes, products and services quality as well as the user experience, and come up with a solution of what it really takes to make the business succeed. This shift highlights the growing influence of marketing leaders in shaping their organisation’s direction.
The shift in CMO responsibilities
The role of the chief marketing officer is undergoing a profound transformation. Once primarily focused on the management of the brand, marketing and advertising, CMOs are now emerging as strategic business drivers. The driving force behind this shift is the rapidly changing dynamics of the market, the widespread implementation of technology within the organisation and the heightened demand for in-depth customer insights.
Today’s marketing extends far beyond initial customer engagement; it encompasses setting the initial perceptions of potential customers, amplifying customer success stories, guiding customers through their journey and maintaining long-term relationships.
This comprehensive marketing approach requires a deep understanding of customer lives—even those who churn—and necessitates close collaboration with customer success teams, sales and product development. It’s a strategy that places the CMO at the heart of customer interaction and business growth. Such transformations exemplify the expanding influence of CMOs in shaping business outcomes and driving growth.
Strategic insights from marketing
Modern marketing departments are uniquely positioned to provide invaluable insights into customer behaviour and market trends. This capability stems from their ability to project product visions into the future, deeply understand the day-to-day realities of potential customers, and create content that resonates and genuinely assists these customers. Today’s top marketers define clear paths to success for new customers and ensure they are fully leveraging the company’s offerings.
As a Marketing Strategist, I understand the importance of grasping and articulating complex ecosystems between marketing and business. This skill is crucial to be successful in modern marketing, where understanding and communicating a product’s vision is key to scaling a company organically. It’s about crafting strategies that not only capture the market’s attention but also align with the nuanced needs and behaviours of customers, driving sustainable growth and customer engagement.
Technology’s impact on marketing, business and strategy
The ecosystem of marketing technology has undergone a significant transformation, shifting the role of CMOs from traditional marketing to a technology-amplified strategy. This change began around two decades ago and has accelerated with advancements in tech, designed to streamline processes and reduce dependency on traditional IT and engineering teams.
Today, the most successful CMOs are frequently individuals who possess a strong tech background and exhibit systematic thinking. This mirrors a larger trend that has emerged across roles and industries.
The integration of AI, machine learning and other cutting-edge technologies has been pivotal in reshaping marketing strategies. Not only do these tools increase customer engagement and personalisation, but they also offer invaluable data-driven insights that greatly contribute to strategic decision-making across the entire organisation.
As marketing becomes increasingly technology-centric, CMOs are required to possess not just creativity and branding expertise but also a deep understanding of technological applications in marketing, making them indispensable in formulating corporate strategies.
Find a strategist, we will get a great CMO
CMOs are transforming into key strategic advisors to CEOs and other C-suites. This advisory role extends beyond industry trends, consumer behaviour, marketing strategies, business strategies and technology. It’s about integrating them all. Only a Marketing Strategist can do this. This is the very reason why we must avoid hiring a marketer with a silos marketing background as the CMO. It will lead to a complete disaster.
CEOs are increasingly investing in finding the right CMOs, not just for marketing expertise but for their strategic insights into customer experiences and market trends. This is critical to the business because it needs to match the customer’s expectations. The role of a CMO today involves providing a comprehensive view of the market, anticipating shifts and understanding customer dynamics.
This strategic perspective is crucial for companies, especially in middle-market and public sectors where understanding customer life and market movements is key to maintaining a competitive edge and scaling the company.
The overlap of marketing and business strategy
Skills honed in the marketing arena, such as understanding complex technologies and market trends, are now integral to business strategy. Through my professional growth, I’ve learned that marketing vision and an understanding of technology overlap with medium-term and long-term business growth.
Top CMOs are already pivotal in driving top-line growth, having profit and loss responsibility, and exerting a strong influence over business planning. Growth-oriented organizations are now placing greater reliance on their CMO to indirectly assume the role of Chief Strategy Officer.
This trend is particularly pronounced in fast-growing B2B middle-market companies where building customer relationships and securing loyalty are paramount to sustainable growth. Consequently, CEOs treat the CMO as a trusted advisor in the company’s growth trajectory, reflecting the critical role of marketing in shaping and executing corporate strategy.
To recap
Now you’re able to see that the role of chief marketing officer is rapidly evolving, becoming increasingly central to overall business strategy. As the trend continues to change, CMOs must adapt and expand their roles and skills, embracing new technologies and market dynamics.
Adapting to the changing role of the CMO requires intentional steps toward expanding our strategic acumen. A practical approach I wish to recommend is to find the right marketing strategist for the journey. Furthermore, having active conversations with fellow industry players and the marketing leadership community can provide a platform for exchanging ideas on business strategy evolution and mutual support in making the journey successful.
