How to become A Chief Marketing Officer

• Global Marketing Officer
• Global Marketing Director

What do Chief Marketing Officers do?

A Chief Marketing Officer would typically need to:

• Generate revenue by increasing sales through successful marketing
• “Listen” to the market trends and direct the company’s market research efforts
• Lead and align the teams for brand management, marketing communications, sales management, market research and marketing training, product development, distribution channel management, pricing, and customer service
• Guide a unified approach to customer service distribution that meets market demands; use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
• Define marketing strategies to support the company’s strategy and objectives
• Manage the budget and develop a feasible marketing plan for the department; oversee its day-to-day implementation
• Plan and organize marketing functions and operations; ensure they project the company’s unique “voice”
• Design and coordinate promotional campaigns, PR, and other marketing efforts across digital or press channels
• Build a highly efficient team of marketing professionals and mentor them
• Create a stable network of strategic partnerships with reliable external agencies and marketing professionals
• Set Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and report to the board on progress
• Spot opportunities in the market, drive the growth of the business, and contribute to new business development initiatives

Chief Marketing Officers typically work in a climate-controlled private office space and spend a lot of time at a computer. Travel to satellite offices and client sites is expected. The dress code is business casual unless otherwise specified.

Chief Marketing Officers keep regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You may work into the evenings, on weekends and may even take work home when facing deadlines or formulating new marketing strategies to launch in a specific timeframe.

In smaller firms, the job of a Chief Marketing Officer is usually an add-on to the marketing or communication director's duties. The majority of CMOs work in the private sector - in big businesses - those that can afford to employ someone to look after the customer experience as a priority.

CMOs are generally employed by:

• FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) Companies
• White goods manufacturers
• Industrial Goods Manufacturers
• Electronics Companies
• Information Technology Companies
• Banks
• Insurance Companies
• Communication Services
• Transportation Companies
• Energy Providers
• Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals

Professional associations and organizations are a crucial resource for Chief Marketing Officers interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation. Membership in one or more looks excellent on your resume to bolster your credentials and qualifications.

• All alone at the top with a daunting array of diverse challenges
• Outsized (and often unrealistic) expectations of brain-numbing complexity
• An environment that is not always supportive, compounded by a feeling that there is a lack of appreciation from the company
• A deep-seated sense of anxiety, vulnerability, and pessimism

Aspiring Chief Marketing Officers must have had at least ten years of working experience in a high-level marketing position for a business in a dynamic and highly competitive environment. CMOs should also demonstrate vast working experience in leadership, building brand awareness, online and offline, traditional and modern marketing, and communications functions.

A focus on probability and statistics and introductory courses to banking, marketing, and advertising would also be useful in high school. A bachelor’s degree in a business or marketing-related subject is usually required to begin your ascent up the ranks to Chief Marketing Officer. An MBA is preferred. But once you have broken into marketing, your bachelor’s degree becomes less relevant. Experience is critical here.

A voluntary certification is often seen as evidence of a Chief Marketing Officer’s drive and motivation, giving them a leg up for raises and promotions. Certification enhances a Chief Marketing Officer’s ability to influence direct change in a variety of management structures while maintaining the vision of leadership. It will sharpen their analytical and strategic planning skills.

IIMP® accredited Chartered CMMP® is globally recognized, and the highest level of marketing designation developed for professionals in the senior-most positions in the marketing departments of their organizations.

Chief Marketing Officers were not seen as Chief Executive Officer material because they had never been directly accountable for the bottom line. Until recently, the post of a Chief Marketing Officer was considered the highest possible point on the career path. In this age of digital business, a CMO who is closest to the customer is closer to business revenue and development.

Fifty-three percent of business executives polled by the Global Marketing Center said that their current CMO could one day become CEO. The next steps on the career ladder may include Chief Strategy Officer, Managing Director, and CEO.

Top executives are expected to face robust competition for jobs. The high pay and prestige associated with these positions attract many qualified applicants. Those with an advanced degree and extensive managerial experience will have the best job prospects.

Chief Marketing Officers who wish to move up the organizational ladder will need to show their prowess in interaction with different departments and business units to acquire a big-picture perspective.

They must also exhibit leadership in areas beyond marketing to help with strategic planning and bring the customer perspective into planning activities. A track record of success in moving the profit and reputation needles in a relatively short period will be advantageous.

A Chief Marketing Officer’s work is always challenging and changes with trends and seasons. CMOs today must be adept at and conversant in a variety of skills, expertise, and business understanding.

Influential Work

Chief Marketing Officers wield influence that helps move organizations, spur innovation, drive business growth, and shape the cultural narrative as never before. They partner closely with the research and development department, communications department, marketing department, sales department, and analytics department. CMOs are some of the most multidimensional, strategically savvy, creatively innovative, and challenged executives in the C-suite.

UX Design and T-shaped Marketing

CMOs find it helps to know about User Experience (UX) design. UX design is the process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences. It involves the design of the total process of acquiring and integrating the product, comprising aspects of branding, design, usability, and function. Also, proficiency in T-shaped marketing is useful for CMOs, through which they develop both breadth and depth of marketing skills. In other words, they build a foundation of general skills while also specializing in one or two particular areas of expertise, such as content marketing.

The e-Commerce customers who receive multiple abandoned shopping cart emails are 2.4 times more likely to complete the purchase than those who receive only one follow up email.

In uniquely owning the voice of the customer, Chief Marketing Officers are architecting customer experience, digital transformation, and industry innovation—even as they navigate the increasing complexities and expectations of their role.

Know the user, know the magic, and connect the two. Define and characterize the market, then develop something different, superior, and truly value-added for it.