B2B CMOs are under more pressure as AI and data make the role more complex

The role of the chief marketing officer for business-to-business brands is under massive transformation due to the rise in new technologies including generative AI and an increased need to build brands and improve the customer experience, a recent report from EssenceMediacom found. As such, B2B CMOs are under pressure to tackle new responsibilities as their jobs become increasingly complex. B2B companies are investing more in their marketing departments; 70% of the 188 global marketing executives surveyed said their budgets have increased over the last three years, with 75% of those saying the additional dollars are being funneled into data and technology, according to the report from GroupM’s EssenceMediacom. With increased investment comes increased responsibility—60% of CMOs surveyed said there is heightened scrutiny on them to prove marketing impact, per the report. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Meanwhile, these CMOs are tackling new tasks: 57% of respondents listed analytics and performance measurement as new core responsibilities of their jobs, while 45% said content development and distribution were increasingly being added to their remits. B2B CMOs are serving as the “voice of the customer” within boardrooms, with 62% of the respondents agreeing with the following: “Over the last few years, I have seen a shift from a sales-owned customer experience to a marketing-owned customer experience,” per the report. More than any other responsibility, B2B CMOs are being asked to prove marketing impact; they are being asked to drive revenue from multiple sources including customer acquisition, retention and renewal, while owning data responsibilities, the report said. CMOs must navigate three core challenges, said Kristin Gower, EssenceMediacom’s global B2B president: “marketing departments often outpace their organizations and must use this opportunity to drive cross-organizational innovation; the rising importance of delivering customer-centric experiences to the B2B buyer; and the need to rewrite the rule book as marketers face increasingly complex ecosystems for gaining buyer attention.” Brand building “Brand building is an absolutely critical facet of B2B, and increasingly so,” said John Rudaizky, global brand and marketing lead and partner for EY, the professional services firm. “I’d say 10 years ago, the brand was less important. Everyone’s grappling with technology; front and center is how that brand drives through all of the experience. Therefore, creativity remains a critical part of any CMO’s remit today; to infuse it in that changing landscape of tools, technologies and ways of engaging customers.” ‹ › × (Click image to enlarge) Credit: EssenceMediacom B2B group. "The CMO coming of age story: How digital transformation has elevated marketing to a C-suite growth driver" A majority of respondents said understanding the full customer buying journey remains a challenge as the task is increasingly complex and anonymous, and B2B companies don’t always have the tech to support it, per the report. The report said technology within B2B companies remains “disconnected across departments due to conflicting priorities and objectives” and only 10% of B2B marketers said their tech stack and performance were “mature.” It’s been a challenge for B2B marketers in general to justify to the rest of their organizations the investment in brand building, “which is a harder link back to growth" than performance marketing, which is easier to prove ROI, Rudaizky said. More news: Google launches ad measurement tool for brands “There’s often, in the B2B space, an appetite to go for the short-term return; I want to get leads, etcetera,” said Sylvain Bloche, international digital media and strategy director for Dell Technologies’ consumer-facing and B2B businesses. “Of course, you need to do that. But 67% of the customer journey happens before any sales engagement. So, if you don’t cover in that convincing process with engagement, then you’ll only be in the bottom line conversation discussing price.” Because of its consumer-facing business, Dell has a better understanding of the need for brand awareness. Bloche said the company just recently merged its brand efforts for its consumer and B2B businesses this past year; they were previously siloed. Dell’s global “Welcome to Now” campaign from VMLY&R, which came out in January, was the first creative effort from the company that spoke to the consumers and businesses it serves. Campaign spots included “Tourists,” which showed scientists instantly uploading pictures of the Great Barrier Reef using Dell technology, and “Shelves,” showing how retailers can improve the shopping experience using the company’s tech. Bloche said before integrating the brand efforts, Dell had “fragmentation, which was not really helping us. It’s a great leapfrog for us because that’s going to bring more dollars into driving more efficiency with a single message. “Branding the B2B space is super important,” he continued. “If you ask anyone on the street, ‘do you know about Dell?’ Yes, they know about Dell. ‘What is Dell doing?’ ‘Laptops, PCs.’ That’s what we’re known for. But actually, more than half of the B2B revenue is coming from infrastructure.” Embracing AI B2B companies are increasingly embracing generative AI as a cost- and time-efficient way to better target customers and serve them with more relevant content, in turn improving their experience and building brand awareness. According to the report, 60% of brand marketers are using generative AI to create content, 48% are using it to create chatbots and virtual assistants for customers, 44% are using it to eliminate repetitive tasks and 38% are using it to personalize content. Bloche said Dell has been using AI to target its consumer and business customers with more relevant content. “How do we capture all of the signals from our customers in an automated way?” he said. “First-party, third-party intent signals, behavioral targeting, you name it. How do we leverage all of that? And in terms of what's the best assets, or contents, or element of the marketing mix that we can serve that account? That part is moving pretty fast.” Rudaizky said EY is using generative AI in a forthcoming campaign, but overall the firm is still working out the use cases for it. “Like all new technologies, there’s an instant rush to say, ‘let’s try everything,’” Rudaizky said. “But the first thing is building confidence in how you can use it, what it is and what it isn’t. That’s something we’re looking at actively at the moment.” Some believe B2B companies are not adopting new technologies such as AI fast enough. According to the report, the biggest challenge for marketers in the U.S. is understanding buyer needs because “only half say their organizations prioritize sharing audience data, while less than a quarter utilize AI to understand, segment and target buyers.” More news: How CMOs plan to use AI in 2024 Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

B2B CMOs are under more pressure as AI and data make the role more complex

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