What is a CMO?
The CMO ( C hief Marketing Of ficer or Director of Marketing, in Spanish) is the executive responsible for projecting, coordinating and supervising all the marketing and advertising initiatives and strategies of a company, reporting directly to the CEO or general director.
Its main mission is to promote the growth of the company, increasing sales and brand awareness through the development of a 360º Marketing plan .
Above him is the CEO of the company, or Chief Executive Officer, as we explained in the definition, the maximum person in charge to whom the CMO must propose its strategy and subsequently report the results obtained after carrying out the Marketing plan of the company. business.
Among the functions of a CMO are to increase brand recognition, detect market opportunities, implement product development strategies, stimulate sales, coordinate advertising campaigns and public relations management, communication channels and the customer service.
The work of Chief Marketing Officer entails facing challenges and constant challenges , in order to achieve the company's objectives. Quick problem solving and internal communication management are necessary skills for a person who wants to fill this position.
2 Benefits that the figure of the CMO brings to a company
Beyond designing the marketing plan, in addition to establishing a control system for compliance, having a marketing director in a company provides these 2 great benefits:
» Create synergies between all departments
One of the characteristics that all successful companies share is the coordination and involvement of all departments in the development of their daily activity .
As a marketing manager, you must ensure that all the tasks carried out by the different departments of the company are customer-oriented. And the objectives that each member of the company's team must meet must be customer-centric.
» Find the competitive advantage of the sector where the company is located
The speed with which the markets change means that companies have a response capacity to match the circumstances. This is something you must do constantly, looking for strategic actions that lead to success for the company.
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What does a CMO or Chief Marketing Officer do in a company?
We have already seen what the acronym stands for, but what does a marketing director really do on a day-to-day basis?
In addition to continuously recycling at the training level, adapting to market trends, a Chief Marketing Officer must carry out all these functions.
Increase company sales
This should be the priority objective of the marketing director . In defining and designing his strategy, he has to include this goal as the most important of all.
Because, no matter how well the strategy is done, and no matter how much budget you allocate to achieve each of the objectives, if there are no sales there is nothing to do.
Therefore, communication between the CMO and the sales manager must be very fluid, and both must walk in the same direction. This is the only way to achieve better results within the company.
Analyze the results
Interpreting data, customer feedback and different statistics to improve strategies is part of his job.
And not only must you be aware of the final results, but you also have to constantly monitor the evolution of the fulfillment of the objectives , in order to make the appropriate decisions in the face of any unforeseen event that may arise.
Good communication management
A good communication strategy is vital for the success of any strategy, both externally and internally.
He is responsible for the communication strategies that speak to the client of the brand, but at the same time he has the task of transmitting these strategies to the rest of the company's departments.
Manage the marketing budget
It is in charge of the management of the marketing budget that must be approved by the CEO. The marketing plan is focused on achieving a return on investment .
All the actions of this plan must be evaluated by the CMO through KPIs , to control that the ROI is as expected.
Make innovative proposals
Innovation is closely linked to the frenetic changes that we experience every day on the Internet. The fierce competition out there forces us to break with the usual in order to reach the heart of the audience.
When there is a high budget at stake, it is difficult to have the courage and security to innovate with marketing actions . And a Chief Marketing Officer has to face that risk.
The marketing director also has to manage his own department, adapting it to new technologies to continuously improve performance. Therefore, he has to know perfectly the needs presented by his own department.
» You may be interested in reading:
What is competitive intelligence?
How to improve your brand positioning?
What are the skills a CMO should have?
The pressure to which a marketing director is subjected makes it necessary to have a series of skills that keep him calm, and with a steady hand to make quick decisions.
Let's take a closer look at the most outstanding skills that a Chief Marketing Officer should have.
resolution capacity
You have to be a decisive person. Materializing a marketing plan means bringing a creative project to life, and this is always full of unforeseen events that require quick responses. Therefore, you have to look at them with perspective and propose solutions .
Correct management of pressure together with a good resolution capacity, make the CMO capable of turning around a situation that does not favor good results for the company.
Communication and active listening
Knowing how to transmit an idea to the different departments of a company requires great communication skills. 360º marketing strategies influence all company departments, which is why good internal communication is essential.
In addition, this communication must be bidirectional, since effective strategies cannot be defined without listening to all the people who are part of these departments who also need to be involved in these strategies.
empathic leadership
He is responsible for a very large team of people whom he must coordinate to achieve the company's objectives. Motivating, inspiring and creating a good work environment are actions that are part of their functions, so it will be important for this type of profile to have soft skills .
Empathy is a fundamental value for any senior position in a company, since understanding the rest of the team members, and taking them into account when creating a strategy, promotes better performance for all.
It is not only about giving instructions, the marketing director must also communicate successes and make everyone feel part of a team.
Learning capacity
Marketing trends change almost constantly, and designing effective strategies requires staying up to date and learning about everything new. Technology advances, and there are more and more ways to optimize processes and improve results.
For this reason, the Chief Marketing Officer must anticipate Photo Editing Services these changes and be in a constant learning process . A curious and non-conformist person with a desire to learn from their work environment is the ideal profile for this position.
financial knowledge
The numbers are the numbers, and all the functions of the CMO must have an impact on the improvement of the financial results of the company.
Therefore, knowing how to numerically justify the different marketing actions , explaining to the CEO how they will affect profits, is an essential quality.
conclusion
Today we have seen what a CMO is in a company, a person with the responsibility of leading the company where they carry out their tasks to success, or failure.
The rapid changes that we live on the Internet and the relentless competition that we encounter every day, means that companies have to constantly reinvent themselves.