Andy De is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of MedeAnalytics headquartered in Richardson, TX.
Getty
According to a study by Spencer Stuart on chief marketing officer (CMO) tenure, the average CMO tenure is remarkably low at 40 months, with median tenure at 28 months—and critically is less than half the tenure of CEOs at 85 months. This is often attributed to the CMO’s inability to demonstrate with facts and irrefutable analytics and insights the tangible value and return on investment (ROI) delivered by marketing.
The relatively short tenure of CMOs may be exacerbated by the paradigm shift facing marketing, education, legal and software development today—for example, the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT and Bard.
Besides leading the marketing functions as a people leader, what other attributes do unicorn CMOs need to demonstrate to thrive and succeed today?
Here is a compelling list of 10 attributes that the unicorn CMO needs to possess to be competitive going forward:
1. Technology And Industry Visionary
The unicorn CMO needs to be an industry visionary who can recognize inflection points in the technology landscape specific to the industries that the company is focused on, in order to identify addressable market opportunities before they happen.
2. Industry-Recognized Thought Leader
Unicorn CMOs are those who have earned recognition as industry thought leaders with a credible and compelling pedigree of “earned” and original publications (not paid or ghostwritten) in leading industry journals, on podcasts and at invited speaking opportunities at industry events and conferences.
3. Chief Strategy Officer
Most small to medium-sized companies do not have a chief strategy officer (CSO), a role that the unicorn CMO should fill in, given their prowess as a technology and industry visionary and thought leader, with a clear, compelling and executable innovation and go-to-market (GTM) strategy to win “share of mind and market” against the competition.
4. Evangelist Extraordinaire
Having the CEO and the chief product officer (CPO)/chief technology officer (CTO) evangelize regarding the company and its innovations is a given but not sufficient. The unicorn CMO needs to be a key member of the CEO/CPO/CTO/CMO quad evangelizing about the company and its vision, strategy, direction and innovation blueprint to investors, analysts, prospects, press and media.
5. Innovation Influencer
Many product organizations tend to be driven by customer requirements, with priority allocated to the customers with the loudest voice. The unicorn CMO, given their insights into the undulating technology and industry landscape, should influence the innovation blueprint and road map based on an outside-in perspective on what the customer needs even before they know it themselves.
6. Chief Customer Advocacy Officer
The unicorn CMO must transform into an advocate for the customer, with a deep understanding of their unmet needs and, most of all, by developing deep personal relationships, which will be a critical success factor that will stand the test of time.
7. Chief Value Officer
The unicorn CMO builds a brand predicated on the tangible and quantified value delivered to customers and how they have deployed these solutions (your product plus services plus their best practices) to deliver value to their organizations and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Not only that, but they will also be analytics- and insights-driven and articulate the value (return on marketing investment, or ROMI) delivered by every initiative, campaign, event or deliverable in unequivocal terms, assuring credibility for the marketing function and leadership.
8. Chief Storyteller
The most enduring leadership that we have witnessed, from Mahatma Gandhi to Steve Jobs, is based on stories and narratives that are visceral and resonate with their target audience. The unicorn CMO needs to morph into the chief storyteller for the organization, articulating heartfelt stories of how their customers have transformed their businesses and in doing so, made a difference to the world. They can do this with a value-based narrative that is credible, connects with the audience, is memorable, bolsters the brand value of the company and becomes an inextricable part of the company’s folklore.
9. Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Champion
The most enduring brands and companies are those that seek to address a higher purpose that is far bigger than shareholder value and profits. It is incumbent on the unicorn CMO to find a higher purpose that the company and brand can address through its offerings and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and fund initiatives and programs to make this happen in a very tangible way. This will help bolster the company’s brand value for its customers, employees and shareholders while impacting the lives of individuals across the world.
10. Persuasive Change Leader
Many CMOs today are little more than the CEO’s and chief revenue officer (CRO)’s “order takers,” often because they do not have the industry and technology expertise, thought leadership, strategic competence or innovation influence to earn their rightful seat as equals at the table. The unicorn CMO who has all of these attributes is a charismatic and persuasive change leader endowed with gravitas and is a driver of the change needed on the GTM strategy, approach and execution to catapult the organization to the next level of growth, profitability and competitiveness.
I hope I have provided a compelling checklist of attributes that unicorn CMOs must meet to deliver value to their organizations today. These are competitive qualifiers that unicorns and disruptive innovators must measure their CMOs against to assure themselves of sustainable competitive advantage in this new era.
Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
