Today marks Grumpy Cat’s birthday. However, the crabby tabby meme sensation isn’t the only one feeling grouchy lately. Increased responsibility to generate revenue can leave CMOs feeling stressed, too. Actually, 53% of CMOs say digital marketing growth makes them more accountable for raising revenue, according to the “Bridging the Digital Divide: How CMOs Can Rise to Meet Five Expanding Expectations” report by Deloitte and Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud. And the challenges don’t end there. Fifty-two percent of marketing heads surveyed have a greater need for data and analytics personnel, and 43% have an increased ownership of customer-facing teams and channels.
However, not all CMOs are prepared to take on these challenges. According to the report, 32% of CMOs feel the least prepared for fulfilling their growing need for data and analytics personnel. Furthermore, 23% of CMOs feel unprepared for their enhanced customer service role, and 18% aren’t ready for their expanded ownership of internal function alignment.
Yet, marketers aren’t scaredy-cats when it comes to outlining their 2014 objectives. Data acquisition (61%), testing and optimization (60%), and agile marketing processes (59%) are CMOs’ top three internal marketing priorities for 2014. As for external priorities, CMOs are focusing on customer acquisition (52%), personalized experiences (51%), and customer engagement (51%).
But to really be the cat’s meow, CMOs will have to focus on real-time marketing that delivers real results. In fact, 50% of CMOs surveyed plan to focus on Web personalization and 43% plan to focus on marketing automation. And according to the report, return on investment (53%), engagement rates (42%), and conversion rates (39%) are three of the top ways CMOs currently measure success.
Photography by Christopher Barr
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