CX without a CMO: Now what?
It may not happen right away, but brands that eliminate the CMO might soon be responding to a customer experience SOS.
Since the end of last year, companies ranging from UPS and Etsy to Walgreens have all done away with their marketing leadership function, spreading those responsibilities among other C-suite members and teams.
This is significant for the customer experience (CX) community because in many organizations, CMOs are often responsible for choosing technologies and developing processes that affect the entire customer journey. This not only includes how customers discover a brand but how they engage with it across multiple touchpoints and retention tactics such as loyalty programs.
CMOs have often taken on these responsibilities in the absence of a dedicated CX team. If brands no longer choose to employ a CMO, what does that mean for metrics like customer satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and even revenue?
According to Oana Borcoman, CEO of Houston- based experience agency Evoke, said splitting up the CMO’s tasks could lead to disjoined messaging and inconsistencies in what customers experience from one department to another. She suggested CEOs and the rest of C-suite take the time necessary to understand current customer pain points and opportunities using data sources such as customer surveys.
Only once all the potential risks and impact have been mapped out can CX responsibilities be delegated to external teams based on what their focus might be, Borcoman said.
“For example, the product development team might focus on the product itself and how the customers interact with it, while the customer support team builds scripts and follow-ups that are appropriate when speaking to customers,” she said. “The IT team may focus on the point-of-sale experience, while the marketing team focuses on the messaging sent across all channels to connect to the intrinsic values of the customer.”
From CMOs to cross-functional teams?
Getting that messaging right without a marketing leader could be a tall order, however. Tricia Allen is vice-president of business development for Reticle AI, a targeting tool for advertisers that analyzes webpages and online video for emotional intent and then matches brands with ad placements. She said that successful CMOs typically have a long-term vision for the role marketing will play in overall business objectives. They also understand that cross-functional collaboration with sales, finance, operations, and technology is key to that singular vision.
“Businesses should understand the creativity CMOs apply to promoting products and bringing messaging to the public,” Allen said. “Without that vision – and without the ability of other business functions to adapt to the void left behind when a business gets rid of a CMO – it can be difficult to communicate new ideas about the direction of the company, a new initiative, or a product.”
It’s possible that in time, the pendulum could swing the other way, where CX strategy and other responsibilities will be rolled back into a central role. This could be where more chief customer officers are appointed, for example. Allen suggested a chief growth officer is another possibility, creating a hybrid of marketing and CX functions.
“Appointing a chief customer officer is certainly a viable option, but I believe there’s an alternative that could potentially be more effective,” said Laia Quintana, head of marketing and sales at online calendaring and scheduling software provider TeamUp. “(Brand could orchestrate a) team (that) would be cross-functional, pulling in members from various departments such as sales, marketing, product development, and customer support. The team could be led by a CX manager, who would report directly to the CEO or another high-level executive.
This structure ensures that the customer’s perspective is integrated into all aspects of the business without necessarily requiring a C-suite-level appointment, Quintana added.
CX hotspots to watch in the absence of a CMO
In the meantime, Borcoman advised brands to be vigilant in monitoring and analyzing the degree to which working without a CMO is hampering what customers experience on a daily basis. This can come from tracking reviews, for example, but also internal secret shopping, customer surveys, targeted customer phone calls and interviews, she said.
The insight C-suite teams need not only includes how employees are performing, Borcoman said, but also the digital aspects of CX. Webpages that aren’t loading properly or e-commerce shopping carts that slow down during transactions are just as important to address as ad spending or other traditional areas under the CMO’s purview.
“Consumers care less about perfect branding and marketing execution and more about how a brand makes them feel,” she said. “People want to feel valued, want to have easy access to things they need or want, and they want to know that what they spend money on is not only valuable to them but also does good for society as a whole.”
