76% of CMOs say acquiring new customers is their top customer growth strategy in 2022, compared with 48% last year.
41% also say enabling a new plan for customer acquisition is a top CEO priority for them this year.
In a nutshell
57% of CMOs say they need solid campaign metrics by program to prove marketing’s value. 36% are budgeting for knowledge enhancements for marketing operations, such as marketing & digital technology platforms.
Introduction
State of the CMO | Exploring the evolving role of modern marketing leadership 2022*
The CMO’s most recent report caught my attention because it detailed a number of insights into the current state of play for marketing. The data is fascinating and broadly applicable to any organisation, which makes this an ideal read as we move towards the second half of 2022!
I spent some time reading through their findings before summarising key points in our blog post today; my thoughts are outlined below.
76%
…of CMOs say acquiring new customers is their dominant growth approach in 2022*
From COVID’s retention strategy to a strong growth strategy
As we move into the last half of 2022 we’re seeing a shift in the campaigns our clients are seeking assistance with. At the very top of the funnel (or however you choose to refer to it), there’s a renewed focus on acquisition or lead capture.
Once you capture net-new leads, you need to nurture those leads and deliver Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) to the sales team.
It’s a great time for organisations to drive their growth agenda, with markets opening or being accessible for the first time in two years,” Vanguard CMO, Louise Eyres, says in response. “Many sectors have had pent up demand that’s now in market. Having used Covid as a time to craft and refine strategies, they are now ready to be implemented.”*
To add complexity to this process, we’ve seen a great deal of movement of staff across marketing teams over the past two years. The great resignation has been real. As new members of your team have come on board over the past two years, most organisations have been laser-focused on retention.
There now needs to be a shift in thinking, a shift towards growth campaigns. This may require you to sit with the team to ensure they’re on the same page and understand the changes needed in their copy development, the segmentation needed as they build campaign audiences, where and how they spend advertising dollars and have clarity around campaign objectives.
21%
…struggle with integration or poor implementation of their technology tools.*
Maturity in technology use across the marketing function, as well as the impact of digital’s acceleration over the past couple of years, was also in evidence in this year’s State of the CMO.
When asked about top challenges in adopting and using new technology tools, budgets and financial constraints had declined, replaced by integration or poor implementation this year (up 15 per cent year-on-year to 21 per cent).
Also notable is a 7 per cent uptick in the lack of marketing/IT functional alignment, from 7 to 14 per cent year-on-year. When asked for the challengers to market’s success functionally, IT remains the biggest stumbling block for more than one in four respondents (27 per cent), up 2 per cent year-on-year.
SOURCE: Page 18 | Tech Integration and alignment | State of the CMO 2022 report
42%
…of respondents say marketing operations & technology platform skills are a gap.*
Where do CMOs feel they have a skills gap & where are they placing functional improvement emphasis?
The number one skills gap from the State of the CMO 2022 report was “analytics, data and science skills” at 51%. Technology platform skills came in second at 42%.
Oracle CX Marketing customers have access to a broad range of analytics to help them measure campaign and program performance. Eloqua customers can develop ROI dashboards, best done when connected to the lead and opportunity management objects of the CRM. Our Oracle-certified support team can help you build the Insight reports you need.
When it comes to technology platform skills, we’re in a strong position to help. Our monthly Eloqua User Group is a LIVE webinar delivered to 1,000+ active subscribers globally. Attendance varies from month to month and replays are accessed from a library of 7 years worth of webinars.
Our Marketing Automation Blog explores each topic in detail with links to access the replays. In addition, we spend time with clients delivering in-house Eloqua coaching sessions. These sessions are heavily tailored to the needs of your team, helping them maximise their use or Oracle CX Marketing.
63%
…of CMOs reporting directly to the CEO/MD are using sales revenue as a metric to prove marketing’s worth.*
Are you well placed to link program performance to revenue?
Attribution is a great starting point. The attribution happens as follows:
- Your program will target existing Eloqua Contacts or capture net-new individuals from lead capture programs.
- Eloqua campaign members are be linked to a CRM campaign.
- The CRM campaign contains budgeted and actual costs and then each campaign member is created as a Lead in the CRM. Or, if they’re an existing CRM Lead or Contact, they can be associated with a CRM opportunity.
- Once the opportunity is “Closed/Won” the associated revenue can be linked to the campaign’s actual costs and provide the ROI data you’re looking for.
The question you then need to explore is where should this reporting live? It can live in Eloqua Insight, you can have Insight dashboards showing the direct correlation of campaigns to closed-won opportunities.
You should also consider creating similar dashboards in the CRM. You’ll have a larger internal audience with CRM access than you will Eloqua access. I think you’ll agree that this increases transparency and with that transparency comes accountability.
“IT remains the biggest stumbling block for more than one in four respondents (27 per cent), up 2 per cent year-on-year.”*
You need a partner who not only understands your marketing automation platform but also has extensive experience across the integration of Oracle CX Marketing and various CRM platforms.
Summary
There is so much good information in this report from CMO, I’d encourage you to download it.
The points I’ve highlighted above are based on my interaction with our Oracle CX Marketing clients and specific areas that I know Marketing Cube can help.
My primary observation is the distinct shift from the COVID years of protecting your customer base with retention campaigns to a clear shift towards growth campaigns. Current global forces are impacting those growth plans i.e. interest rates, talk of recession, ongoing supply issues, the war in Ukraine and more.
Focussing on what you do best, keeping the customer at the heart of your strategy and building the skills of your team is critical to your success.
My top 5 tips for Marketers
- Get a solid plan in place for attribution and your ability to prove marketing’s impact on revenue.
- Build tailored, dynamic and CX-centered Lead Nurture campaigns to ensure “no lead is lost” as they enter your Marketing Automation platform.
- Work closely with Sales to define Marketing Qualified Leads. Have a solid process in place that delivers MQLs to the CRM in a measurable way.
- Don’t let IT be a roadblock to your integration requirements. Find qualified, certified experts to help you maximise your integration needs.
- Don’t leave the team floundering or buried in systems. Help them get the skills they need to succeed.
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With a track record of assisting nearly 150 customers across diverse industries and geographies, we offer traditional application support and efficient help desk services.
If you’re seeking agency services, such as strategic guidance, end-user coaching, training, campaign support, and more for Oracle CX Marketing or Salesforce Marketing Cloud, reach out to us today to discuss how we can best assist you.
Disclaimer
Marketing Cube has no formal or in-formal business relationship with Foundry or their CMO publication. The opinions and insight expressed above are completely our own and are in no way endorsed by Foundry.
SOURCE: All statistics in this blog post have been sourced from the “State of the CMO | Exploring the evolving role of modern marketing leadership 2022” report from Foundry (formerly IDG Communications).
