CMOs Facing Extinction? Hardly. Why It's Never Been a Better Time To Be a CMO.

It seems like everyone in marketing circles has been passing around Lisa Nirell's recent Fast Company article, Why CMOs Are Facing Extinction.

Of course.  With a title like that, it's going to get the attention of those of us who support our families as CMOs.

The article enumerates industry trends that allegedly put the B2B CMO at risk of going the way of the dinosaur.  The trends are spot on, but the headline misleads.  The CMO is far from extinct. In fact, the role is more important than ever for B2B companies.

Here're three reasons why:

1.  Prospect Engagement Is Increasingly Marketing Led

In the olden days, revenue generation was generally a sales led kind of phenomenon.  Buyers needed to be educated, and by in large this was done via field sales organizations.  Marketing played a supporting role ' developing collateral and promotional programs to drive awareness and interest.

In today's social web world, buyers do their own research, draw their own conclusions, and rely on others for validation.  Sales is increasingly about buyer facilitation.

At the same time, Marketing's role has shifted from pushing the message to developing and deploying a 'pullable' message that greases the buying process.  In other words, prospect engagement is increasingly Marketing led.

2.  Cutting through the Clutter is Harder Than Ever

The B2B world is noisier than ever.  It's hard to get found.  And when you're found, it's hard to gain and keep your prospect's attention.

Our messages must be sharper and more engaging than ever.  We must educate and entertain if we're going to break through.  If we don't, our prospects will move on (and presumably be engaged by one of our competitors).

Engagement. Entertainment.  Education. These are marketing things.  The CMO is responsible for crafting a message and delivering it through vehicles and channels that cut through.  If the CMO doesn't own this process, who will?  Or, as Deb Lavoy of OpenText recently said, 'marketers are the chief storytellers.'

3.  Marketing Metrics Are Now Business Metrics

In the old world, all we had was pipeline forecasting.  The VP of Sales would produce a forecast for the CFO and CEO to scrutinize.

In a marketing led, educated buyer world, pre-pipeline activities have become increasingly important.  And they are measurable.  We can (and must) develop metrics for prospect engagement, social media reach, and conversion.

Over time, these activities will form predictive models to indicate future pipeline and revenue.  And these marketing metrics increasingly will become the subject of boardroom scrutiny.

So yes, marketing is changing.  And yes, if you're a Mad Men era CMO, you're probably already extinct.

But if you're a quantitative marketer who can engage, entertain, and educate prospects, you're in great shape.

For my money, there has never been a better time to be a CMO.