What Do the IDC Predictions Mean for the B2B CMO?

A top trend in B2B marketing is the adoption of the Marketing Operations role. Not surprising, International Data Corporate (IDC) weighs in this month. On Dec 17^th, IDC released its top 10 predictions for CMOs. Below is the excerpt from their press release.

The Top 10 Predictions are:

1. The CMO role becomes “open for definition” as today’s CMO job description becomes considerably more complex and critical
2. Innovative CMO and CIO pairs will throw out the rule book when it comes to IT’s support of Marketing
3. By 2020, the Marketing function in leading companies will be radically reshaped into three organizational “systems” – content, channels, and consumption (data)
4. The best marketers will understand that “Content Marketing” does not equal “Thought Leadership”
5. Multi-channel coverage becomes an opportunity and a challenge area, as CMOs integrate media silos
6. 80% of customer data will be wasted due to immature enterprise data “value chains”
7. By the end of 2014, 60% of CMOs will have formal recruiting process for people with data skills
8. Only 20% of marketers will receive formal training on analytics and customer data management
9. Fragmented marketing IT point products and low adoption rate will inhibit companies’ ability to win customers
10. Digital marketing investment will exceed 50% of total program budget by 2016

“Buyers are evolving their purchase practices faster than vendors are changing their marketing practices. It’s not a matter of doing the same things better. The Chief Marketing Officer cannot avoid broader responsibility as the digital customer experience bursts traditional boundaries,” says Kathleen Schaub, Vice President of the IDC CMO Advisory Service. “IDC predicts that by 2020, marketing organizations will be radically reshaped. The core fabric of marketing execution will be ripped up and rewoven by data and marketing technology.”

So what should the B2B CMO do with these predictions?

The bulk of the predictions are centered around the transformation of the CMO. It is evident the B2B CMO must continue to evolve themselves and their team. Download this Marketing Team Capability Assessment to help.

We have already seen this taking shape. The CMO is the default chief of the consumer digital experience. The CMO title will become open for definition, as the industry continues to experiment with titles like chief customer officer.

Prediction 3 & 4: Content marketing supports Lead Generation but more isn’t better, quality is king. You do this by creating content to support your Persona’s buying process. Success of content should be measured by how well it pulls prospects through the buying process. This is where your new goal is overcoming prediction #6: Marketers will waste about 80% of customer data due to immature enterprise systems and data. This means CMOs must be the IT division’s best friend within the company. Or take on the IT role like Motorola’s CMO, Eduardo Cornado. Ensuring technology will make use of data for KPI’s is a high priority.

It doesn’t stop with enhanced technology. The team must adopt it and know how to use it. Prediction #9 says low adoption rates will inhibit companies’ ability to win customers. This is why #7 suggests that by the end of 2014, 60% of CMOs will have a formal recruiting process for people with data skills. Turning your team into revenue machines will require their proficiency in metrics and analytics. Don’t let your team fall short without technical support.

Key Takeaway:

The IDC CMO predictions clearly set the path to how CMOs must evolve. If you stick with the traditional CMO capabilities, you will get outpaced. Start evolving your team and yourself by downloading the Marketing Team Capability Assessment.