The B2B space is evolving fast and so is the role of the B2B CMO. These personas are now expected to deliver instant results and help companies enter hyper-growth as fast as possible. Let’s take a closer look at this key marketing role and what DNA is required to make a successful B2B Chief Marketing Officer today.
Who is a B2B CMO?
The B2B CMO is basically the orchestrator of all marketing operations and initiatives in SaaS companies today. By leveraging the power of Content-Led Growth, this influential persona builds and nurtures inbound and outbound channels for lead generation. Besides this, the B2B CMO is also responsible for other key tasks like brand awareness and thought leadership.
Inbound traffic is generated with the help of blogging operations. This activity is mainly propelled with the help of Search Engine Optimization and the creation of List Posts (Listicles) that help create a buzz on social media. There are also case studies, whitepapers, and glossary pages to create more stickiness. On the outbound front there are email campaigns and press releases.
Top B2B CMO Traits
Let’s touch upon the top traits you’ll find in every successful Chief Marketing Officer today.
1. Data-Driven Approach
The devil is in the metrics. The modern B2B CMO needs to understand the importance of tracking key KPIs and making sure that everything is trending up. This includes hooking up to Google Analytics (inbound traffic, bounce rates, and more) and monitoring social media performance (impressions, followers, comments, and more). The strategy MUST be revised if there is no growth.
Some channels, like SEO, are limited to current trends. The B2B CMO should be able to look beyond them and coin new keywords, while promoting new thought leadership topics.
2. Demonstrated Experience
The typical B2B CMO should have over 5 years of demonstrated experience in SaaS setups. Expertise should include managing online campaigns, overlooking content operations, and adequate social media knowledge. “Green CMOs” can do great things, but it’s a big gamble when it comes to multi-tasking and managing seasoned pros without hampering their productivity.
3. Communication Skills
With Influencer Marketing and Video Marketing becoming increasingly common, a successful B2B CMO needs to be a good speaker and a confident persona. Reaching out to influencers, peers, and experts should come naturally. Only doing so relentless can help marketing departments set up interviews, webinars, podcasts, and other branding initiatives today.
More and more B2B CMOs today are branding themselves. They are establishing their presence in the digital space with blogs, podcasts, and social media pages.
4. Collaborative Nature
Being friendly and communicative with external personas is just one part of the equation. The B2B CMO should be able to establish healthy relationships with internal stakeholders, starting from the CEO, all the way to Product teams, Sales executives, and Customer Success Managers (CSMs). B2B Marketing has become a collaborative expert and the CMO should realise this.
5. Project Management
Chief Marketing Officers have to multitask, a lot. Besides being able to hire the right people to manage tasks and provide quality services, the B2B CMO needs to be on top of things without committing the dreaded sin – micromanagement. Working with flexible SLAs, crisis management abilities, creating backup plans, and being transparent with results should come naturally.
The B2B CMO needs to be a powerful figure of authority, while also allowing writers and designers feel appreciated and motivated to reach their maximum potential.
6. B2B CMOs Are Strong Leaders
Leaders are born, not made. Most dedicated and hardworking B2B executives can be training to master all key B2B CMO tasks, but being a true leader is something that one needs to have in his or her DNA. The B2B CMO needs to have the ability to motivate and inspire marketing managers, content writers, and design experts on an ongoing basis. This can’t be taught.
7. Discomfort Seeker
Most human being seek comfort, but the Chief Marketing Officer has to be different. Doing the same things in an evolving space will not yield sustainable results in the long run. This key persona needs to keep learning and exploring new tactics and methods to create separation from the average competition. The B2B CMO should always seek discomfort to stay ahead of the curve.
Related: Increase Your ROI with B2B Marketing Agencies
B2B Marketing with BrandSpiker
Hiring top marketing experts is one of the biggest challenges CMOs are facing today. Not only that, with the market being so competitive, even onboarded writers and designers often seek greener pastures and entertain new offers. BrandSpiker is helping reduce these risks by providing top-notch content, social media, and design services for SaaS startups and SMBs. Get started now!