What Does a CMO Do? A Look at the CMO’s Role in Business

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) role has never been more critical for business success than it is today. It’s a position that demands strategic vision, analytical precision, and cross-functional leadership. As organizations navigate increasingly complex markets, 80% of CEOs now view CMOs as critical to driving long-term growth.

Yet despite this acknowledged importance, many organizations still struggle to fully leverage the potential of their marketing leadership. The modern CMO wears many hats. They serve as brand steward, revenue driver, customer champion, data interpreter, and digital innovator.

As a recognized marketing authority who has worked with dozens of executives across various industries, I’ve observed firsthand how the most successful companies position their CMOs at the strategic center of their operations, not merely as campaign managers.

This comprehensive guide examines what a CMO actually does, how they drive tangible business success, and why the position continues to evolve in importance.

The Evolving Role of the Chief Marketing Officer

The CMO role has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. Research shows that 95% of CMOs report substantial changes to their responsibilities over the past several years. 

This shift reflects broader changes in how companies approach marketing. What was once considered a primarily creative function has evolved into a data-driven discipline with direct accountability for business results.

Today’s CMO is no longer just the “brand person.” They now sit at the intersection of marketing, technology, customer experience, and business strategy. Their scope has expanded significantly.

Era	Primary CMO Focus	Key Metrics	Relationship to CEO
Traditional (Pre-2000s)	Brand building, advertising	Awareness, reach	Tactical executor
Digital Emergence (2000-2010)	Multi-channel coordination	Lead generation, web traffic	Digital translator
Data-Driven (2010-2020)	ROI optimization, automation	Conversion rates, attribution	Revenue contributor
Modern (2020+)	Strategic growth, experience	Customer lifetime value, digital transformation	Strategic partner

This evolution reflects how marketing has moved from being perceived as a cost center to becoming recognized as a strategic growth driver for organizations across industries.

Core Responsibilities of a Chief Marketing Officer

While each organization may prioritize different aspects of the CMO role, certain core responsibilities remain consistent. The modern CMO oversees marketing strategy development, brand positioning, and critical cross-department collaboration. 

Let’s examine the fundamental responsibilities that define the CMO position today:

Strategic Leadership and Brand Development

The CMO serves as the chief architect of marketing strategy. They define how the organization positions itself in the market and communicate its value proposition to customers. This includes developing comprehensive marketing plans that align with business objectives.

Effective CMOs don’t just manage brands—they build them. The most successful CMOs create and maintain a strategic brand vision that guides all marketing activities and ensures consistency across all customer touchpoints. 

This strategic role extends beyond traditional marketing functions. Modern CMOs must consider how every aspect of the business—from product development to customer service—affects brand perception and experience.

Revenue Generation and Growth

Today’s CMOs are directly accountable for driving revenue growth. This shift toward revenue responsibility represents one of the most significant changes in the role’s evolution over the past decade.

CMOs now lead customer acquisition strategies, develop sales enablement programs, and optimize customer journeys to maximize conversion. Many also take responsibility for customer retention and expansion initiatives, recognizing that existing customers often represent the most profitable growth opportunities.

This revenue focus requires CMOs to work closely with sales leadership, establishing shared goals and metrics while developing integrated go-to-market strategies.

Digital Transformation and Innovation

The modern CMO serves as a primary driver of digital transformation within organizations. They evaluate, select, and implement marketing technologies that enable more effective customer engagement and provide critical data insights.

This responsibility includes building and managing the marketing technology stack—the integrated collection of tools that power marketing operations. Only 26% of marketing leaders report feeling confident in their current data platforms, highlighting the ongoing challenge in this area. 

Beyond technology implementation, CMOs drive innovation in marketing approaches, testing new channels, formats, and engagement strategies to stay ahead of changing customer preferences.

Core Responsibility	Key Activities	Business Impact	Success Metrics
Strategic Leadership	Brand positioning, marketing planning, competitive analysis	Market differentiation, strategic clarity	Brand equity, market share
Revenue Generation	Demand generation, customer acquisition, retention programs	Business growth, improved ROI	Revenue attribution, CAC, CLV
Digital Transformation	MarTech implementation, data strategy, channel innovation	Operational efficiency, competitive advantage	Digital adoption metrics, innovation KPIs
Customer Experience	Journey mapping, personalization, voice of customer	Increased loyalty, reduced churn	NPS, customer satisfaction, retention rates
Data Management	Analytics oversight, performance measurement, insight generation	Better decision-making, resource optimization	Data quality metrics, insight implementation

The CMO’s Impact on Business Success

The strategic value of the CMO position becomes clear when examining their direct impact on business performance. Companies that use personalized customer experiences—a key CMO responsibility—generate 40% more revenue than those that don’t. 

Let’s explore the specific ways CMOs drive measurable business success:

Growth Acceleration and Revenue Enhancement

Effective CMOs implement strategies that directly accelerate business growth. They identify and capitalize on market opportunities, develop compelling value propositions, and create demand generation programs that deliver qualified leads to sales teams.

The most successful marketing leaders establish clear attribution models that demonstrate marketing’s contribution to revenue. This accountability has elevated the CMO’s standing in many organizations.

Brand Equity Development

Strong brands command premium pricing, enjoy higher customer loyalty, and demonstrate greater resilience during market disruptions. CMOs build and strengthen these valuable brand assets through consistent positioning, strategic messaging, and meaningful customer experiences.

Brand equity represents one of the most significant yet often undervalued contributions CMOs make to long-term business value. Unlike tactical marketing activities with immediate measurable outcomes, brand building requires sustained investment and strategic patience.

Customer-Centricity Implementation

Today’s most successful companies organize around customer needs rather than internal structures. CMOs often lead this customer-centric transformation by bringing customer insights into strategic decisions across the organization.

They establish voice-of-customer programs, develop customer journey maps, and advocate for customer experience improvements that drive loyalty and retention.

Business Area	CMO Impact	Measurable Outcomes
Revenue Growth	Demand generation, sales enablement, customer expansion	Increased new business, higher conversion rates, improved retention
Market Position	Brand differentiation, thought leadership, competitive strategy	Market share gains, premium pricing power, improved brand recognition
Customer Value	Experience design, personalization, loyalty initiatives	Higher NPS scores, increased customer lifetime value, lower acquisition costs
Digital Transformation	Technology implementation, data activation, process optimization	Improved operational efficiency, better decision making, enhanced agility

Challenges Faced by Modern CMOs

Despite their strategic importance, CMOs face significant challenges in executing their roles effectively. A concerning study revealed that 80% of CEOs report they either distrust or are unimpressed with their CMOs. 

This trust gap highlights just one of several obstacles modern marketing leaders must navigate. Let’s examine the most pressing challenges:

Proving ROI and Marketing Impact

Marketing leaders face constant pressure to demonstrate the financial impact of their initiatives. This challenge has intensified as marketing budgets face greater scrutiny and marketing activities become more complex.

The multi-touch nature of modern customer journeys makes clean attribution difficult. CMOs must invest in sophisticated measurement frameworks to connect marketing activities to business outcomes.

Data Management and Technology Integration

CMOs struggle with fragmented customer data across multiple systems. This fragmentation creates significant barriers to developing the comprehensive customer insights needed for personalization and effective targeting.

The rapidly evolving marketing technology world presents both opportunities and challenges. Many organizations face difficulties integrating various platforms and tools into a cohesive system.

CEO and Board Alignment

The relationship between CMOs and CEOs often suffers from misaligned expectations and communication gaps. This misalignment represents a significant barrier to marketing effectiveness and CMO tenure.

Marketing leaders must translate their activities into business language that resonates with CEOs and board members, focusing on outcomes rather than marketing-specific metrics.

• Measurement complexity – Connecting marketing activities to financial outcomes
• Data fragmentation – Overcoming siloed customer information across systems
• Executive alignment – Building trust and shared vision with CEO and board
• Talent development – Building teams with both creative and analytical skills
• Speed of change – Adapting to rapidly evolving digital landscape and consumer behaviors

The Critical CEO-CMO Partnership

The relationship between CEO and CMO significantly impacts organizational success. Research shows that only 50% of CEOs and CMOs agree on marketing’s primary role within the organization, highlighting a fundamental alignment challenge. 

This partnership requires deliberate attention and development. The most successful CEO-CMO relationships share several key characteristics:

Strategic Alignment and Shared Vision

Effective partnerships start with alignment on business priorities and marketing’s role in achieving them. This alignment creates a foundation for resource allocation, performance expectations, and strategic decision-making.

CEOs and CMOs must share a common understanding of what success looks like, with agreed-upon metrics that connect marketing activities to business outcomes.

Trust and Communication

Trust forms the cornerstone of productive CEO-CMO relationships. Marketing leaders earn this trust through consistent delivery, transparent communication, and business-focused approaches.

Regular, structured communication helps maintain alignment as market conditions and business priorities evolve. CMOs should provide consistent updates on both successes and challenges, avoiding surprise revelations.

Growth Impact

The CEO-CMO relationship directly affects business performance. Organizations with strong alignment between these two leaders are twice as likely to experience annual growth rates exceeding 5%. 

This growth advantage stems from better resource allocation, more consistent strategy execution, and improved cross-functional collaboration.

Partnership Element	Successful Relationships	Struggling Relationships
Strategic Alignment	Shared vision of marketing’s role and value	Conflicting expectations about marketing’s purpose
Communication	Regular, transparent updates focused on business impact	Infrequent interactions focused on campaign details
Performance Measurement	Agreed metrics connecting marketing to business outcomes	Marketing-centric metrics disconnected from business goals
Resource Allocation	Strategic investment based on growth opportunities	Budget-driven decisions without strategic context
Risk Tolerance	Shared appetite for appropriate innovation	Misaligned expectations about experimentation

Essential Skills for Today’s Chief Marketing Officers

The expanding scope of the CMO role requires a diverse and evolving skill set. Success in this position demands capabilities that extend well beyond traditional marketing expertise.

Research indicates that today’s most effective CMOs blend strategic vision, analytical capabilities, and leadership skills to drive organizational value.

Strategic and Business Acumen

Modern CMOs need a deep understanding of business fundamentals. They must connect marketing strategies to overall business objectives and speak the language of finance, operations, and corporate strategy.

This business orientation helps marketing leaders gain credibility with other executives and ensures marketing initiatives support broader organizational goals.

Data Literacy and Analytical Thinking

With marketing becoming increasingly data-driven, CMOs must develop strong analytical capabilities. They need to understand data collection, analysis methodologies, and how to derive actionable insights from complex information.

This analytical mindset enables better resource allocation, more effective targeting, and improved performance measurement.

Leadership and Communication Skills

CMOs typically lead diverse teams spanning multiple disciplines from creative design to technical analytics. This leadership requires understanding different work styles, providing appropriate guidance, and developing specialized talent.

Effective communication both within marketing teams and across the organization has become an essential skill for CMOs. Marketing leaders who excel at translating marketing concepts into business language enjoy stronger relationships with CEOs and boards. 

Technology and Digital Fluency

As marketing becomes increasingly technology-driven, CMOs must develop understanding of digital platforms, marketing technologies, and data systems. This knowledge enables them to make informed decisions about technology investments and implementation strategies.

The most successful marketing leaders leverage data strategies that integrate information across channels to create unified customer views. 

• Strategic vision – Ability to develop long-term marketing direction aligned with business goals
• Financial acumen – Understanding of business metrics, ROI analysis, and budget management
• Data literacy – Capability to interpret complex data and derive actionable insights
• Cross-functional leadership – Skill in leading diverse teams and collaborating across departments
• Change management – Experience guiding organizations through digital transformation

Future Trends Shaping the CMO Role

The CMO position continues to evolve in response to changing market dynamics, customer expectations, and technological advancements. Understanding these trends helps organizations prepare for the next evolution of marketing leadership.

One critical trend is the growing customer demand for personalization, with research showing 71% of consumers now expect customized interactions from the brands they engage with. 

AI and Automation Integration

Artificial intelligence is transforming marketing operations across all dimensions. CMOs must develop strategies for effectively implementing AI for content creation, customer journey optimization, and predictive analytics.

Successful marketing leaders are moving beyond pilot programs to scale AI applications across their organizations. This scaling requires thoughtful consideration of data quality, team capabilities, and ethical implications.

First-Party Data Strategy

With increasing privacy regulations and the deprecation of third-party cookies, first-party data strategies have become essential. CMOs must develop systems for ethically collecting, managing, and activating customer data.

Organizations that have implemented strong first-party data programs gain significant competitive advantages in personalization, targeting efficiency, and marketing effectiveness. 

Experience Integration

The traditional boundaries between marketing, sales, product, and service continue to blur. Forward-thinking CMOs are taking broader responsibility for the entire customer experience journey.

This integration requires developing consistent data sources that provide a unified view of customer interactions across all touchpoints. 

• AI-powered personalization – Using machine learning to deliver hyper-relevant experiences at scale
• Hybrid marketing models – Balancing traditional and digital approaches for optimal engagement
• Cross-functional integration – Breaking down silos between marketing, sales, and customer service
• Sustainability focus – Incorporating environmental and social responsibility into brand positioning
• Agile marketing operations – Implementing flexible, iterative approaches to planning and execution

How to Maximize Your CMO’s Value

Organizations seeking to capture the full potential of their marketing leadership should implement specific strategies to support and empower their CMOs. This support creates conditions for marketing leaders to deliver their greatest impact.

Companies must recognize that marketing leaders today face unprecedented pressure to drive organizational change while delivering measurable business results.

Strategic Positioning

Position your CMO as a strategic business leader, not just a marketing tactician. Include them in high-level business planning and strategy development discussions from the beginning rather than bringing them in later to execute predetermined plans.

Give marketing leadership appropriate authority to influence decisions that affect customer experience across the organization, recognizing marketing’s role in connecting customer needs to business strategy.

Resource Optimization

Provide sufficient resources—both budget and talent—for marketing to execute effectively. Under-resourced marketing departments often focus on short-term tactics at the expense of strategic initiatives that drive sustainable growth.

Invest in marketing technology infrastructure that enables data integration and insight generation. Organizations should prioritize creating a single source of truth for customer data. 

Performance Measurement

Develop clear, mutually agreed-upon metrics that connect marketing activities to business outcomes. These metrics should balance short-term performance indicators with longer-term measures of brand health and customer equity.

Implement measurement systems that provide visibility into marketing’s contribution across the entire customer journey, not just the final conversion point.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Create formal structures that facilitate collaboration between marketing and other key functions like sales, product development, and customer service. This collaboration ensures consistent customer experience and message alignment.

Marketing leaders need strong partnerships across the C-suite to drive enterprise-wide impact. Organizations should establish clear roles and responsibilities where functions overlap.

Support Area	Key Actions	Expected Benefits
Strategic Positioning	Include CMO in business planning, connect marketing to enterprise strategy	Better alignment, more impactful marketing initiatives
Resource Allocation	Provide appropriate budget, talent, and technology infrastructure	Improved execution capability, better data insights
Performance Framework	Establish clear metrics connecting marketing to business outcomes	Enhanced accountability, more strategic resource allocation
C-Suite Integration	Create formal collaboration structures with sales, product, and other functions	Consistent customer experience, improved operational efficiency
Change Management	Support digital transformation initiatives led by marketing	Faster adaptation to market changes, improved competitiveness

The Evolving Strategic Value of the CMO

The Chief Marketing Officer role continues to grow in strategic importance as organizations recognize marketing’s impact on overall business performance. Today’s most effective CMOs blend creative vision with analytical rigor, technical knowledge with business acumen, and tactical execution with strategic leadership.

When properly positioned and supported, CMOs drive significant value through:

• Strategic growth acceleration and revenue enhancement
• Brand equity development and protection
• Customer-centric transformation
• Digital innovation and adaptation

Organizations seeking competitive advantage should invest in developing strong marketing leadership. This investment includes not just hiring talented CMOs but creating the conditions for their success through appropriate positioning, resources, metrics, and cross-functional collaboration.

As we look to the future, the CMO role will likely continue evolving toward even greater strategic responsibility. Those organizations that recognize and leverage the full potential of their marketing leadership will gain significant advantages in increasingly competitive and dynamic markets.

Providing business value is my passion. Through my work with marketing leaders across industries, I’ve seen firsthand how strategic marketing leadership transforms organizations. The most successful companies don’t view marketing as a separate function—they integrate it into the core of their business strategy and operations.