What Is a Chief Marketing Officer? A Look at the Role of a CMO

The chief marketing officer, or CMO, is the highest-level marketing position in a company, responsible for developing and executing the brand’s marketing campaigns and leading the marketing team. The CMO’s primary goal is to increase brand awareness and revenue.

The CMO role is part of the “C-suite,” which refers to corporate executive positions with the word “chief” in their job title—others include the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer.

In general, a chief marketing officer will:

• Develop and execute marketing campaigns. A CMO’s primary responsibility is to create and implement regular marketing campaigns. Usually, they’ll begin with a particular tone or message that they want to communicate about the brand. Then they work with their team’s marketing leaders (usually marketing directors or other marketing executives) to create a focused content marketing strategy. Their marketing campaign plan may include copy, design elements, and versions tailored to different platforms (often including print and digital marketing), all within the marketing budget. Once the marketing campaign goes public, they oversee the data that comes in and tweak it accordingly.
• Conduct market research and analyze metrics. CMOs are responsible for making marketing plans that reach customers in their target audience. They conduct market research and data analysis about their target market, the current customer experience, and market trends to figure out how to best reach their demographic and make sales.
• Oversee all public-facing communication. Most CMOs oversee all of the company’s public relations, including any public-facing marketing communications or messaging from the brand, such as social media channels, emails, web pages, and print publications. As they review these marketing activities, they ensure the communication is on-brand and aligned with the current campaign.
• Collaborate with other C-suite positions. The CMO usually works very closely with different C-level positions in the company, including the chief executive officer (CEO), the chief information officer (CIO), the chief product officer (CPO), the chief operating officer (COO), and the chief financial officer (CFO), to determine things like product pricing, new product development, and the brand’s direction.

A CMO is a high-level position, so most job descriptions have many high-level requirements:

• Education: Most CMO positions require that candidates have at least a bachelor’s degree in business administration, business development, or a related field—though more competitive positions will look for candidates with additional education, like an MBA degree, an additional business certification (like Certified Marketing Management Professional or Professional Certified Marketer), or other relevant master’s degrees or certifications.
• Experience: The role of the CMO comes with a lot of responsibility, so the chief marketing officer job description usually requires at least 10 years of experience in marketing departments, with at least five years in a marketing leadership role. Potential employers will be especially interested in seeing the effects of the candidate’s marketing efforts—for instance, if their marketing acumen increased sales.
• Technical skills: The CMO role needs to have a deep understanding of many different technical skills, including experience with design software, search engine optimization (SEO) programs, email servers and programs, social media platforms, lead generation and sales management technology, and customer relationship management software (CRMs).
• Communication and leadership skills: In addition to marketing abilities, good CMOs also need to have excellent communication skills, leadership skills, and interpersonal skills, so they can effectively guide their team, keep morale high, and explain high-level campaign ideas.

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