3 Qualities of the Best Modern CMOs

Look around the web and you’ll find numerous marketing experts declaring the death of “gut” marketing and the rise of analytical marketing operations. To succeed in the future, the consensus seems to be that modern CMOs must be data-driven all-stars with a knack for quantitative analysis.

For the most part, former Brightcover CMO (and current CEO of OutLearn) Jeff Whatcott agrees with that sentiment. But in order to drive growth and demand at scale, Whatcott also believes the best modern CMOs need to be much more than statistical eggheads. Watch the video below to learn about the other critical qualities Whatcott says B2B CMOs must possess.

3 Qualities of Successful CMOs

• An appreciation for data: Whatcott says CMOs don’t need to be full-blown data scientists. But they do need to be able to wrap their heads around quantitative methods of marketing analysis. “You have to really understand the processes that (allow you to) scale, attract people, and compete effectively in the marketplace,” Whatcott says.

• Comfortable with technology: More and more of IT budgets in B2B organizations are going into marketing technology. To be successful, CMOs must be familiar with — and comfortable using — the most important tools in the B2B marketing stack.

• Strategic vision trumps everything: While the previous two qualities matter, strategic thinking is the most important of all. If CMOs aren’t able to think strategically, they’ll end up doing a lot of stuff that doesn’t really deliver results. “You’ll be thrashing and it’ll be very clear that you’re thrashing,” Whatcott explains. “And that’s the point when they come and bring in a new CEO.”

Photo by: Startup Weekend Leuven