Today, marketing is characterized by innovation, customer-centricity, digitalization, and a focus on sustainability and ethics. All CMO roles involve aspects of strategy, execution, and leadership to operate in this business environment, however, every Chief Marketing Officer differs in terms of their level of focus, scope, and responsibility within the marketing function, usually guided by their industry and competitors.
Typically, a Functional CMO focuses on day-to-day operations, a Tactical CMO focuses on short to medium-term plans, and a Strategic CMO focuses on long-term vision and overall direction. While the CMO at your organization may at times need to wear all three hats, to achieve success in marketing, you may benefit from choosing a CMO with advanced expertise in one specific skill set.
Types of CMOs
- Functional
- Tactical
- Strategic
The Characteristics of a Functional CMO
A strong functional marketing executive has deep expertise and a more singular focus on the execution of marketing campaigns, managing marketing teams, and ensuring that marketing strategies are implemented effectively.
Even if they have responsibilities extending across several of these sub-disciplines, it is clear that they think about and manage the breadth of their duties predominantly through the lens and experience of their specialization. Their primary goal is to ensure that the marketing function runs smoothly and efficiently.
The Characteristics of a Tactical CMO
A tactical CMO is someone who has more of a broad-based focus with an experience set that encompasses several of these sub-functional areas of marketing. They generally have a holistic view of marketing, but they look at their job as taking a given strategy and then positioning it in a way that best communicates the message.
A tactical CMO clearly understands the reality that today, marketing is no longer a black box and focuses on developing and implementing short to medium-term marketing plans and initiatives to achieve specific business objectives based on performance metrics. They are highly experienced at transforming broader marketing strategies into actionable tactics.
The Characteristics of a Strategic CMO: A Rarity
A strategic CMO does not view their job as just the tactical execution of a given and pre-formed strategy and positioning, no matter how developed and time-tested this may be. A strategic CMO believes that their job starts with developing a more refined understanding of the value that their company is delivering.
While driving the process of developing this understanding, a strategic CMO has a complete picture of the vision senior leadership has for the company and how value is delivered to customers. Also crucial to strategic success is an understanding of customer usage and perception of value being received so they can play a key role in shaping the brand identity and positioning. In short, Strategic CMOs tend to be visionaries who guide organizations through identifying growth opportunities and adapting to changes in the market landscape.
How to Choose the Right Type of CMO for Your Organization
If you are looking to hire a chief marketing officer, think about what kind of marketer would make sense for your business. The best executive search firms who specialize in sales and marketing talent also have an innate understanding of the differences between functional, tactical, and strategic marketers and will conduct competency-based behavioral interviews to screen for functional skill sets.
Outsourcing the hiring process can ensure that you get exactly the kind of marketer that will achieve success for your organization– whether it be to expertly execute on marketing initiatives or to take on a more strategic role.