How You Can Overcome the Top 5 Challenges as a CMO
B2B is an extremely dynamic space and as a CMO, especially in a day and age of technology, there are a host of challenges you face. Each challenge requires a tailored solution to help you overcome them and lead the B2B marketing team to effectively contribute to the growth of the organization.
In this article, we at Vanilla Skills list down some crucial challenges you face and how you can overcome and ace them!
1. Aligning sales and marketing teams 🤝
Challenge: As you may have experienced, misalignment between sales and marketing teams can lead to great inefficiencies, wasted resources, and even missed opportunities. This issue is more pronounced in B2B environments with longer sales cycles and complex decision-making processes.
Solutions:
There are a number of things that can help:
✅ Communication is key
In the fast-paced world of marketing, CMOs often struggle to maintain seamless communication amidst their many responsibilities. Recognizing that gaps can happen, it’s essential to establish strong channels for real-time data sharing and collaboration. By using the right tools, CMOs can improve communication and ensure smooth team coordination.
✅ Unified data and analytics
Always use a single source of truth¹ when it comes to data. You can either choose to use a robust CRM solution to allow both- sales and marketing teams to access and share valuable customer insights.
✅ Collaborative culture
Foster a culture of collaboration where both teams are encouraged to share feedback and insights. According to a study by HubSpot, entities with aligned sales and marketing teams achieve 36% higher customer retention rates and 38% higher sales win rates.
2. The MarTech Overload 🤯
There’s enough discussion regarding the growing adoption of technology. In fact, not just B2B but even B2C marketing teams are overwhelmed by technology, leading to bloated tech stacks with many tools being unused, wasting budgets. This underutilized spending could instead support growth initiatives if well managed. An IBM report stated that tech utilization in 2023 fell to 33%, down from 42% in 2022 and 58% in 2021. MarTech overload can cause confusion and inefficiencies. Simplifying your tech stack ensures clearer strategies and better execution.
Solution:
Streamlining your tech stack must be on the top of your priority list in 2024. Conduct an audit to identify and eliminate tools that are not needed. This will not only help you cut costs but also enhance agility and simplify technology management. Focus on integrating tools that work in sync to help you and your team achieve a unified goal. Do this in conjunction with the sales head, to ensure acceptance and application of your joint decisions on the matter.
3. Understanding Effective Content Distribution 🤓
Content is everywhere, so it will not sound exaggerated if we say content forms the heart and soul of marketing. But, the evolving algorithms of social media platforms and search engines often make it difficult to ensure content reaches the intended audience. Platforms mostly deprioritize content that consists of external links, further reducing visibility.
Solution:
✅ Platform-based optimisation
We are certain you’ve heard this before but it bears repeating since it is one the things that often slips through the cracks: Ensure your team tailors content for specific platforms, such as native videos for LinkedIn, in-feed posts for Instagram, sharing FAQs on Quora, etc.
✅ Leveraging expertise
Sometimes the best thing to do is to leave it to experts. Outsource your social media content requirements to an experienced and reliable B2B social media marketing agency. Might we humbly suggest Vanilla Skills. This way, your team only focuses on other crucial functions while the agency focuses on aligning your content strategically with your audience requirements.
4. Making Content Your Lead Generation Magnet 🧲
If content is king, then context is God. Today your audience wants to read what is treading, wants to know that you are adapting to the changing times and that’s how it sees your B2B brand! There’s a ton of mediocre content that one can find online, offering little or no value.
Solution:
Having worked in the field of helping B2B CMOs reap the most from their content, we, at Vanilla Skills, can vouch for the need to prioritize depth and differentiation. In a saturated B2B market, superficial insights are ineffective. Original research and unique perspectives are essential for standing out. These elements help your B2B brand cut through the noise.
Given the unpredictability of social media platforms—where pages can be deleted or blocked, and algorithms can change without warning—investing in owned media becomes crucial. Blogs, videos, and other owned content ensure you have control over your message and can consistently engage your audience without relying solely on external platforms.
5. Building Your Own Online Presence 💹
Challenge:
Building a personal online presence is a challenge for leaders due to:
a) Time constraints,
b) Uncertainty about what to post,
c) Concern about posting something that might backfire.
Solution:
✅ High-Quality, Value-Driven Content
Post content that provides real value to your audience. This could include thought leadership articles, case studies, industry reports, and personal reflections on industry trends. Ensure your content is well-researched and offers unique insights.
✅ Network Expansion
Actively expand your LinkedIn network by connecting with industry peers, potential clients, and thought leaders. Personalize connection requests with a brief message explaining why you’d like to connect.
✅ Don’t have the time? Leave it to the pros
Being a CMO is no easy job, we understand that there are tons of duties that you have to overlook and that’s why for the last 10 years we have been helping leading B2B CEOs establish a strong presence online. Believe it or not, a personal profile building on LinkedIn requires a lot of strategy building too such as using a mix of media tools, presenting content in various forms, helping you gain the ‘LinkedIn Top Voice’ badge in your category, leveraging LinkedIn sales navigator to help you expand your network, etc. Through this, your circle doesn’t just expand but your B2B has a ripple effect.
Conclusion
To sum up, navigating the challenges faced by B2B CMOs in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape requires strategic thinking and targeted solutions. By implementing the solutions outlined in this article, CMOs can lead their teams more effectively, drive significant business results, and maintain a competitive edge in the B2B space. For any further help understanding how we can help enhance your efforts, write to us at: contact@vanillaskills.com or schedule a call with our CEO Benita Bhatia Dua
——————————————————————————————————————————
¹Single source of truth = Using a single source of truth means having one central system for all your data, so sales and marketing teams always have the same up-to-date information. This ensures everyone’s on the same page and can make informed decisions together, leading to better collaboration and a seamless customer experience. By reducing data silos, you also boost efficiency and productivity across your teams.
