Why businesses that prioritise CX generate 11% higher shareholder returns

A small number of innovative chief marketing officers (CMOs) are helping their organisations generate shareholder returns 11% higher than industry peers by delivering hyper-relevant customer experiences, according to a new report from Accenture.

Based on a global survey of nearly 1,000 CMOs and more than 500 CEOs at the world's largest organisations, the report — Way Beyond Marketing – The Rise of The Hyper-Relevant CMO — found that the top 17% of marketing leaders are driving transformational change at the highest levels of their organisations, helping them respond quickly to changing customer needs by enabling better integration and collaboration and deliver superior customer experiences.

Commenting on the report, Michael Buckley, managing director for Accenture Interactive in Australia and New Zealand believes these customer experiences are challenging the status quo of traditional organisational structures.

"Locally, consumers are becoming more open to engaging in services and offerings that are hyper-personalised. As a result marketing leaders need to find creative ways to reinvent the customer experience and set themselves apart from competitors.

"They need to become what we call 'living businesses' —  to  anticipate and respond to changing customer needs at speed and deliver significant business value.

Marketers leading the growth agenda 

Data has evolved to be a key strategic asset for marketing leaders. The report revealed nearly one-third (31%) of the CEOs globally surveyed expect CMOs to drive growth using customer data and insights to create new products, services and experiences. While marketers recognise brands have increased access to customer data, an equal number of Australian and global CMOs (69%) admit they are struggling to apply the insights to their marketing strategy.

Purpose driving profit

With consumers increasingly buying from brands that have a clear purpose that aligns to their personal values and beliefs, leading CMOs understand the importance of being highly relevant to their customers' lives. Three-quarters (76%) of CMOs globally believe that consumers have higher expectations today of a brand's purpose, compared to 63% of Australian CMOs surveyed.

New skills driving growth

As the role of marketers continues to undergo a profound shift, the vast majority (90%) of CEOs and CMOs globally agree that the function will change fundamentally over the next three years. The report notes that leading CMOs are ahead of the curve, thinking entirely differently about the kind of roles and skills their teams will need to be successful in the future. Australian respondents cite roles such as customer experience curators (72%) and immersive experience designers (57%) as the most desirable roles to succeed in delivering a hyper-relevant customer experience.

"CMOs need to lead an effective, joined-up customer experience at all touch points, at pace and scale, to drive growth," said Buckley. "In essence, there are four key actions they must take: using advanced customer insight and analytics to shape the future; building the marketing and sales capabilities of their people and organisation; leveraging partnerships to create innovative new products, services and solutions; and delivering cost-effective technological activation of personalised and scalable marketing programs."