Executive Summary
The importance of digital channels to connect with customers have radically increased since the pandemic, at a pace which was not anticipated. For example, giant tech companies like Microsoft have witnessed ‘two years’ worth of digital transformation in ‘two months’. The increased amount of digital customer engagement is generating critical data about customers. However, the volume, complexity and the speed at which the data is generated is forcing organisations to have effective database management systems. Today, the Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) have a larger role to ensure higher customer engagement through digital platforms and effectively manage customer data so that the sales team can contact more qualified prospects and close more deals in less time. Recognizing the important role of CMOs in a digitised marketplace, we reached out to 250 CMOs across eight sectors and across six major cities in India. These businesses had a revenue of more than INR 5 billion. The survey was conducted in the last quarter of 2020. This helped us to understand:
- What is the budget allocated to marketing and what are the key marketing channels pursued by CMOs?
- How companies are deriving revenue through digital platforms?
- How CMOs are effectively targeting their customers through digital platforms?
- How technologies are used by CMOs to manage data and gather actionable customer insights?
This whitepaper provides answers on the above four questions. The outcome of this whitepaper will help to understand the growing importance of digital channels to connect with customers and how CMOs of leading organisations are applying new age technologies to deliver a better customer experience. The whitepaper also helps to understand the readiness of marketing automation tools amongst CMOs across sectors.