The role of the CMO is becoming more important and their focus is shifting towards enhancing the customer experience across the entire buyer’s journey, according to a new study by The CMO Club.

CMOs are also starting to allocate funds towards all stages of the buyer’s journey, rather than just on acquisition which is what was typically done in the past.

One of the key findings of the study was that 57 percent of CMOs expect their budgets to increase over the next two or three years, and 53 percent are spending their budget dollars on all stages of the buyers journey in an effort to increase revenue potential.

The adage “content is king” is indeed true. Content generation gets the most budget dollars out of all the different advertising media. According to the study, 13 percent of the marketing budget goes to content and that is expected to increase as processes become more digital.

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Intermediate/ Digest...

The primary problem with the funnel is that the buying process is no longer linear. Prospects don’t just enter at the top of the funnel; instead, they come in at any stage. Furthermore, they often jump stages, stay in a stage indefinitely, or move back and forth between them.

One popular alternative to the funnel is the Customer Decision Journey popularized by McKinsey. A key advantage of this model is that it’s circular, rather than linear. Prospects don’t come in the top and out the bottom, but move through an ongoing set of touchpoints before, during, and after a purchase.

So where do we go from here?  The funnel and Customer Decision Journey aren’t going away.  They are useful models, and will continue to be helpful in certain contexts.  But marketing today requires a new mental map to navigate a changing landscape. We need a model that informs marketers how to enable and empower, not just persuade and promote.  There are a variety of alternatives including journey, orbit, relationship, and experience.

Whatever model you choose, what’s most important is that it addresses: first, the multi-dimensional nature of social influence; second, non-linear paths to purchase; third, the role of advocates who aren’t customers; and fourth, the shift to ongoing relationships beyond individual transactions.

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