The CMO Council's research explores the role of the CMO in driving growth, changing the organization around customer value, and leading innovation and digital transformation. The main research areas are: driving growth and creating business value, changing the role of the CMO, and differentiating the customer experience. The CMOs feel that they are not realizing the full potential of their current customers, and revenue optimization is a key challenge. The CMOs are expected to lead the customer experience across the entire business, and the top priorities for 2016 are increased responsibilities, customer-centric focus, strategy/brand management, reporting/insights, marketing technology, and omni-channel/cross-channel promotions. The marketing budget is forecasted to increase by 6%, with a focus on digital and digital technology. The top marketing technologies for 2016 are marketing automation, advanced analytics, and customer interaction.
