In a subscription-based economy, where companies are investing big time in annuity revenue models, the Chief Revenue Officer’s (CRO) role is becoming increasingly crucial for the internal CXO community and gaining importance for investors and venture capitalists. The CRO role is relatively new among C-level functions with the CRO being seen as a key player in organisations to help drive strategic decisions and collaborate across business functions to deliver a consistent customer experience.
So, how is the role of a CRO shaping up to be more focused on all revenue generation processes in an organization? The pain points and challenges that typical CRO faces are many, and quality insights and networking opportunities are hard to come by. Fortunately, over the past few years companies have experienced a reduced gap between sales and marketing with the adoption of new digital technologies. Sophisticated sales and marketing automation have also made it easier for customer acquisition. The buying lifecycles have become more customer-centric because of the increased collaboration between sales, service, and marketing, with all functions sharing the responsibility of revenue generation.
The role of a CRO has become more relevant in this decade, due to an increasing number of disruptive forces such as AI, 5G and sustainability impacting companies as well as emerging from the forced situations that led to cost-cutting and changed work environments. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the B2B customer experience model. Most B2B companies have shifted the focus from traditional to digital, owing to the predictability and scalability of digitally automated customer-facing processes.
A key challenge faced by CROs is how to ensure that sales teams are not only efficient but also how they can become more effective to drive increased revenue and be seen as strategically important by their clients. Companies have invested in tools such as CRM and BI/ analytics which drive efficiency but customer intelligence and relevant content increases efficiency. Getting the balance right between investing in transactional tools versus value tools is going to be key for organisations to drive growth though actionable intelligence that is tailored for their individual clients.
The pain points and challenges a typical CRO faces are many, and quality insights and networking opportunities are hard to come by. The Chief Revenue Officer Talk Series by MarketsandMarkets™ brings together top thought leaders in the CRO world and explores the dimensions and ramifications of this new age of revenue leadership. Also available through TD SYNNEX, the CRO white paper from MarketsandMarkets™ ‘Managing Revenue in a World Full of Disruption and Choice’ which provides an insightful view of the role of the CRO, their challenges and solutions.
No matter what size the organisation, to ensure revenue growth companies need to look beyond the sales function. The CRO plays a crucial role in the optimising process, effectively collaborating with divisions across the organisation to improve client experiences and relationships.
Article submitted by Phillip Powell, IoT and Analytics Specialist, TD SYNNEX
