CMOS WILL INCREASINGLY BE GROWTH OFFICERS, INNOVATION PARTNERS AND CUSTOMER ADVOCATES

SOORAJ BALAKRISHNAN
Associate Director & Head of Marketing, Acer India

“At Acer India, we take a balanced approach to measuring marketing’s contribution to growth, blending quantitative performance metrics with long-term brand health indicators. On the performance side, we track metrics such as sales growth, lead conversion rates, return on marketing investment (ROMI), and digital engagement KPIs like CTRs, cost per acquisition, and customer lifetime value. At the same time, we closely monitor brand metrics such as awareness, consideration, and preference scores in our target segments.

Marketing & Digital Transformation

Marketing is at the heart of our digital transformation, both as a driver and as a beneficiary. On one hand, we are leveraging data, automation, and AI-powered insights to make our marketing more precise, personalized, and measurable, whether it’s through programmatic advertising, predictive analytics, or advanced CRM systems. On the
other hand, marketing acts as the bridge between our technology-led innovations and the customer, ensuring that our digital-first products, services, and experiences are clearly communicated and seamlessly adopted.

Evolving Role of the CMO

The role of the CMO is rapidly evolving from being primarily a brand custodian to becoming a core architect of business strategy. My vision is for CMOs to be deeply embedded in strategic decision-making, not just influencing the go-to-market plan, but shaping the very products, services, and experiences that define the brand. CMOs will increasingly be growth officers, innovation partners, and customer advocates, all rolled into one, ensuring that business strategy is inseparable from customer strategy.”