The 21st century is the age of disruption. Nutraceuticals, Plant-based substitutes, digital health, 5G and AI, and sustainability are just some of the disruptive business trends. On top of these are macro-economic disruptors like pandemics and wars. While navigating disruption, exponential growth is the only solution. There is no option to stand still as that will inevitably lead to declining, as the very business model transforms.
Every industry is susceptible to disruption and those who aren’t ready are at risk for value degradation. Even a disruption that is not impacting a business directly, can have serious repercussions. In today’s world, the winning companies are the ones that are not only better prepared for disruptions but also able to maneuver their business in line with the opportunities arising from those disruptions. In fact, our analysis states that because these disruptions are becoming mainstream, around 50% of the global B2B economy, i.e., $25 trillion, will get washed away, and will be replaced by new $25 trillion revenue sources in the current decade itself.
Understanding the power of market disruptions in respective industries is crucial for businesses to chart lucrative revenue growth. Especially in a subscription-based economy, where companies are investing big time in annuity revenue models, the role of the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is not only becoming increasingly important for the internal CXO community but also gaining importance for investors and venture capitalists.
CROs need to understand the shifting marketplace, evaluate the best opportunities for revenue expansion, and increase their customers’ lifetime value to the business. To create sustainable and predictable growth, every channel needs to be a high-performing piece of their revenue portfolio.
CROs aren’t focused solely on sales, and CEOs see the value in that. More and more CEOs are coming to realize that they need someone to help guide strategic decisions before leaders jump in and spring into revenue-impacting action without coordination. Successful CROs have found ways to leverage their company’s partner ecosystems as an extension of their team.
Customers nowadays have more choices and information than ever before, and their experience have blurred the once-clear line between brand awareness and product preference. Therefore, a CRO is crucial, with a holistic perspective of the process that other executives may simply not be able to gather.
The CRO also needs to work with a company’s executive team to build long-term strategy. They must be able to see and communicate the company’s vision and the revenue strategy across functions to ensure that they meet all their goals. Similarly, the CRO must measure and analyze productivity and create market positioning.
A modern selling strategy requires modern tools. To successfully achieve Y-o-Y growth, there needs to be an increased focus on selling efficiency and effectiveness, both within the sales organization and across the enterprise. To increase revenues, teams that engage with customers require tools that enable them to sell better and help improve efficiency as well as effectiveness. Companies nowadays are investing heavily in transactional tools such as BI and Analytics but usually don’t invest as much into value tools. Value tools enable actionable growth since they are content and intelligence-curated for a specific audience.
Most importantly, the need of the hour is a Market Intelligence Cloud, which enables users to get access to real-time validated inputs on disruptions impacting industries, their clients and competitors, new revenue opportunities, target customers in identified opportunities, thereby supporting CROs in becoming trusted advisors by co-creating high-impact pitches, thought leadership content, and activities.