From Transactional to Transformational: Rethinking How You Engage CMOs

Companies typically engage with CMOs the same way: define the product, hand it off, and expect it back at scale. Doing so creates a simplified management structure, aids execution speed, and is cost-effective at scale. 

It’s these advantages that make standard CMO engagements worthwhile, but it also leaves value on the table that many clients don’t know how to extract. 

The Constraint of the Transactional Model

In a traditional engagement, roles are tightly defined before work begins. That structure creates predictability, but caps the value of the relationship from the start. For example: 

• Locking product specifications before the CMO is engaged, preventing external input from shaping the solution
• Measuring performance as speed, cost, and consistency, without space for contribution or insight 
• Confining communication to solely milestones, impacting real-time problem-solving

Even a highly capable CMO will provide a minimum level of value if that’s the role they have been given. For some, that’s all they need from their CMOs. For others, that’s all they know how to get. 

The Value of Innovation-Oriented Engagement 

Expanding how you engage a CMO opens up a different level of value. 

For example:

• Engaging CMOs before specifications are finalized allows feasibility and process insights to inform the product
• Bringing external technical expertise into early-stage decisions helps teams avoid blind spots
• Iterating on formulation, design, or process in parallel with manufacturing streamlines final design
• Identifying alternative materials, methods, or partners that may not surface internally

Many CMOs are already evolving in this direction, building capabilities that allow them to contribute earlier and more meaningfully when given the opportunity.

Here’s how the approaches stack up side-by-side: 

Closer Than You Think

Many companies don’t need to look far to unlock more value from their CMOs. In many cases, the capability is already present within their existing network, but it hasn’t been engaged in a way that brings it forward. 

The challenge is often not about identifying new partners, but knowing how to structure interactions, frame problems, and manage collaboration so that those capabilities can be used effectively. With the right approach, the same network that supports execution can also support innovation.

If you’re interested in learning more, check out our case study, where yet2 helped a large consumer healthcare organization upgrade its CMO capabilities! 

Words by Carlos Pichardo

Image generated by OpenAI