CMO Tenure at Lowest Point Since 2009 dropping to a median tenure of 25.5 months while simultaneously CEO tenure reaches a new high of 80 months at the same companies in the study.

This means that CEO’s are working with 3+ CMO’s during their tenure; That creates a unique opportunity.

The pillars of the C-suite:

When you examine the distinct organizations each member of the C-suite presides over there is one group that stands out for the breadth of functions they direct

• CTO will have developers and engineers.

• CFO will have accountants and economists.

• COO will have analysts and PMs.

• But the CMO will have Storytellers, Creatives, Performance Marketers, Brand Marketers, Traditional marketing, Digital Marketing, Technology, Art, Analytics, and more.

While this is an oversimplification, it does highlight that a CMO’s background has a greater chance of being varied than most other C-suite executives.

As a CEO churns through their 3+ CMO’s during their tenure the likelihood that they experience vastly different approaches to marketing is high.

The funnel emphasis, the tactics, the budget allocation; Their preferred approach can and will vary.

Trust and confidence wanes

It is completely understandable that CEOs would find it difficult to know who to trust; Which of these marketing professionals has the right answer, and how many are willing to alter their tactics to fit the company, rather than alter the company to accommodate their preferred tactics?

The other outcome of seeing CMOs come and go is the challenge of getting allegiances and alignment with these leaders. With a role that continues to turn over the ability to trust their CMO becomes more challenging. Only ⅓ CEOs have trust and confidence in their CMO.

More than half of the CEOs in the study responded that the CMO is more committed to themselves than to the CEO/Board/Business.

This starts to paint a clear picture of the rift between our CEO and CMO.

On the same page? Not even the same language

The first challenge to solving the trust gap begins with the basics of communication

• Make complex things simple

• Speak for the audience not at them

• Focus on the value and the outcomes

• Support the needs of your stakeholder

60% of CEOs surveyed believe that the CMO speaks their own language not relative to the language of the business and that the marketing environment is more complicated than the overall business environment.

This speaks to a challenge of confusion, of an inability to align, and of disconnect between the business itself and the marketing organization within.

Couple this with the startling fact that 90% of CEOs surveyed responded that the CMO puts their own needs before the needs of the CEO and a pitiful 4% of CEOs responding that the CMO is the most trusted member of the leadership team and it seems we’ve found a problem.

Where do we go from here?

The growing rift between CMOs and CEOs will only continue to create problems for the business, and it all starts with trust and communication.

Bringing in a mediator as soon as a new CMO starts is a great way to ensure that everyone is starting from the same position.

• Align and document:

  • Funnel and Customer Journey

  • KPIs and Revenue drivers

  • Current Channels active

  • Current technology in place

  • Current team and organizational structure

  • Existing vendors and agencies

  • Budget allocations and reasons

• Draft and Strategize

  • The future of the Funnel and how to build it

  • Adjustments to the customer journey

  • Validate the KPIs and Revenue drives connect to the business

  • Which channels to continue investing in

  • New channels to plan to grow into

  • What technology can be eliminated 

  • Additional technology required for growth

  • How the team needs to adjust for this growth plan

  • Which vendors and agencies will continue on

  • Transparency on how budget is being allocated and why

Taking the time to establish shared language and understanding will allow the CMO to then layer their vision on top and ensure that it aligns with the CEO and the business as well.

Bringing in a 3rd party review, whether you are a new CMO or a veteran feeling the tension, can allow you to establish a neutral mediator between the CMO and CEO as the trust is built.

A line item marketing audit is something that has challenges when orchestrated by the company. When run by marketing there is a challenge to the trust of grading your own homework. When run by finance there is frustration of accountants not understanding the nuance of how marketing works. When run by Analytics there is a challenge of bias to internal pressures. This work is something that comes with baggage brought by whoever touches it.

Much like any other relationship it is best to bring in a professional from outside your situation to assess, mediate, and help set the basis by which you can then grow.