The pressure on B2B CMOs is heating up. Research shows CEOs are beginning to turn their attention to marketing strategy. Is this good news to you?
For a world-class CMO with real strategic chops, it is. World class CMOs are salivating about the prospect of C-Suite support.
Laggard CMOs will flee like cockroaches once the spotlight illuminates their strategic shortcomings.
The days are numbered when CEOs simply expect brand, advertising and marketing collateral.
Why did it take this long? The cause of past C-Suite struggle was a lack of marketing knowledge. Most CEOs came through operations as a recent study reveals. McCombs School of Business studied 552 CEO appointments. 88 percent of CEOs have operations backgrounds. This dwarfs the number of marketing and finance CEOs combined. The pursuit of EBITDA has placed many CMOs at a point of friction with the CEO. This occurs when the CMO can’t demonstrate revenue contribution.
The C-Suite is recognizing the harsh reality that buyers are waiting to engage sales. This wait ranges from 50% – 70% of the entire buying process. Marketing is required to engage prospects before the buyer is ready to meet with a sales rep. Some CEOs are realizing making the future revenue number rests in marketing’s hands. Chief Marketing Officers have a golden opportunity. The rise of the B2B CMO has arrived.
Download SBI’s latest marketing report, “How to Increase Marketing’s Contribution to 2015 Revenue,” here. It will help you develop the right marketing strategy. If you already have a solid strategy, then utilize the report to perform a gap analysis. Sign-up for the workshop and invite your CEO.
SBI has watched this trend toward strategy pick up steam the last few years. We prioritized this year’s Annual Research on the topic of Marketing Strategy. SBI’s research was performed in a way to contrast the practices of world-class companies compared to those they were out-performing.
- Marketing leaders who contribute to revenue with a best-in-class marketing strategy beat EPS estimates 88% of the time.
- Marketing leaders who do not contribute to revenue, and have an average marketing strategy, beat EPS estimates only 67% of the time.
Our analysts were surprised to see strategy as a point contrast. A surprising 71% of laggard companies reported having the wrong marketing strategy.
Key Takeaway
Now is the perfect time for CMOs to involve the CEO with developing marketing strategy. Be proactive and invite your CEO into planning. In advance of going to the CEO, review SBI’s report to analyze gaps to best practice. Best in class marketing leaders have the right strategy in place to ensure this happens. Download our full report here to understand how to create your marketing strategy for 2015. Developing the right marketing strategy will put you on a path to credibility with the CEO.
