CMO Council Study Reveals Marketing Executives Lack of Boardroom Influence and Credibility Despite CEO Belief Marketing is Critical
Friday, 23 December 2005
Today’s top marketing executives admit that their group’s performance is not up to par, and that’s causing a lack of influence and credibility within the corporate hierarchy. In the newest survey conducted by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, only 10 percent of the respondents say their marketing groups are “highly influential and strategic” within the company, while less than half believe their teams are “well regarded and respected.” This at a time when two-thirds of CEOs polled say their marketing groups are mission-critical for creating top-line company growth.
Those are among the surprising findings in the CMO Council study “RENOVATE TO INNOVATE: Building Performance-Driven Marketing Organizations,” a four-month research initiative that gathered insights into how senior marketers plan to improve the yield and accountability of their organizations, as well as increase the value, effectiveness and stature of their marketing groups. The results come at a time when many marketing leaders appear to be struggling to add new analytic business skills, digital marketing competencies, demand generation processes, and customer acquisition and retention systems.
“This study confirms marketers need to move from a tactical orientation to a more analytic and strategic approach that will enable them to realign marketing initiatives with the overall corporate mission,” said Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council. “Only marketing executives who successfully transform their organizations through rigorous disciplines, best practices and technology-enabled processes will play a critical role in their company’s strategic growth.”
As additional evidence of lack of board-level influence, Neale-May pointed to a recent data point from Corporate Board Member magazine, which found just 192 Chief Marketing Officers serve on 5,912 boards of directors as compared to 1,542 Chief Financial Officers serving on those same boards.
Among the key findings of the RENOVATE TO INNOVATE research:
* Alignment: More than 40 percent of marketers polled say that their organization’s alignment with the company mission falls somewhere between “average” and “not well-aligned.”
* Knowledge Gaps: Top areas of weakness: customer insight and access (46 percent); strategic depth and business knowledge (39 percent) and marketing analytics and measurement (35 percent).
* Measurement Systems & Reporting: Fundamentals: A whopping 73 percent say they have no formal marketing performance scorecard to effectively rate their organization.
“Among all the marketing organizations we work with, the best ones are able to effectively analyze, measure and restructure each function and initiative on an ongoing basis, and ensure true alignment with broader strategic goals,” said Tim Furey, President and CEO of MarketBridge, a leading provider of sales and marketing consulting and managed services to Fortune 500 companies and the underwriter of the study. “This study demonstrates that while a few organizations have the analytical skill and restructuring flexibility needed to thrive in this environment, many companies remain unable to make that kind of transformation.”