What do the most senior execs in the C-suite actually think of chief marketing officers (CMOs)?
It’s complicated, according to fresh research from Gartner, shared exclusively with ADWEEK.
The research firm interviewed 125 chief executives (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) to get the inside scoop on what’s expected of CMOs and how they can stay on the job longer—and the data is illuminating.
Gartner’s research revealed that CEOs and CFOs have high and growing expectations of marketers beyond meeting performance targets. These execs now want marketers to demonstrate flexibility, be held in high esteem by the C-suite and—surprisingly—get better at marketing the role of their function internally.
The main reason marketers are fired, Gartner found, was the inability to deliver promised results, with 69% of CEOs and CFOs stating this would lead to CMO removal.
A failure to adapt was the next biggest reason (58%), followed by a failure to earn the leadership team’s respect. 41% of CEOs and CFOs said they would terminate a CMO if they couldn’t communicate a strategic vision for the marketing department.
For a myriad of reasons—from moving up the ladder to poor performance—the average CMO tenure is notoriously one of the shortest in the C-suite. Most Fortune 500 CMOs last just 51 months, or 4.2 years, in the job, per data from recruitment firm Spencer Stuart.
Chris Ross, vp analyst at Gartner for Marketers, advised new CMOs have a “finite amount of time” to score points with the board. Whether they’ve been recruited internally or joined from another business, “that’s a magic period. You have to get off to a strong start,” he said.
CMOs need to market themselves better
Of course, not every CMO ends up getting fired. But figures from Gartner suggest senior members of the C-suite have a generally dim view of the top marketing job.
Only about one-third of CEOs and CFOs feel aligned with their CMO on how marketing can drive growth. A similar percentage (38%) consider their top marketer a good collaborator.
More troubling, perhaps, is that just 22% say their CMO has been clear about what the marketing department is responsible for accomplishing.
