The Reasons – 2
Joellyn Ferguson listed a few reasons in her LinkedIn post:
- Marketing is hard to measure. Unlike more tangible roles, the top-line impact of marketing is harder to quantify. While a simple operational change might quickly net thousands – if not millions – of dollars in corporate savings, a shift in marketing can take months to pay off. On top of that, many of the metrics marketer use to gauge success are still soft measures, like brand awareness or customer engagement.
- CMO influence is transparent. CMOs often lead external teams. While their counterparts in IT, Sales and Customer Support may have significant headcount, CMO’s frequently lead a relatively small in-house marketing team supported by legions of agency folks. As a result, their influence and interactions may be largely outside the company walls, beyond the purview of the CEO and the Board of Directors.
- Lack of fiscal knowledge and P&L experience. …For the most part, chief marketing officers are not accountable for the bottom line. Without a strong CMO demonstrating clear ROI, the CFO, CEO and the Board are prone to view marketing as cost center rather than a strategic investment.
- Marketing is often a creative sport. While I’ll be the first to tell you that marketing is a mix of art and science, from the outside looking in many people see it as creative more than anything else. Many top marketers still enjoy this aspect of their role… To advance in the organization, CMOs must transform creative concepts into tangible results.
I asked ChatGPT the top reasons why CMOs do not become CEOs:
- Narrow Functional Focus: CMOs typically have deep expertise in marketing but may lack experience in broader business functions like operations, finance, or strategy, which are critical for a CEO role.
- Perception of Marketing as a Cost Center: Marketing departments are often viewed as cost centers rather than direct revenue generators, which can impact the perceived value of marketing leadership in driving overall business success.
- Limited P&L Responsibility: Not all CMO roles come with profit and loss responsibility, a crucial aspect of most CEO positions, which requires a thorough understanding of the company’s financial health and the ability to make decisions that impact the bottom line.
- Strategic Influence: While CMOs play a key role in shaping brand strategy and customer engagement, they might not always be involved in company-wide strategic decision-making or have the opportunity to influence the broader business direction at the same level as other executives.
- Boardroom Language and Dynamics: CMOs may not have as much experience with board governance or the dynamics of boardroom discussions as other senior executives, such as Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) or Chief Operating Officers (COOs), who often have more regular interaction with the board.
Transitioning from CMO to CEO presents notable challenges, a reality echoed in numerous discussions I’ve had with marketers over recent years.
