How CMOs make themselves invaluable to the CEO

Without the buy-in and support of the CEO, marketers aee in danger of being sidelined. Here, we look at how marketing leaders can win the trust of their chief executive

Brad Howarth (CMO)
15 August, 2014 09:24

They are two of the most important functions within any business, but it seems that for many organisations, the gulf between executive management and marketing remains as wide as it has ever been.

The 2013 Marketing Performance Management Survey released by Forrester, ITSMA and VisionEdge found less than 10 per cent of top executives relied on marketing input when making significant business decisions or setting strategy. This means there is still plenty of work for marketers to do if they want to win the respect of fellow senior executives.

Head of digital and marketing at information management consultancy InfoReady, James Forbes, says he has heard two clients refer to marketing as the ‘colouring-in department’ in recent weeks.

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