A current survey by the Boathouse Group, a advertising and marketing company/consulting agency primarily based in Boston, ought to function a wake-up name for B2B advertising and marketing leaders. The 2021 CMO Research was primarily based on a survey of 150 Fortune 3000 CEO’s from 13 industries. Survey respondents represented corporations with annual income starting from $250 million to greater than $1 billion. The survey was within the subject Could 26 – June 8, 2021.

The researchers had two targets for this survey. They wished to seize the views of CEO’s on the position and significance of the CMO place, they usually wished to discover different CEO perceptions that may assist clarify the quick common tenure of chief advertising and marketing officers. The survey report famous that common CMO tenure (in 2020) was on the lowest level prior to now decade.*

Like different analysis I’ve not too long ago mentioned, the Boathouse survey discovered that driving income development has grow to be the highest advertising and marketing precedence within the eyes of many CEO’s. A big plurality of the survey respondents (47%) mentioned the most crucial position of the CMO is to “develop the enterprise.” Creating the model got here in a distant second at 29%.

The Boathouse survey accommodates each excellent news and dangerous information for CMO’s. First, the excellent news.

The Good Information

The CEO’s surveyed by Boathouse expressed a number of optimistic sentiments relating to CMO’s. An amazing majority (86%) mentioned CMO’s have the facility and credibility to affect key choices made by C-level executives. Sixty-three p.c of the survey respondents described CMO’s as “performance-minded,” and 58% mentioned CMO’s perceive the enterprise and shareholder targets of the corporate.

Now For the Unhealthy Information

Sadly, the Boathouse survey additionally revealed that many CEO’s have a number of unfavourable perceptions of CMO’s – or at the very least the CMO’s they’ve labored with.

For instance, solely 34% of the surveyed CEO’s mentioned they’ve nice confidence in CMO’s. And 80% of the survey respondents mentioned the short-term tenure of CMO’s was an indication of CMO failure. When survey contributors have been requested why CMO’s are failing, 38% of the respondents mentioned it was as a result of CMO’s have the mistaken ability set for the altering advertising and marketing surroundings, and 21% mentioned it was as a result of CMO’s have issue measuring the enterprise outcomes of promoting applications.

These outcomes are much like the findings of a 2021 survey of senior administration executives carried out by the CMO Council. In that survey, solely 17% of the respondents mentioned they have been extraordinarily assured in advertising and marketing’s capability to steer a development restoration in 2021, and one other 52% mentioned they have been simply reasonably assured.

The Boathouse survey additionally contained some pretty miserable findings in regards to the degree of belief CEO’s have in CMO’s, with solely 32% of the surveyed CEO’s saying they belief CMO’s. A number of the CEO perceptions described within the survey report are visceral. For instance:

56% of the respondents mentioned CMO’s are dedicated to themselves, however solely 44% mentioned they’re dedicated to the CEO/board.
Solely 56% of the respondents mentioned the CMO helps the long-term imaginative and prescient of the CEO, and solely 10% mentioned the CMO places the CEO’s wants earlier than their very own.

Lastly, when Boathouse requested survey contributors to determine essentially the most trusted and essentially the most worthwhile member of their management staff, CMO’s did not fare very effectively. The next desk exhibits how the surveyed CEO’s responded to those two questions.

My Take

A number of the findings within the Boathouse survey appear to be very contradictory. For instance, the surveyed CEO’s mentioned CMO’s have the credibility to affect key C-suite choices, however solely a couple of third of the respondents mentioned they belief CMO’s. It is as if the survey respondents have been answering some questions primarily based on what they imagine CMO’s must be or could possibly be, whereas answering others primarily based on what they assume most CMO’s truly are.

*The survey report accommodates a considerably complicated chart that depicts common and median CMO tenure from 2011 by way of 2020. The chart seems to be primarily based on knowledge from the 2021 version of the CMO Tenure Research by Spencer Stuart. You possibly can evaluation the Spencer Stuart knowledge right here.

Prime Picture Supply: Boathouse Group Inc.