How Good is Your Marketing Strategy?

The pressure on B2B CMOs is heating up. Research shows CEOs are beginning to turn their attention on marketing strategy. Is this good news for you?

For world-class CMOs with stellar marketing strategies, this is fantastic news. These executives salivate at the prospect of C-Suite support. In stark contrast, laggard CMOs will flee like cockroaches when the spotlight exposes their strategic shortcomings.

The days of CEOs just expecting collateral from brand, advertising, and marketing are numbered.

But why did it take this long? The cause of past C-Suite struggle was a lack of marketing knowledge. A recent study shows that the majority of CEOs came through operations. McCombs School of Business studied 552 CEO appointments. A whopping 88 percent of CEOs have operations backgrounds. This far outweighs the number of marketing and finance CEOs combined. With the pursuit of EBITDA, many CMOs are placed at a point of friction with the CEO, especially when they are unable to demonstrate revenue contribution.

There is a harsh reality that the C-Suite is being forced to recognize. Buyers are waiting to engage sales, with waits ranging from 50% – 70% of the entire buying process. Before the buyer is even ready to consider meeting a sales rep, they must be engaged by marketing. Some CEOs are realizing that the future revenue number rests with marketing. This golden opportunity is the rise of the B2B CMO.

Download SBI’s latest marketing report, “How to Make Your Number in 2017,” here. Utilize this report if you need help developing a solid marketing plan. Conversely, if you’re already set with a stellar strategy, use the report to perform a gap analysis.

SBI has observed this trend towards strategy grow in popularity over the last couple years. That’s why we specifically prioritized this year’s Annual Research on the topic of Marketing Strategy. We performed our research in such a way as contrast the practices of world-class companies compared to those they were out-performing.

• Marketing leaders who contribute to revenue with a best-in-class marketing strategy beat EPS estimates 88% of the time.
• Marketing leaders who do not contribute to revenue, and have an average marketing strategy, beat EPS estimates only 67% of the time.

To find that strategy was the point of contrast stunned our analysts. Furthermore, a staggering 71% of laggard companies reported having the wrong marketing strategy.

Key Takeaway

CMOs, the time is ripe for you to get your CEOs involved with developing marketing strategy. Take the initiative and invite your CEO into planning. Before going to the CEO, review SBI’s report to analyze gaps and refresh best practices. Developing the right marketing strategy will put you on a path to credibility with the CEO. Download our full report here to understand how you can create your marketing strategy for 2017.