A recent survey by Gartner, Inc. highlights a significant challenge for senior marketing leaders, with only 52% of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and other senior marketing executives successfully proving the value of marketing and receiving credit for its contributions to business outcomes.
This data underscores a persistent issue where marketing is often seen as an expense rather than a strategic investment.
The survey, conducted in April and May 2024, involved 378 senior marketing leaders. It identified CFOs (40%) and CEOs (39%) as the key executives most sceptical about marketing’s value within their organisations. The findings suggest that many CMOs are still facing entrenched beliefs that prevent marketing from being recognised as a critical driver of business success.
Joseph Enever, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, emphasised that overcoming these perceptions requires continuous education and communication. “Marketing leaders need to reshape outdated beliefs by demonstrating marketing’s long-term impact on business performance,” said Enever.
The Challenge of Changing Perceptions
According to a separate Gartner survey conducted earlier in 2024, 47% of CMOs reported that marketing is viewed as an expense rather than an investment. This highlights the difficulty marketing leaders face in demonstrating their strategic contribution. The results suggest that senior marketing leaders must focus on reshaping these perceptions by communicating marketing’s value more effectively, particularly to sceptical stakeholders like CFOs and CEOs.
Enever pointed out that leaders who take a more comprehensive, long-term approach to illustrating marketing’s impact across various functions, such as sales, customer experience, and operations, have greater success. Of the 41% of leaders who employed this method, two-thirds were able to prove marketing’s value and receive credit for their contributions to business success.
Holistic Approach to Proving Marketing’s Value
The survey results indicate that CMOs who adopt a holistic view of marketing’s value are more successful in gaining recognition for their work. By measuring marketing’s impact on other departments and aligning success measures with the goals of various stakeholders, senior leaders can build a more compelling case for marketing’s strategic importance.
“Leaders must be disciplined in aligning their marketing metrics with the different goals of teams and stakeholders,” said Enever. This broader perspective on marketing’s value, encompassing multiple business functions, allows CMOs to show how marketing efforts contribute to overall business success, rather than focusing solely on short-term results.
The Role of Complex Metrics in Communicating Value
Gartner’s experts recommend that CMOs increase the sophistication and variety of the metrics they use to demonstrate marketing’s value. The survey identified three key types of metrics that can provide a more complete understanding of marketing’s contributions: relationship metrics, return on transactional metrics, and operational metrics.
Metrics such as Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), and stakeholder satisfaction with marketing deliverables can help CMOs communicate a more nuanced view of marketing’s effectiveness. Enever explained that using a combination of these “high complexity” metrics improves the likelihood of proving marketing’s value. CMOs who utilised two or more of these metrics were up to 1.8 times more likely to gain recognition for marketing’s impact compared to those who used none.
Involvement in Data & Analytics Improves Results
The survey also revealed that CMOs who actively participate in data and analytics initiatives are more successful at proving marketing’s value. Senior marketing leaders who regularly engage with marketing analytics teams and contribute to activities like creating dashboards or developing measurement strategies are 1.4 times more likely to demonstrate marketing’s contribution than those less involved.
Regular meetings with the highest-ranking marketing analytics leaders significantly improved the chances of success. Of those CMOs who frequently met with their analytics leaders, 62% reported being able to prove value and receive credit, compared to just 30% who met infrequently.
Talent Gaps Hinder Marketing’s Success
Another significant finding from the Gartner survey is the impact of talent gaps on proving marketing’s value. Three major barriers related to talent were identified: a lack of soft skills, insufficient analytical talent, and a shortage of expertise in integrating and analysing data.
Enever emphasised the need for CMOs to address these challenges: “By enhancing soft skills, bridging the analytical talent gap, and improving technical capabilities, CMOs can position marketing as a key driver of strategic insights.” Developing these areas is crucial to transforming marketing into a function that is not only effective in delivering campaigns but also pivotal in generating business intelligence and guiding strategic decisions.
Gartner’s findings highlight the ongoing need for marketing leaders to evolve their approach, both in terms of the metrics they use and the skills within their teams, to secure recognition and investment for their efforts.
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