Getting in with the “In” crowd: how to put marketing back on the CEO's agenda

Abstract

Purpose – Despite efforts by researchers and managers to better link marketing activities with business financial outcomes, there is general agreement that by and large chief marketing officers (CMOs) (and marketing in general) have lost strategic decision-making influence within organizations. The purpose of this paper is to understand the causes of this decline and offer recommended solutions to counteract this trend. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interviews lasting between 40 and 55 minutes were conducted with 25 chief executive officers (CEOs) of service companies located in Western Europe, North America, and Australia. In total, 13 difference countries were represented. Using Emerging Consensus Technique, we identified four main themes, which cause the goals of CEOs and those of CMOs/marketing to diverge. Findings – The primary cause of the decline of strategic influence of CMOs and marketing overall with CEOs is a function of four key issues: first, the role of the CMO (e.g. task overload, focus on tactical issues, “outdated” skill set); second, lack of financial accountability (e.g. the inability to connect marketing efforts to financial returns); third, digital and social media (e.g. a perceived obsession with new technology); and forth, lack of strategic vision and impact (e.g. lost sight of “core” job, use of irrelevant metrics). Practical implications – The findings indicate that CMOs must address the four key issues uncovered for marketing to attain/regain a role in strategic decision making. A proposed roadmap for putting marketing back on the CEOs agenda is presented to guide CMOs. Originality/value – This research provides marketers with a CEO eye view of their role within organizations.

Interfaces of Strategic Leaders: A Conceptual Framework, Review, and Research Agenda

“…Research on individual executive interfaces tended to focus on relational dynamics with the CEO, such as the level of mutual understanding and alignment (Johnson & Lederer, 2005, 2010), relational quality (Krotov, 2015), interpersonal trust (Zhen, Xuan, & Jing, 2012), social capital (Karahanna & Preston, 2013), and effectiveness (Hambrick & Cannella, 2004). A particularly promising direction has been studies that unravel the conditions under which functional executives acquire and maintain structural power and decision-making influence within the TMT (Klaus, Edvardsson, Keiningham, & Gruber, 2014; Nath & Mahajan, 2011).…”

Towards practical relevance — Delivering superior firm performance through digital customer experience strategies

“…CX allows us not only to create a set of tools that shape practice and the conversation, but also to train future managers and shift their thinking, emphasizing the strategic level of CX management. 24 I posit that marketing should own both customer experience and customer relationship management. 25 Thus, marketing practitioners and scholars will lead the strategic agenda to influence and guide how…”

Customer experience, not brands will be on the iron throne

“…Do we use and provide the right tools to measure CX (see, for example, Klaus & Maklan, 2013)? Or do we simply do not talk the language that will allow managers to understand the strategic value of market research (Klaus, Edvardsson, Keiningham, & Gruber, 2014)? CX is a great opportunity to increase the relevance and impact of market research, and I hope we can take full advantage of this chance.…”