What is Really Going on with the CMO Role?
Earlier this year, news of Fortune 500 companies eliminating their CMO roles–including UPS, Etsy and Walgreens–dominated the headlines. This raised alarm bells and a flurry of questions about the value of the marketing function, marketing’s ability to demonstrate its impact, and the skills required to be an effective marketing leader.
A few months later, SpencerStuart published their 2024 CMO Tenure Study with a more optimistic outlook: the average CMO tenure is flat from the year prior at 4.2 years, and not too far away from the 4.6 year average across all C-suite positions.
It is important to note a difference between B2B and B2C CMO tenure, though. According to the study, B2C tenure averaged 4.0 years vs. 4.5 for B2B, and 22% of B2C CMOs were in their role for just one year or less (vs. 11% of B2B CMOs).
So what is really going on with the CMO role?
Marketing is complex, so naturally the CMO role is even more so. To succeed in my corporate marketing roles, I had to develop a strong working knowledge of the P&L structure, operations, distribution and fulfillment, data science, partnerships, and business development, in addition to acing the core elements of my role (brand, communications, acquisition, retention) while seamlessly leveraging a variety of marketing technology platforms.
CMOs are tasked with driving revenue growth, defining brand narratives and creative strategies, building and maintaining brand reputations, and championing the voice of the customer. The CMO must establish trust and transparency across the C-suite to ensure that marketing strategies are designed to deliver on the company’s financial goals.
SpencerStuart points out that within the CMO tenure data is an encouraging piece of context: 68% of Fortune 500 CMOs who left their position did so for a bigger role, either inside their existing company or with a different organization. This further underscores the importance of marketers possessing a wide range of skill sets to not only help them win in a marketing seat, but grow their scope beyond it.
