Almost Half of CMOs Say Marketing Is Viewed As An Expense, Rather Than A Strategic Investment

Only 52% of CMOs and other senior marketing leaders said they were successful in proving the value of marketing and receiving credit for helping meet enterprise objectives, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc.

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Figure 1: Individuals or Groups That are Most Skeptical of Marketing’s Value at Their Company. Source: Gartner (September 2024) (Graphic: Business Wire)

A survey of 378 senior marketing leaders conducted in April and May of 2024 revealed that CMOs ranked CFOs (40%) and CEOs (39%) as the top executives most skeptical of marketing's value at their company (see Figure 1).

“One of the significant challenges in proving marketing’s value is dealing with entrenched beliefs and lack of understanding and alignment,” said Joseph Enever, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice. “In a Gartner survey of 395 CMOs from February through March 2024, 47% of CMOs said marketing is viewed as an expense rather than a strategic investment. Overcoming this barrier requires CMOs to provide persistent education and communication efforts to reshape these outdated perceptions and highlight marketing’s critical impact on the bottom line.”

Proving Marketing’s Long-Term, Holistic Impact

CMOs and other senior marketing leaders who communicate marketing’s value through a long-term, holistic view have greater success in proving value and getting credit for it. The survey results show that this approach is both the most common and most successful approach. Of the 41% of leaders who used this approach, over two-thirds reported they were able to prove marketing’s value and get credit for business contributions.

“Taking a wider perspective of value can mean measuring marketing’s effect across other functions, such as sales, customer experience and operations,” said Enever. “Leaders must be disciplined in aligning success measures to different stakeholders, teams and goals as they widen the aperture of their marketing value story.”

Increase Variety and Sophistication of Metric Types

Gartner experts highlighted three metric types that will help provide a deeper or more complete understanding of marketing’s value story:

• Relationship metrics: Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), LTV:CAC ratio​
• Return on transactional metrics: Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Return on Investment (ROI)​
• Operational metrics: Stakeholder satisfaction with deliverables, productivity of marketing resources, percentage of expected capacity utilization​

“Leaders can get more bang for their buck by leveraging more complex metrics to communicate value,” said Enever. “CMOs and other senior marketing leaders who incorporated two or more of these ‘high complexity’ metric types were up to 1.8 times more likely to prove value and get credit than those who used none of them, and 1.4 times more likely than those who incorporated just one of them.”

Expand Leadership Involvement in Data & Analytics Activity

The survey revealed that personal involvement in data and analytics initiatives has a significant impact on CMOs’ ability to prove marketing value and get credit. Respondents who were involved in more activities in their current role, like creating marketing dashboards or developing measurement strategies, were 1.4 times more likely to prove value and get credit than those who conducted fewer activities. Of senior marketing leaders who meet regularly with the highest ranking marketing analytics leaders and their team members, 62% said they can prove value and get credit, compared to just 30% who meet infrequently with both.

Invest in Marketing Talent to Close Gaps

Three of the biggest barriers to proving marketing’s value are talent related. They include lack of necessary soft skills/competencies, lack of analytical talent to analyze data and generate insight, and lack of talent to integrate and analyze data.

“CMOs must address these talent-related barriers to successfully prove marketing value and secure the recognition and investment it deserves,” Enever said. “By enhancing soft skills, bridging the analytical talent gap and strengthening technical expertise, CMOs can transform the marketing function into a powerhouse of strategic insights and impactful storytelling.”

Gartner clients can read more in “2024 Marketing Analytics Survey: How CMO’s Prove Value and Receive Credit.”

About Gartner for Marketers

Gartner for Marketers provides the objective, expert advice, and proven tools that CMOs and other marketing leaders need to seize the right opportunities with clarity and confidence, and to stay ahead of the trends that matter. With in-depth research and analysis, Gartner for Marketers helps you focus on the opportunities with the greatest potential to deliver results. More information on Gartner for Marketers is available online at www.gartner.com/marketing. Follow news and updates from the Gartner Marketing practice on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerMKTG. Members of the media can find additional information and insights in the Gartner Marketing Newsroom.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) delivers actionable, objective insight that drives smarter decisions and stronger performance on an organization’s mission-critical priorities. To learn more, visit gartner.com.

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