{"id":108908,"date":"2025-02-25T10:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T10:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/advertising\/the-real-reasons-why-cmos-get-fired\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T10:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T10:03:12","slug":"the-real-reasons-why-cmos-get-fired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908","title":{"rendered":"The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>What do the most senior execs in the C-suite actually think of chief marketing officers (CMOs)?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s complicated, according to fresh research from Gartner, shared exclusively with ADWEEK. <\/p>\n<p>The research firm interviewed 125 chief executives (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) to get the inside scoop on what\u2019s expected of CMOs and how they can stay on the job longer<strong>\u2014<\/strong>and the data is illuminating.<\/p>\n<p>Gartner\u2019s research revealed that CEOs and CFOs have high and growing expectations of marketers beyond meeting performance targets. These execs now want marketers to demonstrate flexibility, be held in high esteem by the C-suite and<strong>\u2014<\/strong>surprisingly<strong>\u2014<\/strong>get better at marketing the role of their function internally.<\/p>\n<p>The main reason marketers are fired, Gartner found, was the inability to deliver promised results, with 69% of CEOs and CFOs stating this would lead to CMO removal. <\/p>\n<p>A failure to adapt was the next biggest reason (58%), followed by a failure to earn the leadership team\u2019s respect. 41% of CEOs and CFOs said they would terminate a CMO if they couldn\u2019t communicate a strategic vision for the marketing department.<\/p>\n<p>For a myriad of reasons<strong>\u2014<\/strong>from moving up the ladder to poor performance<strong>\u2014<\/strong>the average CMO tenure is notoriously one of the shortest in the C-suite. Most Fortune 500 CMOs last just 51 months, or 4.2 years, in the job, per data from recruitment firm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spencerstuart.com\/research-and-insight\/cmo-tenure-study-an-expanded-view-of-cmo-tenure-and-backgrounds#:~:text=The%20average%20tenure%20of%20Fortune,of%20the%20two%20data%20sets.\" target=\"_blank\">Spencer Stuart<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Ross, vp analyst at Gartner for Marketers, advised new CMOs have a \u201cfinite amount of time\u201d to score points with the board. Whether they\u2019ve been recruited internally or joined from another business, \u201cthat\u2019s a magic period. You have to get off to a strong start,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>CMOs need to market themselves better<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Of course, not every CMO ends up getting fired. But figures from Gartner suggest senior members of the C-suite have a generally dim view of the top marketing job. <\/p>\n<p>Only about one-third of CEOs and CFOs feel aligned with their CMO on how marketing can drive growth. A similar percentage (38%) consider their top marketer a good collaborator.<\/p>\n<p>More troubling, perhaps, is that just 22% say their CMO has been clear about what the marketing department is responsible for accomplishing. <\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>Compared to CEOs, CFOs are less optimistic about marketing\u2019s ability to boost the bottom line. A slight majority indicate they are either neutral or skeptical on whether marketing is worth the investment. <\/p>\n<p>This attitude can make it difficult for CMOs to secure the budget and resources they need to pursue their strategy.<\/p>\n<p>One way top marketers can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adweek.com\/brand-marketing\/exclusive-cmos-must-improve-financial-literacy-to-win-over-cfos\/\" target=\"_blank\">gain their CFO\u2019s trust<\/a> is by increasing their financial literacy and doing a better job of quantifying the ROI on their ad spend, according to a recent survey of 80 financial leaders from B2B market research firm NewtonX.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Marketers need more face time with senior execs <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>CEOs and CFOs gave better grades to CMOs in positions of power than those operating outside of a company\u2019s inner circle.<\/p>\n<p>Senior executives are nearly twice as likely to say a top marketer is exceeding expectations when they report directly to the CEO, as opposed to being one or two layers below.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, 42% of CEOs and CFOs noted their CMO is surpassing expectations when they\u2019re involved in planning corporate strategy. Only 6% said the same when their CMO isn\u2019t involved in making overall business decisions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCMOs who invest the time and effort to develop strategic prowess and perspective on the business are more likely to earn an invitation to contribute in a more significant way to corporate strategy,\u201d reads a line from Gartner\u2019s report. \u201cThis contribution can in turn have a dramatic impact on how senior executives view CMO performance.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bridging the C-suite gap<\/h4>\n<p>CMOs spin a lot of plates. Gartner\u2019s study revealed the average marketing function is involved in or accountable for 10 business areas and will take on additional responsibilities by 2029.<\/p>\n<p>As they add more to their remit, Ross said CMOs can rebuild CEO and CFO confidence by clarifying their accountabilities, communicating how marketing is connected to growth initiatives, improving collaboration with others, and more effectively demonstrating the impact of marketing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<section class=\"section section--teaser section--teaser_partners section--teaser_partners--horizontal px-0 py-4\">\n<div class=\"section--teaser_partner\">                         <a class=\"link-reset text-decoration-none\" href=\"https:\/\/www.adweek.com\/brand-marketing\/exclusive-cmos-must-improve-financial-literacy-to-win-over-cfos\/\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.adweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cfo-cmo-better-relationship-2024.jpg?w=640&amp;h=360&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"Exclusive: Insights from a survey of financial leaders at Nike, Walgreens, Chiquita, Sierra Nevada and more.\" class=\"image image--partner\"\/><br \/><\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf there\u2019s one thing that every CMO should be laser-focused on it\u2019s: what is your growth story? Do you have a compelling growth story? [Can you demonstrate] how marketing is connected to and driving that growth?\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>Ross continued: \u201cIf you do, you\u2019re much more likely to be seen as successful and exceeding expectations by your CEO and CFO.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do the most senior execs in the C-suite actually think of chief marketing officers (CMOs)? It\u2019s complicated, according to fresh research from Gartner, shared exclusively with ADWEEK. The research firm interviewed 125 chief executives (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) to get the inside scoop on what\u2019s expected of CMOs and how they can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12023],"tags":[19707,26594,1305,23051,43850,482,7545],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-108908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advertising","tag-cmos","tag-data-insights","tag-exclusive","tag-fired","tag-leadership-talent","tag-real","tag-reasons"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908&page=2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What do the most senior execs in the C-suite actually think of chief marketing officers (CMOs)? It\u2019s complicated, according to fresh research from Gartner, shared exclusively with ADWEEK. The research firm interviewed 125 chief executives (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) to get the inside scoop on what\u2019s expected of CMOs and how they can [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-25T10:03:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-25T10:03:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908\"},\"wordCount\":753,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"CMOs\",\"Data &amp; Insights\",\"EXCLUSIVE\",\"Fired\",\"Leadership &amp; Talent\",\"Real\",\"Reasons\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Advertising\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908\",\"name\":\"The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-25T10:03:12+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":315},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908","next":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908&page=2","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired - Som2ny Network","og_description":"What do the most senior execs in the C-suite actually think of chief marketing officers (CMOs)? It\u2019s complicated, according to fresh research from Gartner, shared exclusively with ADWEEK. The research firm interviewed 125 chief executives (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) to get the inside scoop on what\u2019s expected of CMOs and how they can [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-02-25T10:03:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":315,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired","datePublished":"2025-02-25T10:03:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908"},"wordCount":753,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg","keywords":["CMOs","Data &amp; Insights","EXCLUSIVE","Fired","Leadership &amp; Talent","Real","Reasons"],"articleSection":["Advertising"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908","name":"The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-25T10:03:12+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108908#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/real-reason-cmo-fired-2025.jpg","width":600,"height":315},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=108908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/108909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108908"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=108908"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=108908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}