Holding Onto your Chief Marketing Officers

Holding Onto your Chief Marketing Officers

As a business owner, do you really know how high the turnover rate is for a chief marketing officer? No? Well you’re not the only one. Many business owners are unaware that the average tenure for a CMO is extremely short. In fact, in 2004 it was only 23 months. By 2012 it had declined to 17 months.

Here are some interesting facts:

* Starbucks replaced their marketing chief five times in seven years

* Coca-Cola replaced theirs four times in six years

* Kinko’s (Fedex Kinko’s) changed their head of marketing three times in five years

The position a CMO holds can be very rewarding and meaningful for the company with which they are employed, so why is the turnover rate so high? There are a number of theories and assumptions as to why an individual shows a lack of commitment to this career. Some brush it off as being related to the volatile economy. In truth, the position of a CMO has always been one with enough complexity to demand respect, and with changes in technology there is never a shortage of a businesses need for a CMO. Think about your own business; how many times have you wished for a well-trained CMO to handle your social media interactions, back-end technology, e-commerce requirements, and more? Here is the things we have been told from both sides of the CMO coin, the employer and the CMO:

Employer:

  • My CMO cannot show me any proof of what they have achieved.
  • I do not have any accountability from them.
  • I need to have a roadmap of their tasks and what will be accomplished and by when.
  • They do not seem to be aware of current trends.
  • They seem to have many half done tasks.
  • I need to see analytic reporting, need detailed data of progress and growth.
  • Need a detail of the ROI, on investments we have made per their suggestion.

CMO:

 

  • I cannot complete one task, since I am handed new ones all the time.
  • I need to get some training to keep on the cutting edge, but employer does not want to invest in it.
  • I am having to gather task details from more than one person in the company, and many times the objectives are different per person on the same task.
  • I need to have the tools and reporting available to show my employer my results, but don’t know where to get them.
  • Things on line are moving too fast, I know our goals but the tools and portals needed to accomplish our goals change too quickly.
  • I cannot seem to get the departments all on track to help me hit deliverable dates, they all seem over worked and unable to commit to deadlines.

When our focus group was over it really left us heavy in the heart. We could see the frustration on both sides of the CMO coin. So we set out to help both companies and CMO’s we created the CMO on demand program giving companies the ability to hire us for product and service releases, and we also created a CMO certification course to help keep CMOs aware of upcoming technologies and trends. Then we went one step further in creating a program that the CMO could activate where we would do the deliverables, and help them exceed expectations set by their employers.

Let’s Look at CMO Turnover Statistics

Finding the right talent to stick with your company for the long-haul is challenging. We know exactly where you are coming from. You probably had to sift through dozens of candidates which were mediocre at best, or simply not the right match for your company, in a fruitless attempt to find that one diamond in the rough that was not only talented in their job but committed to contributing to your company. It’s much easier said than done. Luckily, you’re in the Red Phase of the Phoenix Business Cycle and we have the tools and the talent you need to effectively run your business. Keep in mind, marketing tactics can change on a daily basis, and more than 20% of CMOs are not using effective research tools to perform their daily tasks. This could be setting you further behind your competition than you realize, or want to admit. You’re on fire and your wings are spread! Don’t let the trouble of a difficult CMO keep you from soaring to the front of your competition. Activate our CMO program today!