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  "description": "The C-suite doesn’t want impressions. It wants revenue.",
  "path": "/the-best-cmos-dont-wait-for-growth-they-build-it/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-27T17:43:23.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.cmoalliance.com",
  "tags": [
    "_revenue impact_",
    "_Gartner_",
    "_proving business value_",
    "_viewed more as a cost center_",
    "_skeptical of marketing's value_",
    "_grow pipeline_",
    "Fast-track your marketing career",
    "_different executives_",
    "_cost center_",
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "I've been in marketing long enough to see the same frustrating pattern play out again and again.\n\nYou present your latest campaign results to the executive team, armed with impressive metrics about impressions and engagement rates. Meanwhile, your CEO's eyes glaze over as they wonder where the _revenue impact_ is hiding.\n\nSound familiar? The statistics show that you’re in good company:\n\n  * Only **14%** of CMOs play a direct role in enterprise growth strategy, according to _Gartner_.\n  * Just **52%** of marketing leaders succeed in _proving business value_.\n  * **47%** of CMOs feel their function is _viewed more as a cost center_ than a growth driver.\n\n\n\nAnd guess who tends to be most _skeptical of marketing's value_? CFOs and CEOs. The very people who control budgets and make strategic decisions about where to invest for growth.\n\nSo, how do you move from being seen as a tactical executor to being recognized as a growth partner?\n\nIt comes down to three shifts:\n\n  * Measuring performance in terms tied directly to business value\n  * Bringing valuable customer insights to executive stakeholders\n  * Upskilling your marketing teams to think like strategists\n\n\n\nIn this article, I’ll walk you through each shift, with real examples from my own experience.\n\n## Measuring what matters to the C-suite\n\nHere’s what plays out in executive meetings all the time: marketing presents the results of a new campaign – millions of impressions, thousands of engagements, strong performance across key metrics. The CMO is understandably enthusiastic.\n\nThen, the executive team responds with some tough questions: How did this _grow pipeline_? What’s the revenue impact? What was the return?\n\n\n\nWhat marketing reports and what the C-suite needs to hear don’t always match – and that’s where value gets lost in translation.\n\nFor expert insights like this straight to your inbox twice a month, sign up for Pro+ membership.\n\nYou'll also get access to a range of certifications, a complimentary Summit ticket, 50+ tried-and-true templates, members-only workshops, and __much__ more.\n\nSo, what are you waiting for?\n\n Fast-track your marketing career \n\n### Mapping C-suite priorities\n\nTo change this dynamic, one of my team members recently created a framework for thinking about what _different executives_ actually care about.\n\nFor CEOs, it's all about pipeline growth and annual recurring revenue. They're focused on the top line, especially recurring revenue that provides predictable growth.\n\nCFOs? They want to understand the return on marketing investment. In fact, my first conversation with our CFO started with: \"If I give you a dollar, how much do I get back?\"\n\n\n\nWith this in mind, at Nokia, we've started tracking specific campaigns over multi-year periods, measuring both our spend and the resulting order intake.\n\nLet me give you an example. For one campaign that we've been optimizing for over two years, we now generate **€12.20** in order intake for every euro invested. The Gartner benchmark for comparable B2B technology companies is five to one.\n\nNow we can show our CFO that we're delivering more than double the industry benchmark return, marketing looks less like a _cost center_ and more like a growth engine.\n\n## Becoming the customer intelligence hub\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "The best CMOs don’t wait for growth  – they build it",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-27T17:43:23.734Z"
}