Why is the marketing director fired?

In 2020, the United States conducted a study on the length of the careers of senior executives at the largest US companies. The study by consultants Korn Ferry and Spencer Stuart found that the careers of those wearing the CMO hat at companies are the shortest, averaging 3.5 years - and getting shorter. Meanwhile, other members of the executive team stay in their roles for an average of around five years.

What causes marketing managers' short stints and why is the axe swinging, especially for them? I've thought about it and compiled a list of my own observations.‍

1. The marketing manager's contribution to the business is often sketchy, and metrics are too far from the heart of the business‍

Marketing should of course contribute strongly to the business and often in one way or another to its growth. However, the activity rarely has directly related metrics, and its own key performance indicators are often indirect and too abstract to be compared to hard business metrics.

This leads to ambiguity about what marketing is achieving. This in turn leads to a lack of confidence in the CMO's or marketing's performance relative to the investment. It is worth remembering that marketing should be an investment and not an expense. If the marketing manager cannot prove this, there is a problem for which he or she is responsible. Related to the same problem is the challenge of marketing's inability to speak the language of business. Those managers who can speak more than marketing jargon will do well.‍

2. Some represent the "past world" ‍

Of all the activities, marketing is the one with the highest expectations when it comes to understanding the rapid changes in consumer behaviour, the increasing technology-driven nature of marketing and managing the constant fragmentation of media.

These are topics where marketing must have the expertise. Yet they are also issues where it is easy to see the rainmaker coming from the generation that has brought about these elusive changes. No matter how experienced and knowledgeable a marketing manager may be, it may not be enough if he or she does not appear to have a handle on fast-moving change. Unfortunately, this is often a matter of perception, and I believe that marketing managers, above all other managers, fall into this trap.‍

3. It is increasingly difficult for marketing managers to manage the whole field, even at the top level ‍

Marketing is no longer a single discipline, but a vast collection of different isms. 20 years ago, when people talked about marketing, it was reasonably clear to everyone what it was all about. Today, marketing is made up of so many different areas of expertise that it is really difficult to find generalists who have a command of the whole field, even at the top level. In addition, personal beliefs easily influence the emphasis, and there is even a tendency towards siloing between different marketing trends. Few data-oriented growth marketing directors are brand-building professionals, service design seniors or long-term experts in e-commerce. And, of course, they shouldn't be. But the different silos are becoming so far apart that fewer and fewer people are able to fit the whole palette. Not even if you add communication or sales, for example, to the list of responsibilities.‍

4. Business demands are increasing, and some marketers are not built to meet them ‍

Let me say this frankly. In too many of the companies I have seen, marketing is not trying to respond genuinely to the growing challenges of business, and too many companies focus too much on just spectacular marketing. Whether it's a pretty campaign, a new packaging look, a constant barrage of media coverage or a PR buy that ends up in the Daily News, the priority is not business growth, but something else.

Of course, you can always present results, because you can get numbers out of anything these days, and few people outside marketing know how or dare to question marketing's own metrics. To meet the growing demands, the marketing manager should be first and foremost a cross-functional enabler who understands how marketing can support other functions and, above all, the business. McKinsey has studied this very issue and classifies CMOs into three different categories, with the longest career paths for this type of talent.‍

Few people outside marketing know or dare to question marketing's own metrics.

5. Learning new things is particularly important, and not everyone can do it ‍

The faster the world changes, the more important it is to understand your own shortcomings and areas to learn more about. As a marketing manager, it can be difficult to recognise areas of marketing that you don't understand at all. However, it is worth at least doing this for yourself, and learning more about them quickly. There may be a high threshold for asking dumb questions in this role, but that's what you should be able to ask in this role.

Published as a column in Marketing News 2/2021