Marketing teams scored highly in a rating of 2020 performance, and most senior executives report a close level of collaboration and alignment with the marketing organization in their different areas of responsibility and functional focus. Not surprisingly, management in large and smaller enterprises differ in their views of marketing development needs, operational requirements, role and value in their organizations.
The findings were based on a 2021 survey fielded by the CMO Council in partnership with the C-Suite Network, Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, and a Harvard Business School alumni association. Survey participants (120) included a mix of senior management executives across companies of all sizes, industry sectors and diverse leadership roles. Nearly 40% of respondents were in companies of more than $1 billion in annual revenue and an additional 21% were drawn from mid-sized companies with revenues of $100 million to $1 billion.
The Business Leader Scorecard of Marketing reveals:
- Revenue and sales growth is the top deliverable for marketing, according to 80% of survey respondents with customer acquisition and profitability a close second at 71%
- 69% of business executives are extremely or moderately confident in marketing's ability to lead growth recovery in 2021
- 84% are closely, regularly, or increasingly interacting with marketing team
- 46% rate marketing team performance as very good or exceptional in 2020
- Collaboration and alignment between lines of business, functional areas and marketing is viewed as close, balanced, effective and well-integrated by 37% of respondents; the same percentage say it is getting better all the time