Marketers could be missing out on top CEO jobs because senior executives believe they’re seen as too fluffy.

According to a report by Fournaise Marketing Group, 73% of CEOs think marketers lack business credibility and are not the business growth generators they should be.

Almost three-quarters (74%) of CEOs thought marketers focus too much on the latest marketing trends, such as social media, but rarely show how these trends will help generate more business for the company.

The Fournaise Marketing Group analysed the findings from a series of interviews with more than 600 CEOs from large corporates to SMBs in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Jerome Fontaine, CEO and chief tracker of Fournaise, says: “Until marketers start speaking the P&L language of their CEOs and stakeholders, and until they start tracking the business effectiveness of all their strategies and campaigns to prove they generate incremental customer demand, they will continue to lack credibility in the eyes of their CEOs and will continue to be seen as more as a cost centre than an asset.”

Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments blames this on the fact that marketers are siloed too early in their career. He says: “There are very few marketers below the senior level who get to see the big picture. And even at a senior level, few marketers carry the responsibility for profit and loss.”

Posted by Neil Turner