What Helps Marketing Teams Succeed?
We’ve seen growing demand for “unicorn” marketing leaders who can do it all — from strategy and e-commerce to data analytics and culture change. Just as the name indicates, this type of executive is a mythical creature. It is possible for all of these capabilities to reside within a high-performing team, but research indicates that only one in five teams is functioning at its full potential.
We surveyed nearly 250 senior marketing leaders on the state of their teams and offer a few ways to maximize their performance:
What’s preventing your team from reaching its potential? More than half of respondents named these as the top issues:
*
*Respondents were allowed to choose up to three answers.
Team members are too busy to be fully invested
Uncertainty around how much structure to provide
20
%
17
%
16
%
Vague decision-making process
What’s preventing your team from reaching its potential? More than half of respondents named these as the top issues:
*
“In big organizations, you can get paralysis because we’re collaborating so much that we’re not making enough decisions. We believe more in interoperability —sometimes I will lead, sometimes you will lead, sometimes I need to learn how to follow. Interoperability has helped us better define what we mean by working together.”
EVP and CMO
Verizon
Diego Scotti
66
%
38
%
66% of marketing leaders say their teams have a direct impact on the organization’s business results
38% of marketing leaders describe their teams as collaborative
CMO
Hilton
Kellyn Smith Kenny
“The magic happens in the seams. It's my job to facilitate the magic, because there's somebody else on the team who's a deep subject matter on the topic. As CMOs, we are at our best when we have really great stimulus. I can give feedback and it helps the answer get richer. But I'm certainly not the answer-giver. I'm the facilitator.”
20
%
43
%
43% of marketing leaders say their organizational culture is a facilitator of the brand experience; 20% say the culture spurs innovation
Only
describe their teams as learning-based
10
%
former SVP and CMO
Walmart
Barbara Messing
“As the leader, you're the person in the back and in the front, but always pushing forward. It's absolutely core to the role of the modern leader.”
Find out how marketing leaders can help their teams succeed.
Learn More
Learn More