23 May 2025
Wondering what CEOs really want from their marketing teams? Whether you’re in-house or freelance, these insights will help you position yourself as a must-have asset in any boardroom.
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A marketing team is not just a department that creates catchy slogans or churns out content. It’s a core driver of business growth, brand identity and, ultimately, revenue. CEOs know this. That’s why, when they’re assembling or evaluating their marketing teams, they’re looking far beyond technical ability. They’re looking for strategic thinkers, agile executors and brand guardians.
If you’re a marketing professional or consultant aiming to secure your place at the decision-making table, it’s vital to understand what today’s CEOs value in their marketing teams. Whether you’re looking for your next opportunity or just levelling up, this article will guide you through the mindset of the C-suite.
One of the top priorities for any CEO is ensuring that marketing isn’t operating in a silo. CEOs want marketing professionals who see the bigger picture and those who can align campaigns with broader business objectives like revenue targets, customer retention and expansion into new markets.
Marketing plans should not only “look good” but also need to support measurable business outcomes. According to a report by Deloitte, more than 60% of CEOs say they want marketing to drive growth rather than just manage brand perception.
Tip for marketers: Learn to speak the language of the boardroom. That means understanding cost per acquisition (CPA), lifetime value (LTV), and how marketing metrics connect to P&L statements.
CEOs rely on marketing teams to simplify complexity. Whether it’s reporting performance or pitching new campaigns, clear communication is non-negotiable. CEOs don’t want fluff. They want candour, backed by data and insight.
If something isn’t working, they’d rather know early. Sugar-coating underperformance or overpromising results erodes trust quickly. Transparency, especially during reporting, earns respect.
Tip for marketers: Don’t just report metrics, try to interpret them. Explain what the data means and what actions you recommend. This builds confidence in your ability to guide strategy.
Marketing professionals need more than creativity. CEOs want marketers who understand margins, pricing, sales cycles and customer behaviour. Someone who can forecast trends, respond to changing demand and support sales enablement initiatives is a serious asset.
Marketers with commercial acumen know how to position a product in the market, identify high-value segments, and make decisions that support profitability.
Tip for marketers: Stay informed about your company’s industry, competitors and market trends. Use insights to create data-driven strategies that resonate with executives.
CEOs look for team members who own their results. That means taking initiative, being responsible for outcomes and showing a solution-focused mindset when things don’t go to plan.
Blame-shifting, vagueness, or a lack of urgency are instant red flags. Instead, CEOs respect marketers who take accountability, propose next steps, and keep projects moving.
Tip for marketers: When presenting results, be honest about what went well and what didn’t. CEOs don’t expect perfection, they expect leadership.
Marketing is not just about promoting products. It's about understanding and serving customers. CEOs want teams that deeply empathise with the customer journey and build experiences that earn trust and loyalty.
This is where tools like customer personas, journey mapping and first-party data analysis become crucial. CEOs are investing more in customer experience, and they expect marketing to lead the charge.
Tip for marketers: Leverage platforms like Hotjar or Qualtrics to better understand user behaviour. Use these insights to improve conversion and satisfaction rates.
Marketing today is a fast-paced game. Strategies that worked last year may flop this quarter. CEOs value marketing professionals who can pivot when required, whether that’s testing a new channel, shifting budgets or adopting new technology.
COVID-19 taught many businesses that agility isn’t optional. CEOs want to see that their marketing team can adapt quickly to external shocks without losing sight of the brand’s voice or vision.
Tip for marketers: Show examples of how you’ve adapted or innovated. Being agile doesn’t mean being erratic, it means being responsive and intentional.
No surprise here that digital marketing continues to dominate, and CEOs expect their teams to be digitally competent. But fluency is more than knowing how to post on social media.
It includes understanding martech stacks, SEO, analytics, automation tools and campaign performance tracking. CEOs want marketers who can integrate tools like HubSpot, GA4, SEMrush and Salesforce into a cohesive growth engine.
Tip for marketers: Upskill continuously. The digital landscape evolves rapidly, and staying relevant means mastering emerging platforms and tools.
Creativity still matters, but not as an isolated skill. CEOs value creativity that serves a purpose, whether it’s a clever campaign that drives engagement, a rebrand that reinvigorates positioning, or a content strategy that converts.
Great marketing balances originality with impact. CEOs want marketing that’s bold, but not disconnected from real outcomes.
Tip for marketers: Share the why behind your creative decisions. Always connect your ideas to customer insight or business objectives.
Marketing doesn’t work alone. CEOs want cross-functional collaborators who can work with sales, product, finance and customer support. Siloed thinking wastes time and causes friction.
When marketing teams are embedded across the organisation, they generate better campaigns, unify messaging and reduce inefficiencies.
Tip for marketers: Become the connector. Schedule regular touchpoints with other departments and listen to their priorities. Your role is to translate those into compelling messaging and strategic actions.
Above all else, CEOs want results. That doesn’t mean vanity metrics or vague notions of “brand awareness.” It means measurable impact like qualified leads, pipeline growth, conversion rates and retention figures.
Marketing should always come with a report card, and CEOs expect progress to be tracked and shared clearly.
Tip for marketers: Use platforms like Google Looker Studio or Databox to create dashboards that visualise KPIs in real time. Make results part of your weekly routine, not just your quarterly report.
The best marketing teams aren’t just tactical executors. They’re strategic growth partners. CEOs are looking for professionals who bring creativity, agility, accountability to the table and who know how to back every idea with data and purpose.
If you’re a marketing professional or consultant reading this, take a moment to reflect. Are you building campaigns that tie directly to business outcomes? Are you fluent in data and digital? Are you showing up with commercial insight and a collaborative attitude?
If so, you’re already halfway to the boardroom.
At Cemoh, we connect exceptional marketing professionals with businesses that value real impact. Whether you're a seasoned strategist or a rising creative force, our platform is designed to showcase your strengths and match you with opportunities where you’ll thrive.
Ready to join a network that takes your marketing career seriously?
Join Cemoh today and work with companies that see marketing as a mission-critical function and not just a nice-to-have.
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