The #1 Reason CMOs Fail

To many of you, “CMO” will seem like an almost silly title. At, say, $2m in ARR, when you’re just figuring out demand gen, SDRs and BDRs, and all that … why would you need a CMO? You need a VP of Demand Gen! Maybe a VP of Marketing. But the last thing you probably need is a fancy title running around, spouting marketing-ism.

But over time, things will change.

Roughly, once you (x) have an established brand, and (y) have a marketing engine that is working, and (z) most importantly, once demand gen has finally become somewhat routine … you’ll need a CMO. Because you’ll need a marketing quarterback.

Most CMOs aren’t demand-gen gurus. Some are, but even if they were, they’ve often left the details a bit behind. But you’ll need someone to manage a diverse team of professionals — demand gen, field marketing, customer marketing (to existing customers), product marketing, brand marketing, event marketing, analyst relations and marketing, growth hacking, and press, media, and PR. Phew, that’s a lot. Yes, when you’re there, you need a CMO. Maybe by $20m ARR, plus or minus. Or maybe 12-24 months after you have the core marketing functions all built out, and working.

Ok, so her or his job as CMO is to manage all these marketing functions — to success. But it’s actually more than that for a true CMO. A true CMO doesn’t just own marketing. A true CMO doesn’t just manage the team to the company’s goals for the quarter and year. A true CMO also executes the CEO’s vision. How the customers, the prospects, the media, and the world should see the company and its mission. And which tactics and strategies to prioritize to get there.

And this is where, once you finally are ready for a CMO, and make the hire, I see so many CMOs crash and burn. Especially stretch CMOs. **Why? They want to execute their **own vision for how to scale.

ownvision for how to scale.

Sometimes, if the CEO hasn’t been involved in being a public face or strategist for the company externally, that’s OK. But that’s rare in SaaS. Much more often, by $10m ARR or so, most CEOs have a strong vision of what they think works in marketing. They’ve been on the road for years. Meeting with hundreds of customers. Getting the press and attention themselves. Explaining the vision.

And by then — most CEOs will have strong opinions on marketing. They may like events and press, but hate webinars and prospect dinners. They may love growth hacking and SMB marketing but not really want to spend tons of m