Much has been written on the growing disconnect between the C-Suite and the marketing strategies within most companies. The pressure from stockholders, investors, and customers continues to drive the CEO to focus on immediate profits, company growth, and price-pressure.

That’s understandable. While the life of a highly compensated corporate leader may seem rosy, the pressures of the job, with that horrid axe hanging over their head, drive the CEO to focus on financial reports, bottom-line cost analysis, and frenzied expansion models.

When the CEO is disconnected from the marketing strategy and execution, the main artery that pumps the blood into the heart of the organization is blocked.

It is the responsibility of the CEO to be sure that the marketing strategy is, in the big picture, putting the action steps in the corporate business plan. That just doesn’t happen very often.

This issue came to the attention of the folks at The Harvard Business School a few years back. In their newsletter, their professors reported:

 …over time, and for a number of reasons, the marketing function and the C-suite often drift apart, resulting in a disconnect between the overall strategy of the company and what marketing understands to be the actual needs of customers. One result is that company strategy becomes less attuned to market needs, resulting in eroding profits and susceptibility to competition.

According to one of the Harvard professors who authored the HBS report, titled “Fixing the Marketing-CEO Disconnect“:

In many companies, marketing exists far from the executive suite because the CEO perceives that there is not the same pressing need to master the marketing discipline as there is, for example, to master finance due to compliance issues. Unlike operations where there are established techniques in inventory management and reengineering, there are no obvious and permanent cost-cutting results to be gained through marketing, short of simply slashing the advertising budget. In addition, marketing is not naturally inherent in a CEO’s day-to-day job as is organizational behavior/leadership.

While this report came out a few years ago, the problem is still very much alive and a major concern in organizations large and small. The solution most companies have implemented is only exacerbating the problem. The creation, and subsequent proliferation of the CMO, was intended to raise the profile and importance of the marketing function within the Corporate structure.

In many companies, the exact opposite has happened. Now, the CEO can easily further disassociate themselves from marketing concerns, and solutions, while believing that marketing is in good hands.

The simple truth is, when a CEO is so isolated from the marketing function, they are not living up to their responsibility.

Here’s how they can reverse that:

• Assure that the marketing teams, both internal and external, are properly briefed on the business plan, both long- and short-term.
• Actually attend the significant marketing presentations, and challenge the thinking and the rationale. Ask for details, explanations and realistic expectations. If the presence of the CEO at a marketing presentation strikes fear into the marketing teams, something is very wrong. When those teams have been properly briefed, from the mouth of the CEO, they should welcome that presence and oversight.
• Provide funding for marketing initiatives. Treat the marketing budget as a true investment, and stop looking at it as a source of funds to tap into when trying to improve the bottom line.
• Inspire, incentivize, and lead. Live up to your title.

It’s also important to note that while CEOs are demanding that marketers become more ROI focused, and rightfully so, there are only certain media that are 100% trackable. And those media are only part of the full campaign that most brands need to drive people to act. Effective marketing reaches people in the right place at the right time, making them aware of your product. They might hit a button and contact you immediately for your services. Or, they might put you on the back burner until they’re ready to buy, then look you up, and drop you a line.

We are getting better and better every day about finding new ways to track leads and respond to them, but the goal of 100% trackability limits your marketing department’s ability to cast the widest net. Which means you might be missing out on some pretty big fish if you’re scrambling around trying to satisfy the need for short-term profits.

By taking a step back and using marketing as a means to a more long-term end, the CEO, and the company, can come out on top in the end.