It’s not just marketing anymore: CMOs as business leaders

Imagine this: You’re the CMO, stepping into an executive meeting. You present your marketing dashboard, and everything’s green—leads are up, impressions are on fire, and the team nailed its targets.

Then sales presents, and their dashboard? Red. The pipeline is falling short, churn is climbing, and revenue targets have been missed. It’s like a punch to the gut.

Heidi Melin, Senior Operating Advisor at Hellman and Friedman and former Adobe Workfront CMO, talks about the repercussions of this. 

“The marketing leader is not doing themselves a service by coming in and saying, ‘Look, I rock.’ It demonstrates that they’re not in touch with how the business is doing.” 

“That’s how you know you have a problem and aren’t aligned with the company strategy and goals.”

As a CMO, it’s not enough to lead marketing. You have to lead the business. And that means aligning marketing’s efforts with what the company actually needs to drive growth.

Why the Disconnect Hurts Everyone

Let’s face it: if marketing is hitting its goals, but the company’s struggling, there’s a disconnect.

You can’t measure success solely by MQLs or engagement rates. While those metrics look great on paper, if they’re not driving revenue, renewals, or customer retention, then they’re not actually solving the company’s biggest problems.

Have you ever considered how limiting it is to only focus on top-of-the-funnel metrics? Sure, bringing in new leads is crucial, but what happens next?

If you’re not thinking about how those leads convert, retain, or churn, then you’re only telling half the story.

Marketing doesn’t end at the funnel—it’s about owning the entire revenue process. When we talk about leadership, it’s time to shift from a “marketing-first” mentality to a “business-first” mindset.

Stop Thinking Handoff—Start Thinking Orchestration

Here’s the truth: the days of marketing generating leads and handing them off to sales are over.

We’ve all seen how that movie ends.

Instead, marketing, sales, and customer success need to function like one cohesive unit to enable the end-to-end buying journey. Your goal as a CMO is to orchestrate the entire revenue process. If churn is up, ask yourself: How can marketing play a role in engaging and retaining customers? How can you support revenue goals across the business?

This isn’t just about tweaking your messaging. It’s about getting in the trenches with sales, customer success, and finance to make sure you’re all working toward the same goals. And guess what? That’s how you stop being “just” a marketing leader and start leading the entire business.

Align Before You Present

One of the biggest mistakes CMOs make is walking into the boardroom without aligning with other teams first.

Never go into a meeting with your green dashboard unless you know how the rest of the company is performing. Have you sat down with sales? Customer success? Finance? Are you all on the same page about the company’s priorities?

Before presenting, ask yourself: Does my data tell the same story as sales or customer success? If the answer is no, you’ve got work to do. You’re not just there to show how well marketing is doing. You’re there to show how marketing is solving the company’s challenges. And that requires collaboration.

Think Like a Business Leader

At the end of the day, you’re not just a marketer—you’re a business leader. So start thinking like one.

You might be speaking in MQLs, but the C-suite cares about growth, revenue, and customer retention.

Your success as a CMO depends on this shift. When you stop focusing solely on marketing metrics and start aligning with what the business needs, you’re not just earning your seat at the table—you’re leading the conversation.

That’s how you stay relevant, make an impact, and ultimately drive business growth.

We’ve launched a webisode series to help marketing leaders significantly and consistently prove marketing ROI—as discussed by real-time B2B CMOs and marketing veterans.

Here’s a glance at how CMOs can start taking more ownership of the revenue process while understanding where the business needs support.