CEO & CMO Views On Marketing Performance, November 2014 [CHART]

Some 35% of CEOs at large organizations believe that their marketing’s sales performance is exceeding expectations, while fewer CMOs (26%) agree, according to a Forbes Insights study conducted in association with Rocket Fuel and Spencer Stuart. The survey – conducted among 296 global senior executives, 80% of whom hail from companies with more than $1 billion in revenues – suggests that CEOs may simply have lower expectations of marketing, as many believe their investments are wasted.

In fact, 69% agree (36%) or strongly agree (33%) that they believe their company wastes money on marketing initiatives, a sentiment shared by only 34% of CMOs (22% agree; 12% strongly agree). That’s an interesting result given that CEOs are more likely than CMOs to feel that sales driven by marketing initiatives are exceeding expectations. Beyond the possibility that CEOs may have lower expectations for marketing, it foretells potential budget constraints for CMOs, who are already having trouble proving their worth. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.