Marketing’s credibility crunch: How CMOs can prove their strategic value

Marketing leaders are consistently under pressure to prove their worth. And yet, many CEOs and CFOs remain unconvinced of marketing’s impact – especially in commercial terms. 

To shift that perception and earn true influence in the boardroom, CMOs must reframe marketing as a driver of business growth. And prove their value where it matters most: the bottom line. 

ADMA CEO, Andrea Martens, joined a panel on Mi3’s CMO Awards Podcast to discuss how CMOs can close the credibility gap and cement their role as strategic C-suite leaders. In this article, we explore Andrea’s insights.

The disconnect holding CMOs back

Recent findings from Gartner paint a sobering picture. 

Only 27% of CEOs and CFOs believe their CMOs are exceeding expectations – and just 34% of business leaders agree with CMOs on marketing’s role in driving growth.

This credibility gap has consequences. Nearly 7 in 10 CEOs and CFOs cited ‘failure to deliver promised results’ as the top reason for letting CMOs go.

All this points to a clear imperative: marketers must redefine their role in the business. Not just as communicators, but as strategic drivers of growth. 

Andrea Martens is no stranger to this challenge. With over 25 years of experience in executive marketing and general management roles – including 16 years at Unilever and time as Global CMO of Jurlique – she knows what it takes to embed marketing into the business agenda. 

And today, as CEO of ADMA, she champions commercial effectiveness and capability-building across Australia’s marketing ecosystem.

Her perspective? There’s a real opportunity here – but marketers must rise to meet it.

‘I wasn’t surprised by the numbers,’ Andrea admits. ‘But I see them as an opportunity rather than a criticism. 

‘The gap between what CMOs deliver and what business leaders expect has been persistent. But it’s also fixable. CMOs can work more closely with their CEOs and CFOs to close it. This is our moment to reset the narrative.’

So, what exactly needs to change – and how can CMOs start shifting the conversation? 

Speak the language of business

One of the most fundamental shifts is linguistic. 

‘CMOs need to start speaking the same language as the CEO and CFO,’ Andrea explains. 

Too often, marketing updates focus on campaign metrics, engagement figures or media reach. But these aren’t the numbers the C-suite is looking for.

‘If we want to be seen as growth drivers, we need to anchor marketing activity in business outcomes,’ she says. 
‘We should be using metrics that directly influence enterprise value, like incremental revenue, customer growth, retention, margin contribution and pricing power.’

But that’s not to say marketing KPIs don’t have a place. According to Andrea, customer lifetime value, return on marketing investment (ROMI) and share of voice still play an important role – they just need to ladder up to broader commercial outcomes.

‘Without a clear path to incremental value, these metrics are just noise,’ she says. ‘If they can’t prove that marketing spend is a sound investment in business growth, they’ll be dismissed as vanity metrics.’

Resist the rose tint

In a climate of mounting pressure, it’s tempting for CMOs to put a positive spin on every marketing outcome. 

But Andrea warns that this instinct to over-optimise the narrative can backfire. Especially when the people you’re reporting to are laser-focused on bottom-line results.

‘There’s often a reluctance to be upfront when a marketing campaign or strategy isn’t working,’ she says. ‘But building trust with your CFO or CEO comes down to transparency. You need to be able to say: here’s what we tried, here’s what we learned and here’s how we’ll do it better next time.’

She acknowledged that the pressure to prove ROI on every dollar can lead to short-term thinking. But spinning subpar performance into success – though it might win quick praise – erodes confidence over time. 

Embrace cross-functional collaboration 

Ultimately, the real key to commercial credibility lies in collaboration across the C-suite.

‘If CMOs want to stay relevant and influential, they can’t operate in a silo,’ Andrea explains. ‘Collaboration between finance, operations and product teams is essential.’ 

And embedding marketing into cross-functional strategy isn’t just about visibility. It’s about creating shared goals and demonstrating how marketing supports the broader business agenda.

‘If marketing is seen as separate from the core engine of the business, it will always risk being sidelined,’ Andrea warns. ‘But if we show other teams how our work supports theirs, we build the trust and influence we need to stay relevant.’

Andrea credits her early career in consumer-packaged goods (CPG) with instilling this mindset. At Unilever, cross-functional fluency wasn’t optional – it was a must.

‘We were expected to understand the supply chain, net revenue management and factory utilisation as deeply as brand strategy,’ she recalls. ‘We all understood each other because we all spoke the same language: the language of business performance.

‘There was even a joke that if the factory manager went on leave, I could step in,’ she laughed. ‘Because I understood the operations as well as the marketing. 

‘That broader business understanding is something we need to build more deliberately into marketing capability today.’

Adapt to a changing role – and a wider remit

With new titles like Chief Growth Officer and Chief Customer Officer on the rise, some marketers fear the CMO title is being eroded. But Andrea sees it differently.

‘These new roles reflect evolving business priorities – data, CX, innovation. In many cases, they’re being filled by marketers expanding their remit rather than leaving marketing behind. It’s not a demotion – it’s a repositioning.’

In her view, this shift gives marketers the perfect opportunity to align more directly with business strategy – and reframe marketing as a commercial growth engine.

‘Today’s marketing landscape is undoubtedly tougher: disrupted by AI, shaped by regulatory reform and pressured by global political and economic forces,’ Andrea says.  

‘But for adaptable, commercially minded leaders, this complexity is a chance to lead from the front. Privacy and compliance can be the Trojan Horse that earns CMOs credibility.’

The final takeaway? Marketers who understand the full business context – and show how their work helps navigate it – will be the ones who rise. 
And CMOs who step into these broader remits won’t just earn a seat at the table. They’ll help shape the agenda.

For marketers ready to build these skills, ADMA’s programs are designed to sharpen commercial capability and strategic impact.