The Return of the Digital Scale-up CMO!
At Santa Monica Talent we recently completed senior marketing leadership searches for VP Marketing and CMO roles. The roles were filled with inspiring female scale-up executives. Note: the VP role was, in effect, the CMO for a 100-person scale-up.
During the hiring process for completed searches we interviewed over 200 candidates, below is a summary of what those candidates ‘looked like’. Our hope is that these findings help set, or re-adjust, any expectations you have over the profile of your next senior marketing hire in 2022.
What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your views: ell@santamonica.digital
6 key takeaways:
The title VP Marketing is preferred over Marketing Director by the talent pool
CMOs have the briefest tenure in the C-suite
Job specifications for Marketing Leadership are often wrong
High number of female talent in Marketing Leadership roles
CMO roles have had a resurgence post-pandemic.
Salaries for Marketing Leadership roles have increased, but fragmented marketing titles cause a wide range
We have collated some facts and insights about the candidates:
What do the profiles of senior marketing leadership candidates reveal?
Why is there such a broad range in job titles and salaries?
The wide ranges in titles, experience and salaries are partly due to how differently companies define the titles of Marketing Director, VP Marketing, and CMO.
The size and type of the business tends to influence the job titles and salary bands they create. The requirement for a senior marketing lead, therefore, does not always translate to a CMO title, despite requiring this level of skills and experience. This is typical of a scaleup in high growth mode where the requirement and the job title and salary band do not necessarily align.
For example, a Series A scaleup hiring its first Marketing lead might be uncomfortable initially giving out the CMO title and instead settle for the title Marketing Director or VP Marketing. The hire will likely have 10 years management experience and can then rebrand the role into a CMO title. Compared to a later stage unicorn who hires a CMO veteran from a blue chip company with 20 years experience. Both candidates are called CMOs but have vastly different experience.
VP Marketing title preferred to Marketing Director
It's noticeable that the VP Marketing job title is preferred by candidates to Marketing Director, even when the roles and responsibilities are identical.
Average time spent with a previous employer was 2 years
This is in-line with the average tenure in tech companies (2 years). For example: Facebook (2.02 years), Google (1.90 years), Oracle (1.89 years), Apple (1.85 years), Amazon (1.84 years), Twitter (1.83 years).
Employees tend to move on quickly in the scaleup sector, especially in marketing roles. Why?
The need for a CMO to drive change in a fast paced environment doesn't always result in a long term requirement.
The marketing profile is a creative builder by nature. A scaleup marketing requirement is usually a strategic visionary, with skill sets and experience to drive change in a short space of time, and in alignment with the growth trajectory of the business.
The first two years are the exciting build-stage, after which the role becomes more operational. Once the infrastructure, best practice and framework for execution is in place, some organisations, largely depending on size and nature of the business, decide they don’t need a CMO level hire, opting for a more hands-on Marketing Director to see them through this secondary phase.
CMOs have the briefest tenure in the C-suite. Why?
Skills and responsibilities vary massively, and too often the expectations of a CMO are unrealistic. It can create an unhealthy dynamic.
There is often poor alignment and a mismatch between the CMO’s objectives and the CEO’s expectations. For instance, if the CMO is not given the ability to drive growth like they were initially promised and is instead limited to marketing communications, or the CMO wanting to revive the brand versus the CEO looking for greater sales efficiency.
CMOs need to set expectations around the time it will take and levels of marketing investment required to create a fully fledged demand generation process that aligns with revenue generation. With this in place, the data does the talking, it defines best practices and in turn the CMO experiences less questions around marketing performance and their contribution to sales growth.
The move towards data driven marketing supports a CMO in their drive to create visibility and value for marketing. However, scaleup marketing teams can struggle to implement this metrics-led approach due to its complexity and reliance on the right MarTech and analytical skill sets to drive.
Do the board and CEO accept the need for a Marketing Leadership hire?
This doesn't always seem to be the case. Sometimes a senior marketing hire feels like a begrudging spend of budget.
Does the CEO have enough experience within Marketing?
If not, then hire an interim marketing consultant to start an audit, review, plan and build a marketing strategy, before the first full time hire.
The job specifications for a Marketing Leadership hire are often wrong
A company can sometimes list a marketing division rather than a single person, The classic Marketing Director or CMO job spec needs to be refined to prioritise key experience that helps with the next 12 to 24 months, maybe choosing 5 or 6 core areas rather than every aspect of marketing. Otherwise the wrong person will be hired.
Good marketing leadership candidates should have key examples of revenue uplift and conversion numbers with solid ROI.
High numbers of female talent in Marketing Leadership
There is strong female representation in senior marketing roles, especially given the lower proportion of women in UK tech startups and leadership positions. Women make up 19% of the UK tech workforce and account for 22% of UK tech directors.
With the CMO now having a seat at the table, the strong representation of female CMO roles will hopefully contribute to a more balanced C Suite.
Impact of COVID-19 on senior marketing roles
CMO roles have had a resurgence post-pandemic. Marketing typically is the first to downsize during a downturn and, inevitably, the first to ramp up. In 2021 the CMO role experienced a resurgence as global economies began adjusting to a new normal. The CMO role is needed, especially for organisations in high growth mode, and whilst this is recognised, the adoption of a data approach will be the only way to shift this pattern.
Salaries for Marketing Leadership roles have increased
As highlighted in our free salary calculator, salaries for senior marketing roles went up by 20% on average in 2021.
The marketing trends we predict for 2022:
Disclaimer: These insights are a representation of our network and we make a conscious effort to bring more female and diverse candidates into the interview process.
Looking to hire your next Senior Marketer? Demand Generation Director, Head of Growth, Head of Marketing, Marketing Director, VP Marketing or CMO.
For a confidential chat get in touch today, ell@santamonica.digital.