In B2B tech, change is constant and speed is a competitive advantage. Markets shift. Categories consolidate. New entrants appear overnight. Buyers do more research independently and involve more stakeholders in their decision making. Funding cycles tighten. Product roadmaps evolve. And what worked last quarter suddenly feels outdated.
In this environment, marketing can’t afford to move slowly or operate in a vacuum because whether it’s said explicitly or not, marketing performance is not judged by clicks and conversions but by business performance. Revenue. Pipeline quality. Sales velocity. Retention. Growth confidence.
As a strategic function of the business, CMOs are expected to drive this growth while proving ROI. The fastest way to do this is to stop reporting “marketing performance” and start proving “enterprise value.” In other words: Act like a CMO—but think like a CEO.
CEOs don’t view marketing as a list of deliverables. They view it as one of the business’s most powerful levers—when it’s aligned to the growth strategy and accountable to outcomes. This means positioning your marketing team as a growth engine and strategic function of the business.
Positioning as a “strategic function”
When marketing is seen as a strategic function it earns influence across the organization, it shapes direction—not just execution, and it gets funded because it’s tied to enterprise value. The goal isn’t to do “more marketing.” The goal is to make marketing indispensable to growth because CEOs don’t buy marketing activity, they buy confidence in what marketing will do for the business.
Building confidence with your CEO
CEOs don’t need more marketing updates. They need clarity. So when a CEO looks at marketing, they’re not asking, “Is marketing busy?” They’re asking “Is marketing helping us win—and can I trust it as a strategic lever?” That trust is earned through signals that ultimately build confidence in what marketing can do for the business. Below are common signals that earn trust with CEOs:
- Marketing speaks business: A CEO trusts a CMO who understands how the company makes money, what drives margin, what slows deals down, and what accelerates growth. If marketing can’t connect to the business model, it will always be seen as support—not strategy.
- Marketing understands the full buying journey: In B2B tech, buyers are rarely individuals. They’re committees. And sales cycles aren’t linear—they’re complex and influenced by numerous stakeholders. CEOs trust marketing leaders who understand what happens after the lead is captured, where deals stall, what objections derail the sale, and what content or proof points accelerate confidence.
- Marketing can prioritize—and say “no”: Focus is a credibility cue. CEOs trust marketing leaders who can make tradeoffs: fewer initiatives, clearer bets, higher conviction, less noise.
- Marketing creates alignment across Sales and Product: When marketing, sales, and product aren’t aligned, growth becomes expensive. CEOs trust CMOs who reduce friction and create shared language around ICP, value proposition, differentiation, enablement, and product narrative.
- Marketing shows foresight: The most valuable CMOs don’t just report what happened. They explain what’s changing, what it means, and what to do next. In B2B tech, foresight isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a survival skill.
- Marketing brings tradeoffs—not just requests: A CEO doesn’t want a list of needs. They want a recommendation. The shift is subtle but powerful: “We need more budget” vs. “Here are three options. Here’s the risk. Here’s the expected impact. Here’s my recommendation.”
When trust and confidence are in play, marketing is in position to serve as a strategic function but in order to fully operate in that capacity, it has to understand and be able to communicate the value it brings to the enterprise. Enterprise value is demonstrated by connecting marketing activities (such as campaigns, content, events, paid media, brand work, and product launches) to business impact (such as pipeline quality, conversion rates by stage, win rate improvements, and sales cycle velocity). CMOs should translate how those efforts build long-term business advantages, such as revenue durability, category strength, pricing power, improved valuation narrative, and reduced GTM risk
This simple framework, “Marketing Activity → Business Impact → Enterprise Value” is the difference-maker in moving marketing from a service department to a strategic function.
Effective CMOs don’t just drive marketing outcomes. They drive business confidence. They act like CMOs—but they think like CEOs. And that’s what earns trust, budget, and influence.
Are you positioning marketing as a strategic function in your organization? If you can answer “yes” to the following questions, then you’re likely already operating this way:
- Explain your growth strategy in 1–2 sentences?
- Connect marketing performance to enterprise value?
- Name the business’s biggest risk this quarter?
- Articulate what you’re not doing—and why?
- Present 3 metrics that build confidence at the executive level?
- Align Sales, Product, and Marketing around one narrative?
- Show how brand strengthens win rate, pricing power, and growth durability?
If the answer is “not yet,” this is a great opportunity to begin the transition. Need help getting there? Drop us a note and we’ll help get you on your way to positioning marketing as a strategic function and not a service department.