CMOs: Why Is Marketing Losing Its Seat at the Table?

Edyta Malatrat, Chief Marketing Officer at Symfonia, delves into the substantial role of marketing in today’s corporate landscape and how it often faces the challenge of maintaining its seat at the executive table. Edyta shares insights from her robust career journey, emphasizing the need for marketing leaders to blend strategic thinking with tactical prowess, foster strong relationships across the C-suite, and adopt a mindset of business ownership akin to brand managers in the FMCG space.

In this episode of the C-Suite Sales and Marketing Perspectives podcast, host Steve MacDonald speaks with Edyta Malatrat, Chief Marketing Officer at Symfonia, about the evolving role of marketing in the corporate world. Edyta shares her journey, emphasizing the importance of blending strategic thinking with tactical execution, building strong relationships across the C-suite, and adopting a business-owner mindset to drive both short-term results and long-term brand equity.

In this thought leadership article, we explore Edyta’s insights into maintaining marketing’s relevance at the executive table. From leveraging customer insights to fostering cross-functional collaboration, she outlines a roadmap for CMOs to assert their strategic value.

“ Show your board that you understand the market. Bring them the knowledge that they need to understand the market the company is in, whether it’s the customer, whether it’s the technology your customer is in, the market.” – Edyta Malatrat

Key Takeaways:

Marketing must be seen as an integral part of business strategy, not just a tactical tool for communication.
A thorough understanding of the market and the customer is essential for crafting successful marketing strategies.
Balance is key: CMOs need to navigate the demands of short-term sales and long-term brand development.
Data and analytics are powerful tools that marketers should harness to demonstrate their impact and alignment with business goals.
Continuous learning about customers through qualitative insights is vital for meaningful engagement and differentiation in B2B.

Listen to the full podcast or watch it on YouTube directly below.

Article: “CMOs: Why Is Marketing Losing Its Seat at the Table?”

From a podcast interview with Edyta Malatrat, Chief Marketing Officer at Symfonia

Leveraging Customer Insights in B2B Marketing

Understanding customers is the cornerstone of effective B2B marketing, as Edyta emphasizes. Beyond surface-level familiarity, profound insights into target audiences enable impactful strategies. B2B marketers face unique challenges, such as limited direct customer interactions. Edyta recommends proactive approaches like live events and case studies to bridge this gap, helping marketing teams create relevant strategies that resonate with their audience.
Drawing from her FMCG background, Edyta highlights the importance of qualitative research in B2B contexts. Deep engagement—like shadowing customers or analyzing behaviors—can complement quantitative data, leading to more nuanced strategies. By prioritizing customer insights, CMOs can craft approaches that drive immediate results while strengthening long-term brand positioning.

Balancing Short-Term Targets with Long-Term Brand Building

CMOs must master the balance between delivering short-term results and fostering long-term brand equity. Edyta underscores the necessity of shifting boardroom conversations beyond immediate quotas to include metrics that highlight enduring brand strength, like organic SEO performance or share of search. This dual approach ensures marketing’s strategic contribution is valued at the executive level.
Steve captures the interplay between branding and revenue with the notion that “today’s brand is tomorrow’s demand.” Edyta echoes this, advocating for data-driven narratives to demonstrate marketing’s long-term value. By aligning revenue goals with brand-building efforts, CMOs can maintain relevance in board discussions and secure marketing’s role as a strategic driver.

The CMO as a Cross-Functional Business Leader

Modern CMOs must transcend traditional marketing roles to act as cross-functional leaders. Edyta champions the idea of marketing as a unifying force within organizations, connecting teams like sales and customer support to craft cohesive customer experiences. This collaboration enhances the company’s ability to address customer needs holistically and effectively.

Steve emphasizes that enlightened CMOs with a “seat at the table” represent the voice of the customer. By integrating marketing insights across departments, CMOs ensure customer-focused strategies permeate the organization. This alignment fosters improved customer experiences and sustainable growth, solidifying marketing’s position as a critical business function.

Conclusion

Edyta’s insights offer a roadmap for CMOs navigating the complexities of today’s business landscape. By deeply understanding their customers, marketing leaders can craft strategies that resonate on both tactical and strategic levels. Balancing immediate revenue goals with long-term brand building ensures marketing remains integral to driving sustainable business growth. Furthermore, leveraging data and fostering qualitative customer engagement equips CMOs to make informed, impactful decisions that align with broader business objectives.

Equally critical is the evolving role of the CMO as a cross-functional leader who bridges departments and amplifies the customer’s voice. Edyta demonstrates that marketing’s value lies in its ability to integrate seamlessly with other functions, shaping a cohesive customer experience and advancing organizational goals. By embracing these roles, CMOs not only retain their seat at the table but also redefine marketing’s role as a strategic force within the C-suite.

ELEVATING CONTENT MARKETING STANDARDS RAISES A CRUCIAL QUESTION:
Why shouldn’t the very act of creating thought leadership content also spark new conversations with in-pipeline deals, top prospects, and high-priority customers for revenue expansion? Or serve as the cornerstone for learning and applying voice-of-customer strategies? That’s the power of ABM Podcasting—engaging B2B buyers and customers in meaningful conversations that uncover essential go-to-market insights, support long sales cycles, reinforce your market perspective, build peer-level trust, and dismantle objections that kill deals.

Steven MacDonald

Steven MacDonald is the founder of Content Strategies, CEO of a MarTech SaaS Company, fractional CMO consulting with leading B2B companies and former Director of Strategy and Client Service at top ten digital marketing agencies.

Follow Steve on LinkedIn.

Steven MacDonald

Follow Steve on LinkedIn.