Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Why Most CEOs Misunderstand Marketing




In the next 10 posts or so, I am going to change the way I have been writing this blog for years. I am starting a new series. Called,

“What CEOs Get Wrong About Marketing — And How to Fix It”

Why Most CEOs Misunderstand Marketing

Let’s start with a simple truth.

Most CEOs especially in SMEs don’t really understand marketing.
They think they do. But they don’t.

They think marketing is that thing you do when sales are down.
Or when the competitor launches something.
Or when the board asks, “Why haven’t we gone viral yet?”

To many CEOs, marketing is decoration. Cosmetics. A wrapper.
It’s the brochure, the logo, the social media intern.

Here’s the problem:
If that’s your view of marketing, your business will always be stuck in reactive mode.

Marketing Is Not a Department. It’s the Business Itself.

You don’t “do marketing” after you’ve figured everything else out.
Marketing is how you define who you target, what you offer, and why anyone should care.

It sits upstream of sales.
It guides your pricing.
It determines your position in the market.

Marketing is not the cherry on top. It’s the base layer.
If you get it wrong, no amount of execution will save you.

The Delusion of Delegation

This is where many CEOs slip.

They treat marketing like something to outsource — to the agency, the junior team, the cousin who knows Canva.

They stay focused on finance, ops, and sales assuming someone else will “handle the branding.”

A CEO who doesn’t engage with marketing is like a pilot who doesn’t care about navigation.
Sure, the engine works. The cockpit looks fancy. But you’ll still end up lost.

The Cost of Confusion

When CEOs don’t understand marketing, three things happen:

  1. Budgets get slashed at the worst time.
    Just when consistency is needed, the tap is turned off.
  2. Tactics replace strategy.
    You chase shiny objects: influencer X, viral campaign Y, platform Z.
  3. The brand becomes invisible.
    Not because you didn’t spend, but because you didn’t stand for anything.

Marketing isn’t just about growth. It’s about directional growth.
Without it, you’re just running hard without a compass.

Start Here

If you're a CEO, ask yourself:

  • Do you know what your brand actually stands for?
  • Do you know why customers choose you — and why they don’t?
  • Are you building future demand, or just plugging this quarter’s hole?

If your answer is “not really,” you’re not alone.

But if you want your business to grow — not just survive — that’s where the shift must begin.

Next up: Marketing Is Not Just Advertising — It’s How You Compete.
We’ll dismantle the next big myth most CEOs carry.

But for now, if marketing isn’t guiding your business, who is?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com

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