Yesterday, I began a 5-part series that will run all week to talk about why marketing fails.

The primary reason is that it fails at the top, which was summed up well by Dave Gerhardt when he said, “Life’s too short to work for a CEO who doesn’t get marketing.”

Yesterday, I mentioned why many CEOs (unless they are real marketers) perceive marketing to be sales when it is really not.

The second biggest problem is their inability to prioritize marketing activities. 

Chris Walker has been challenging us with his LinkedIn posts that question why we have no budget for content creation, or need to prove the ROI beforehand (while losing thousands of dollars on traditional conference sponsorships with no accountability.) 

Every brand has quite a few marketing and sales activities they can pursue.

However, given the constraints of time, budget, and personnel, most marketing teams can pursue 3-4 marketing deliverables in a year at best.

However, prioritization often happens with a predetermined mindset as opposed to an open one, an accommodating mindset rather than an analytical one, and a reporting mindset instead of an ROI-focused one.

While prioritizing the right battles to pick, the appropriate weapons to fight, and the relevant enemy to defeat, a CEO who doesn’t get marketing is often more of a hurdle than a help.

If your CEO doesn’t get marketing, offer him/her specific choices and explain their ROI prospects to help them approve the most optimal options and ensure that those are prioritized.