Who's Making Growth Decisions?
You've hired a Marketing Manager, established goals, and approved a budget.
Campaigns are running. Content is produced. Sales has marketing support. Things are getting done.
But one question I have: Who's making the strategic marketing decisions that will drive your company's growth goals?
When execution takes priority over strategy, companies risk investing in the wrong initiatives, missing growth opportunities, and reacting to market changes instead of preparing for them.
Execution Without Strategy Has a Cost
The problem isn't the quality of the execution. It's the decisions being made before that work begins.
Which customers offer the greatest growth potential? Where should the company invest? What competitive threats are emerging? How will changes in the market affect the business six months or a year from now?
These are strategic decisions that influence what the marketing organization should be doing.
And they require someone who can look beyond marketing, understand the broader business, and challenge leadership when a different direction is needed.
Growth Requires Looking Ahead, Not Just Responding to Today
I recently spoke with a chocolate brand facing rising ingredient costs due in part to tariffs, threatening a key point of differentiation.
Our conversation explored the trade-offs. Absorb higher costs and sacrifice profitability? Raise prices and risk losing sales volume? How were competitors responding? Could the brand bring production in-house without compromising what made its product unique?
Now think about your own business.
Who's evaluating shifts in customer behavior, competitive disruptions, economic trends, and how these developments could affect your business?
Who's determining how your business should respond, where to invest, and what opportunities to pursue to drive growth in both the short and long term?
And who's anticipating changes within your own organization, from new products and services to expansion plans, that may require a different approach?
That's the perspective strategic marketing leadership should bring. Not just responding to what's happening, but helping your business anticipate what's next.
Fact-Check Your Marketing Strategy
Here's a simple exercise. Ask these three questions:
1. Who's identifying our next growth opportunities?
Is someone proactively evaluating customers, markets, products and services, competitive shifts, and opportunities for growth?
2. Who's challenging our assumptions?
Is someone questioning where you're investing, what you're prioritizing, and whether there's a better path forward?
3. Who's preparing us for what's next?
Is someone evaluating external market shifts and internal business changes, and developing strategies to capitalize on opportunities or mitigate potential risks?
If you can't clearly identify who's responsible for these decisions, you may have a gap in your marketing leadership.
Strategy First. Then Execution.
You can have great people, a healthy marketing budget, and plenty of activity.
But without the right strategy, you risk spending time and money moving in the wrong direction.
You need both strategy and execution. But strategy needs to come first.
And that requires someone with the experience, perspective, and authority to help determine where the business should go, not just how to get the work done.
Take the CEO Growth Diagnostic to identify opportunities to strengthen your growth strategy.
Are You Getting the Most From Your Marketing Organization?
Before making significant changes to your marketing team, agencies, or resources, let's discuss what's really needed to improve results.
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