Is Your CMO Ready to Grow or Be Replaced? The Essential Skills for Scaling with Your Startup

Hiring a CMO is one of the most critical decisions for any startup, but here's the big question: can your CMO grow with your company, or will you need to replace them as you scale?

The journey from startup to enterprise demands more than just hands-on marketing skills, it requires adaptability, leadership, and the ability to drive strategy at every stage of growth.

In this article, we’ll explore the key technical and soft skills your CMO needs to possess at each stage of growth, and whether it’s time to grow with your CMO or bring in a new leader to match the company’s ambitions.

The CMO's Role at Different Growth Stages

Soft skills:

Technical Skill:

Key Patterns in Skill Evolution

As the company grows, both technical and soft skills evolve significantly:

• Technical Skills: Early stages prioritize hands-on work, with skills like social media, PPC, and website management dominating. As the company scales, skills like automation, CRM management, and multi-channel campaigns become critical. In the later stages, the CMO must leverage AI tools, manage complex PPC campaigns, and optimize large-scale operations.
• Soft Skills: Leadership and strategic planning take a backseat in the early phases but become essential as the company grows. Initially, CMOs focus more on research and planning, but as teams grow, leadership, team management, and high-level strategic thinking take over.

Insights on Growth and CMO Development

The ability for a CMO to grow with a company depends on their adaptability and capacity to develop their skill set. Early-stage CMOs are often hands-on, but as the company expands, they need to transition into a leadership and strategic role.

The challenge is that not all CMOs can make this leap. A CMO who excels at managing small teams and early-stage marketing may struggle with the complexities of enterprise-level marketing, where the ability to lead large, specialized teams and drive data-driven strategies becomes paramount.

Here’s the updated article incorporating the changes in the top 3 skills for each category and insights on the pattern of skill evolution as the company grows:

Is Your CMO Ready to Grow or Be Replaced? The Essential Skills for Scaling with Your Startup

Hiring a CMO is one of the most critical decisions for any startup, but here's the big question: can your CMO grow with your company, or will you need to replace them as you scale? The journey from startup to enterprise demands more than just hands-on marketing skills—it requires adaptability, leadership, and the ability to drive strategy at every stage of growth. In this article, we’ll explore the key technical and soft skills your CMO needs to possess at each stage of growth, and whether it’s time to grow with your CMO or bring in a new leader to match the company’s ambitions.

Key Patterns in Skill Evolution

As the company grows, both technical and soft skills evolve significantly:

• Technical Skills: Early stages prioritize hands-on work, with skills like social media, PPC, and website management dominating. As the company scales, skills like automation, CRM management, and multi-channel campaigns become critical. In the later stages, the CMO must leverage AI tools, manage complex PPC campaigns, and optimize large-scale operations.
• Soft Skills: Leadership and strategic planning take a backseat in the early phases but become essential as the company grows. Initially, CMOs focus more on research and planning, but as teams grow, leadership, team management, and high-level strategic thinking take over.

Insights on Growth and CMO Development

The ability for a CMO to grow with a company depends on their adaptability and capacity to develop their skill set. Early-stage CMOs are often hands-on, but as the company expands, they need to transition into a leadership and strategic role.

The challenge is that not all CMOs can make this leap. A CMO who excels at managing small teams and early-stage marketing may struggle with the complexities of enterprise-level marketing, where the ability to lead large, specialized teams and drive data-driven strategies becomes paramount.

The Hard Question: Should a Company Grow with Its CMO?

One of the most challenging decisions for growing companies is whether to continue with their current CMO or hire someone with more advanced knowledge for the next phase.

A CMO who thrives in a startup environment may struggle to lead at the enterprise level, where strategic vision and leadership of large teams are paramount. On the other hand, a CMO who grows with the company brings deep institutional knowledge and continuity.

So, what should you do?

• Grow with Your CMO: If your CMO shows adaptability, continues learning, and can step up to the demands of each growth stage, they’re a valuable asset. Investing in their development might pay off.
• Change Your CMO: If your company’s growth is outpacing your CMO’s skills or their ability to lead, it might be time to bring in someone new with the experience to take your company to the next level.

The CMO's Top 3 Skills at Different Growth Stages

Here are the top 3 technical and soft skills your CMO needs at each stage of growth, based on updated insights.

1. Just Founded (Pre-Revenue)

Your company is in the early scrappy phase. The CMO you hire now will need to wear multiple hats, with a strong emphasis on technical, hands-on work.

Top 3 Tech Skills:

1. Social Paid & Organic (8/10): Creating cost-effective campaigns to build brand awareness.
2. PPC (7/10): Setting up and managing paid ad campaigns to generate early traction.
3. Website Management & Planning (7/10): Building and managing a simple but functional website.

Top 3 Soft Skills:

1. Market Research (8/10): Understanding target audiences and competitors is essential to drive initial marketing efforts.
2. Strategic Planning (5/10): Developing a basic roadmap to guide early growth.
3. Leadership (3/10): While leadership is still developing, the CMO needs to be prepared to take charge as the team grows.

2. Under $2M ARR: Paying Users

With some traction and paying customers, the focus shifts to optimizing and scaling early marketing efforts.

Top 3 Tech Skills:

1. PPC (8/10): Refining paid campaigns for better performance and ROI.
2. Automation & CRM (7/10): Implementing tools to automate user journeys and manage customer relationships.
3. Website Management & Planning (8/10): Continuously improving the website for conversion and user experience.

Top 3 Soft Skills:

1. Leadership (5/10): Starting to develop leadership skills as the marketing team begins to grow.
2. Knowledge Sharing & Teaching (5/10): Teaching early hires and ensuring everyone is on the same page.
3. Strategic Planning (6/10): Refining long-term strategies and aligning marketing with business goals.

3. $2M - $10M ARR: Scaling Up

As the company scales, the CMO’s role becomes more about leading and refining successful strategies while still retaining some hands-on work.

Top 3 Tech Skills:

1. Automation & CRM (8/10): Managing more complex user journeys and ensuring tight alignment between sales and marketing.
2. PPC (9/10): Managing larger budgets while ensuring continued optimization.
3. Multi-channel Campaigns (8/10): Orchestrating cohesive campaigns across multiple platforms.

Top 3 Soft Skills:

1. Leadership (7/10): Taking ownership of the growing marketing department.
2. Team Management (7/10): Leading a team and ensuring smooth collaboration across departments.
3. Strategic Planning (8/10): Focusing on strategies that support both short-term wins and long-term goals.

4. $10M+ ARR: Accelerating Growth

At this stage, the focus shifts from day-to-day execution to managing more sophisticated and scalable marketing operations.

Top 3 Tech Skills:

1. Website Management & Planning (9/10): Ensuring the website is optimized for large-scale growth.
2. Automation & CRM (9/10): Managing advanced marketing automation systems that can handle high volumes.
3. AI Tools (8/10): Using AI and data-driven insights to scale marketing efforts efficiently.

Top 3 Soft Skills:

1. Leadership (9/10): Leading a larger, more complex team across departments.
2. Strategic Planning (9/10): Driving the strategic vision for marketing aligned with the company’s growth goals.
3. Team Management (8/10): Managing a larger team with more specialized roles.

5. Enterprise: Sustaining Global Growth

At the enterprise level, the CMO’s role is highly strategic and requires the ability to manage global campaigns and large teams.

Top 3 Tech Skills:

1. PPC (9/10): Managing complex, high-budget campaigns at scale.
2. Automation & CRM (9/10): Overseeing global automation processes to maintain consistent customer experiences.
3. AI Tools (9/10): Leveraging AI to enhance data-driven decision-making and campaign optimization.

Top 3 Soft Skills:

1. Leadership (10/10): Providing visionary leadership across a large organization.
2. Team Management (10/10): Leading a team of specialized professionals and ensuring cross-functional alignment.
3. Business Planning (10/10): Aligning marketing strategy with the company’s long-term goals and ensuring success at the highest level.

Your Input I’d love to hear your thoughts:

• What additional skills should be included?
• Do you agree with the scoring system, or would you adjust it?
• Have you experienced the challenge of deciding whether to grow with a CMO or hire someone new?