The Biggest Mistakes CEOs Make with Their Marketing

The job market is challenging right now, especially for senior marketers. Good roles are scarce and often undervalued. Yet, I still see companies repeating the same marketing mistakes.

Marketing isn't rocket science or brain surgery, but it's not easy either. Too many companies underestimate its complexity. Here are some common mistakes I see CEOs and boards making across various company sizes and industries:

Note: This is not an exhaustive list and is not necessarily in order of importance. It will depend on the company’s size and stage. This list also does not include mistakes related to specific tactics or execution.

1. Not Defining a Strong and Unique Value Proposition

?Your product's features or what you stand for are not your value proposition. While these are important aspects of your brand story, they don't directly address customer needs. Your value proposition should outline the unique benefits you offer, explaining why customers should choose your products or services over competitors.

Ask your sales or customer service teams how they describe what you do to customers, friends, or family. Is the message consistent, aligned, and compelling? If you're unclear about the value you provide, you're wasting every marketing dollar and touchpoint with potential customers.

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2. Not Having the Right Roles in Your Marketing Team

Want to know the fastest way to waste your marketing investment? Start spending without a strategy, leadership, or plan.

Today's specialist marketers can "get on and do the job." They excel at activities like SEO, digital advertising, branding, CX, and communications. However, without a connection to your overarching strategy and effective leadership, these efforts risk becoming short-term focused and inefficient. Jumping into tactics without a well-defined strategy can lead to ineffective marketing activities.

In this digital age, marketing has one of the broadest scopes of any business function. It's nearly impossible for anyone to be competent in all areas. A senior marketing leader (CMO) can ensure maximum results, optimize your marketing spend, and develop an empowered and engaged marketing team.

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3. Focusing on the Wrong Metrics

Choosing the right metrics is crucial because they inform business strategy, identify improvement opportunities, and drive growth.

Focusing on meaningful metrics helps avoid non-actionable or vanity metrics, ensuring efforts are directed towards achieving tangible outcomes that deliver value to your business.

For example, one company I know experienced massive growth in website traffic after increasing their paid advertising spend. However, their bounce rate jumped to over 90%, and conversions remained non-existent. They increased their spend with little return because they focused on website traffic rather than more meaningful metrics.

Ensure your metrics align with your goals. This may differ depending on your stage and objectives, so be prepared to adapt. Again, having a CMO on your team can help.

4. Not Defining Your Target Audience (or ICP)

Defining your target audience or Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is crucial for effective marketing strategies. By understanding who your most likely customers are, you can tailor messaging, optimize marketing spend, and create personalized experiences that resonate with specific needs and preferences. This focus helps avoid wasted resources on broad campaigns and improves customer engagement and retention.

Additionally, a clear target audience informs product development and brand positioning, further improving your value proposition.

Note: This mistake often pairs with "Not planning your customer journeys." Understanding when and how prospects engage with you—and what they expect at each stage—ensures alignment with customer expectations and drives long-term loyalty.

5. Neglecting Current Customers

We've all heard that acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing one. Increasing customer retention by 5% can boost profits by 25-95%. The success rate of selling to existing customers is 60-70%, compared to 5-20% for new customers. (All stats care of a quick Google search.)

?And yet companies continue to focus on new acquisitions, often at the expense of retention (and certainly at the expense of up-sell or cross-sell opportunities.

Focusing on nurturing existing customers is crucial for sustainable growth. Nurtured customers tend to be more loyal, leading to repeat purchases and higher lifetime value. An enhanced post-sale experience builds strong relationships that foster trust and satisfaction while reducing churn and encouraging advocacy.

Balancing acquisition with nurturing efforts leads to greater overall success.

6. Not Investing in the Right Marketing Tools

Investing in the right marketing technologies is crucial for competitiveness in today's digital landscape. Too often marketers are expected to work magic with outdated tools. While investment in product development technologies is critical, so too is building an effective marketing technology stack that enhances productivity by streamlining processes and enabling data-driven decision-making.

A basic list of tools includes:

• CRM for managing customer interactions and data
• Marketing analytics tools for data-driven decision-making
• Marketing automation platforms for automating tasks like email marketing
• Social media and SEO tools for increased productivity.

Remember that these platforms require ongoing management. Someone needs the responsibility (and time) to oversee them effectively. Lack of effective and ongoing management can lead to lost sales opportunities, inefficient processes, poor customer service, and lack of data insights.

If any of this resonates with you and you're looking to improve your marketing effectiveness and efficiency, feel free to reach out—I’m here to help!

For the marketing leaders out there—do you agree? What would you add to this list? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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About the Author: Michelle Haynes is a fractional CMO based in Auckland, New Zealand, specialising in marketing transformation and development for technology and manufacturing companies across the Pacific Rim. With over 25 years' experience leading marketing teams and implementing advanced AI-driven marketing solutions, she helps organisations bridge the gap between technical innovation and market success. Her expertise in integrating emerging AI capabilities with deep industry knowledge consistently delivers 30-40% cost optimisation while driving significant revenue growth. As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM) and Chartered Marketer, she brings both strategic vision and practical implementation expertise to global marketing transformations.