As I discussed in two past blogs, CMOs Under Pressure and An Apprentice Lesson, the marketing profession is often underrated and scrutinized within companies. In an attempt to boost the image of marketing, the new title of Chief Revenue Officer (coined around 1999) is becoming more popular.
The March issue of INC has an article called Title Creep: The Chief Revenue Officer. It reports that the title trend is “the function of the self-esteem (or lack thereof) of marketing folks. Marketers often feel like they lose boardroom battles to those wily finance types who are adept at marshalling numbers…”
Ultimately, adding the word “revenue” to the title of a marketing professional adds more significance to their strategic role within a company by calling out that marketing is tied to generating revenue – not just costs.
The marketing-revenue connection is something that passionate marketing people have always believed in … but perhaps the new title will make that point clearer in more companies.
-Tami Hernandez
President
