How CEOs Really Make Marketing Decisions – and What Separates Success from Failure

How CEOs Really Make Marketing Decisions – and What Separates Success from Failure

A CEO or business owner is required to make critical decisions on a daily basis: hiring new employees, managing existing teams, selecting suppliers, making technology investments, and forming strategic partnerships. Each decision dictates the direction in which the organization moves – forward, sideways, or, unfortunately, backward.

Among all these decisions, one area stands out and takes center stage: marketing. Marketing decisions are not just another item on the CEO’s to-do list – they determine the pace of growth, the visibility of the brand, and the way the entire market interprets the strength of the company and its potential for success.

While operational or financial decisions are often measured by clear numbers, marketing decisions sit on the fine line between science and art: a combination of intuitive gut feeling and cold, analytical data. This is where the real challenge lies – how to combine the two?

Marketing is not only about “how to advertise.” It’s the strategic decision of how to tell the company’s story, how to position it against competitors, and how to create added value in a competitive market. One good decision can propel a brand forward, while one reckless move can burn through budgets and damage the trust of customers and investors.

So how are these decisions really made? And how can a CEO ensure they move the company forward rather than hold it back?

Between Gut Feeling and Cold Analysis

Many CEOs admit: gut feeling plays a role. After all, they know the field, the customers, and the competition. However, in today’s era of data and digital marketing, relying solely on intuition can be risky. Sound decisions require a balance: seasoned intuition alongside cold analysis of data and market insights.

The Three Core Dilemmas

1. Invest Now or Wait?

On the one hand, a “window of opportunity” in the market may close quickly – whoever enters first often gains a commercial and reputational advantage. On the other hand, rushing in without solid foundations can lead to wasted budgets.

• The case for “now”: A fast campaign can build presence, generate sales, and establish the company as a serious player.

• The case for “waiting”: Allows time to refine messaging, build technological infrastructure, define the target audience, and solidify a smart pricing model.

The right balance is usually in timing: not investing too early without a clear message, value proposition, and stable business model – but also not too late, once competitors have already set the standard.

2. Which Channel Is Right for Us?

The marketing world offers endless options: paid ads, SEO, PR, content marketing, TikTok, LinkedIn, conferences, and more. The challenge is not a lack of channels – but rather the surplus.

• The temptation: “Let’s try them all” – which leads to scattered resources and inconsistency.

• The danger: Choosing a channel because it’s trendy rather than strategic. For example, a B2B company that invests in TikTok instead of LinkedIn might miss its real audience.

A smart decision must rely on where the customer is, the cost per lead, and the contribution of each channel to long-term growth.

3. Manage Marketing In-House or Outsource?

This is one of the toughest dilemmas:

• Internal team: Knows the company deeply, is accessible, and focuses on a single brand. Downsides – high costs, difficulty recruiting top talent, and limited creativity when working only from an internal perspective.

• External consultant / CMO as a Service: Brings broad experience from multiple markets, sees the bigger picture, and challenges existing assumptions. Downsides – requires ongoing alignment to ensure deep integration.

The real answer is often not “either-or,” but rather a hybrid: an internal marketing manager who bridges with the leadership team, combined with an external CMO who brings fresh perspectives and field experience.

Where Companies Fall Short

The most common mistake is making “gut-driven” decisions: investing in a channel because competitors are there or because someone said it works. In reality, such decisions often lead to wasted resources and frustration – especially without a clear strategy that defines measurable goals.

How to Make Better Marketing Decisions

• Define business goals before marketing goals: What does the company want to achieve in the short and medium term?

• Build solid marketing infrastructure: CRM, lead management, automation, and measurement – so every dollar is backed by reliable systems and real data.

• Prepare a Go-To-Market plan: Clear mapping of target audiences, messaging, channels, and success metrics before launching the first campaign.

• Craft impressive Pitch Decks and One Pagers: Concise materials that clearly communicate the business and marketing story to investors, customers, and partners. They’re not just presentation tools – they’re strategic compasses that force clarity.

• Rely on real data: Customer acquisition costs, conversion rates, lifetime value (LTV).

• Ask the tough questions: Does this move actually help achieve goals? Do we stand out compared to competitors?

• Bring in an external perspective: Sometimes an outside view reveals blind spots, barriers, or opportunities that are invisible from the inside.

  

  How CEOs Really Make Marketing Decisions – and What Separates Success from Failure

At the End of the Day – A Decision Is Also a Story

Strong marketing is built on smart decisions – but just as much, on the story those decisions create. A CEO who chooses to invest in marketing sends a clear message: to employees, investors, and the entire market – we’re growing, we’re leading, we’re here to stay.

The challenge is that in the race of daily operations, not every CEO can stop to build infrastructure, craft a Go-To-Market plan, or perfect a Pitch Deck and One Pager that capture the company’s value convincingly.

This is where I come in – Meidan Sharvit, CMO as a Service. I integrate into companies as an external marketing leader with strategic vision and a creative mindset.

My role includes:

• Taking marketing management headaches off the CEO’s plate.

• Building strong, scalable marketing infrastructure.

• Creating a focused Go-To-Market plan that translates strategy into action.

• Distilling the business story into sharp, compelling Pitch Decks and One Pagers that resonate with customers and investors.

• Designing and producing creative, differentiated campaigns that don’t just grab attention, but establish real positioning in the market.

• Recruiting external vendors and forming a tailored marketing team – ensuring every field has the right expertise: social media, video, animation, PR, digital, and more.

• Above all: leading marketing initiatives that don’t stay as theory – but actually get executed and deliver results.
  

This way, your marketing decisions stop being frustrating dilemmas – and instead become the engine that drives real business growth.