Your company’s growth trajectory depends heavily on one critical hire: your Chief Marketing Officer. The wrong CMO for your B2B company can cost your organization far more than salary and benefits. Misaligned campaigns drain budgets. Disconnected tactics masquerade as strategy. Months pass with impressive activity reports but stagnant revenue. By the time you recognize the problem of “random acts of marketing,” you’ve lost market momentum that’s difficult to recover from.

For mid-market companies planning 2026 budgets and evaluating marketing leadership structure, understanding what makes a great CMO has never been more critical. It’s not just about filling a role—it’s about securing a strategic growth driver who can translate marketing activities into enterprise value. The difference between an average CMO and an exceptional one isn’t found in their resume or industry credentials. It’s in their ability to align marketing with business strategy, drive measurable outcomes, and lead teams through constant change.

Why the CMO Role Matters More Than Ever for Mid-Market B2B Companies

Amanda Zarle, CMO at Marketri, puts it plainly: “Having worked across the spectrum, it is clear that in a startup, the founder is still the brand. In the enterprise, there’s enough infrastructure to absorb a few wrong turns. But in the middle? Every decision hits closer.”

Research shows that companies involving marketing executives in strategic planning see 1.4 times higher revenue, yet only half of CMOs participate in such sessions with their CEOs. This disconnect represents a massive opportunity cost for mid-market firms that can least afford it.

The stakes are clear: A wrong hire or misaligned campaign becomes harder to hide. Marketing scattered across disconnected tactics may feel like activity, but without strategic leadership turning those efforts into a system that compounds over time, growth plateaus not because the market changed, but because the company stopped learning.

The Diamond in the Sand: What Defines a Great CMO

Deb Andrews, Founder and President of Marketri, describes finding a great CMO as “like finding a diamond in the sand due to the complexity surrounding the function and the increasing demand for marketing to not just raise awareness and engage customers but to fuel growth.”

So, what separates exceptional CMOs from merely competent ones? It comes down to seven essential qualities that transcend tactical expertise.

1. Strategic Business Acumen Over Marketing Credentials

A great CMO doesn’t lean on “what’s always been done.” They deeply understand where the business stands today and where it needs to head, identifying “cash cow” and “rising star” markets to allocate resources appropriately for both long and short-term growth.

Instead of presenting engagement metrics, great CMOs frame results in boardroom language: revenue impact, customer lifetime value, market positioning, and competitive advantage. They translate marketing activities into enterprise value that CEOs and boards immediately understand.

As Amanda notes, “A great CMO can move easily between the boardroom and the customer’s inbox without losing perspective. They can inspire creative teams and challenge data analysts.”

Modern CMOs must speak and think in business metrics—new customer acquisitions, upsell percentages, renewal rates—and convert marketing metrics into outcomes that directly impact growth and revenue goals.

CEO Evaluation Questions:

• How do you translate marketing performance into business outcomes?
• Walk me through how you would prioritize resource allocation across our product portfolio.
• What financial metrics do you track beyond marketing-specific KPIs?

2. Deep Customer-Centric Insight

Great CMOs know their customer personas “like the back of their hands not because AI pushed a narrative but because he/she has spent time with both current and future aspirational customers,” according to Deb.

The best CMOs are passionate about people, starting with deeply understanding the target audience. This isn’t about demographic data—it’s about understanding what motivates buying decisions, what problems keep customers awake at night, and how your solution genuinely improves their business or life.

One of the most important things a CMO can do is listen to the sales team, as they are the closest link to customers. Great CMOs make it a point to get face time with sales reps to learn about recent challenges, trends, and successes.

CEO Evaluation Questions:

• What is the single most surprising audience insight you’ve uncovered in your career? What did you do with that insight?
• How do you balance data-driven customer insights with intuitive understanding of customer needs?
• Describe your process for staying connected to customer reality as you move into more senior roles.

3. The Rare Balance of Strategy and Execution

Amanda emphasizes that what makes a great CMO exceptional “has more to do with judgment. Having experience building teams, building campaigns, tracking data and metrics and having the ability to sense when the market is shifting.”

Marketing officers must think strategically about growth while also being comfortable making decisions with imperfect data. In today’s environment of constant change and ambiguity, the ability to make no decision is still a decision—one that risks leaving the business behind.

Great CMOs don’t get paralyzed by incomplete information. They synthesize what they know, make informed decisions, measure results, and pivot quickly when needed.

CEO Evaluation Questions:

• Tell me about a time you had to make a significant marketing decision without complete data. What was your process?
• How do you balance long-term brand building with short-term revenue generation?
• Describe a campaign that failed. What did you learn, and how did you apply those lessons?

4. Agility in a Rapidly Changing Market

Adaptability has always been a hallmark of successful marketing professionals, and their strategies often make the difference between a company’s success or failure.

Amanda points out that “CMOs have to be agile and be able to adjust when the mandate keeps shifting. Even the most capable leader will struggle to deliver if expectations aren’t clearly set and remain volatile.”

The challenge for mid-market CEOs is ensuring they’re not creating that volatility. Great CMOs need clarity on whether they should drive demand, elevate the brand, modernize the tech stack, or balance all three. Amanda notes that “most CMOs are good at a few but not all of these. They need to have the right team in place to carry the weight of the company’s marketing obligations.”

CEO Evaluation Questions:

• How do you stay ahead of marketing trends without chasing every new shiny object?
• Describe a time when market conditions forced you to completely pivot your marketing strategy.
• What’s your process for evaluating new marketing technologies or approaches?

5. Data-Driven Accountability, Not Vanity Metrics

Deb emphasizes that “a great CMO is not fooled by vanity metrics. He/She knows the most important ones and optimizes the marketing program to meet and/or exceed numbers.”

While operational KPIs like ROAS (Return on Ad Spend), CTR (Click-Through Rate), and CLV (Customer Lifetime Value) are crucial for day-to-day operations, they don’t communicate broader business impact in ways that resonate with other C-suite executives. Great B2B CMOs know which metrics actually matter for the business and can articulate why.

They learn from unsuccessful efforts and cross-pollinate those learnings across the marketing team. This creates a culture of continuous improvement rather than blame when experiments don’t work.

CEO Evaluation Questions:

• What are the three most important metrics you track as a CMO, and why?
• How do you balance leading indicators with lagging indicators in your reporting?
• Tell me about a time when the data contradicted your intuition. What did you do?

6. Team Leadership and Talent Development

A CMO’s leadership abilities are the foundation of their success, enabling them to guide their team, marketing strategies, and the entire organization.

Great CMOs aren’t afraid to try different staffing models. As Deb notes, they “keep an open mind when it comes to staffing the marketing function. They are not afraid of trying models like fractional marketing to get just the right amount of expertise and to leave more of the budget for outreach.”

CMOs need to be stepping up to ensure the best candidates are accepting their offers, and they must have the sharpest eyes to identify top talent. In today’s competitive environment, attracting great people requires building strong and attractive working environments.

CEO Evaluation Questions:

• How do you approach building versus buying marketing talent?
• Describe your philosophy on team structure. When do you hire full-time versus bringing in specialists?
• Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult people decision on your marketing team.

7. Cultural Fit and Values Alignment

A good CMO understands the importance of maintaining brand integrity and earning consumer trust, ensuring that marketing communications are truthful, transparent, and aligned with the core values of the company.

Beyond skills and experience, the CMO must align with your company’s culture and values. Great CMOs work closely with other executives and department heads to ensure marketing initiatives support overall business objectives and contribute to long-term success.

In Amanda’s view, great CMOs bring perspective. “In an era where AI makes it easy to produce more content, more dashboards, more everything, a great CMO decides what truly deserves attention. A great CMO can discern between good and great.”

CEO Evaluation Questions:

• How would you describe your leadership style, and how does it adapt to different company cultures?
• Tell me about a time when you had a strategic disagreement with another executive. How did you resolve it, and what did you learn?
• What values are non-negotiable for you in a work environment?

The AI Era Adds Another Layer of Complexity

Deb emphasizes that in today’s marketing era, great CMOs “understand the impact of AI on more than the marketing function. They know how it will reshape their business and its products and services.”

As MarTech investments become more prominent, top CMOs recognize when new roles like VP of MarTech or VP of Innovation need to be created. They’re not just adopting AI tools for marketing efficiency—they’re thinking about how AI transforms customer expectations, competitive dynamics, and business models.

This forward-thinking perspective allows them to have “a strong voice at the leadership table offering both strategic guidance and data-driven insights to support informed decision making,” as Deb describes.

Red Flags: What to Watch for When Evaluating B2B CMO Candidates

Not every qualified candidate is the right CMO. Watch for these warning signs:

Inability to Speak Business Language: If a candidate can’t move beyond marketing jargon to discuss revenue, margins, and enterprise value, they may struggle at the C-suite level.

Over-Reliance on Past Playbooks: Great CMOs can anticipate future trends and position their company as an industry leader. Candidates who only reference what worked at their last company may lack the strategic thinking needed for your situation.

Lack of Team Development Experience: If they can’t articulate how they’ve built and developed marketing talent, they may not be ready to lead at scale.

Misalignment on Marketing’s Role: Amanda warns that “too many companies hire CMOs without a clear understanding of what they truly need and without clearly setting the expectation for what the CMO should focus on.” Ensure alignment exists before hiring.

Data Avoidance: Any hesitation around measurement, analytics, or accountability is a major red flag in today’s environment.

When Full-Time Doesn’t Make Sense: The Fractional Alternative

For many mid-market companies, the answer isn’t necessarily hiring a full-time CMO. Just half of CMOs participate in strategic planning sessions, despite evidence that companies involving them see significantly higher revenue—which means the issue often isn’t full-time presence but strategic capability and integration.

Fractional CMO services provide access to senior marketing leadership without the full-time executive salary, benefits, and overhead. This model works particularly well when:

• You need strategic direction but don’t yet have the budget or workload for a full-time executive
• Your marketing needs are evolving rapidly and require different expertise at different stages
• You want to “try before you buy” with senior leadership before committing to a full-time hire
• You need immediate impact while searching for the right full-time candidate

The fractional model gives you flexibility to scale marketing leadership up or down based on your growth stage and current priorities—exactly what Deb advocates for when she notes that great CMOs aren’t afraid of different staffing models.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

The right CMO multiplies enterprise value. They transform scattered marketing activities into strategic systems that compound over time. They speak the language of business while inspiring creative teams. They make bold decisions with imperfect data and hold themselves accountable to real business outcomes.

As Amanda reminds us, getting this hire wrong is particularly painful in the mid-market: “A wrong hire or a misaligned campaign are harder to hide.” The good news? Now you have a framework for evaluating candidates based on what matters—not just their resume or marketing credentials, but their judgment, business acumen, leadership capability, and cultural fit.

Whether you’re hiring your first CMO, replacing underperforming marketing leadership, or considering whether a fractional approach might better serve your current needs, the qualities outlined here provide your evaluation roadmap.

Looking for more insights on marketing leadership and strategy?

Explore our resources for additional guidance on building high-performing marketing teams, fractional marketing models, and driving measurable business growth.

Let’s talk about how to align your marketing function with your business strategy and build the foundation for sustainable growth in 2026 and beyond.