As a CEO, I hear the 4Ps—Product, Price, Place, Promotion—come up a lot. They’re supposed to be the foundation of marketing, but the way they’re used often leaves me scratching my head. Instead of creating clarity, the 4Ps can become a barrier when CMOs fail to connect them to business outcomes.

The problem isn’t the 4Ps themselves—they remain a timeless framework. The real issue is how they’re applied. CMOs talk about them like tactical levers but struggle to show how they drive growth, market leadership, or value creation.

If marketing wants to lead, CMOs need to rethink how they use the 4Ps and align them with broader business goals. Here’s an actionable roadmap to bridge the gap between what CMOs say, mean, and do.

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1. Create Urgency Around Marketing’s Strategic Role

Marketing’s value is often dismissed because it’s seen as a long-term investment. To elevate marketing, CMOs need to create urgency by showing its immediate relevance to growth and risk mitigation.

What I Hear:
“Marketing is essential to driving competitive advantage.”

What I Need:
“Here’s why marketing is non-negotiable for our growth strategy.”

What CMOs Say:
“We’re focusing on brand-building campaigns to set us up for future success.”

What CMOs Actually Do:
“We’ll run a few promotions and measure impressions without tying them to broader outcomes.”

The Challenge:
Marketing is often deprioritized because it doesn’t feel urgent compared to other business functions.

The Solution:
Apply Kotter’s principle of urgency by highlighting both the risks of inaction and the opportunities marketing can unlock. Use metrics that CEOs care about, like market share and customer lifetime value (CLTV), to make the case.

Action:

• Present a risk analysis showing how competitors investing in brand equity are gaining market share.
• Use Price insights to demonstrate how marketing-driven pricing strategies can improve margins while enhancing customer perception.

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2. Build a Guiding Coalition

Marketing cannot operate in isolation. Building a coalition ensures that marketing’s insights inform decisions across the organization.

What I Hear:
“Marketing is a collaborative partner with sales, finance, and product teams.”

What I Need:
“Here’s how marketing aligns with other functions to drive growth.”

What CMOs Say:
“We provide data to other teams when needed.”

What CMOs Actually Do:
“Marketing operates tactically, often disconnected from product development or pricing strategies.”

The Challenge:
Silos prevent marketing from influencing key decisions, limiting its strategic impact.

The Solution:
Kotter’s coalition-building principle emphasizes cross-functional collaboration. CMOs need to engage stakeholders and create shared accountability for outcomes.

Action:

• Partner with product teams to integrate customer feedback into development roadmaps.
• Work with sales to co-create campaigns that align with pipeline targets, improving lead quality and conversion rates.

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3. Develop and Communicate a Strategic Vision

A clear vision positions marketing as a growth engine and aligns stakeholders around its role in driving competitive advantage.

What I Hear:
“Our marketing strategy aligns with the company’s vision.”

What I Need:
“Here’s how marketing supports our mission to enter new markets and lead innovation.”

What CMOs Say:
“Our campaigns build brand awareness and customer loyalty.”

What CMOs Actually Do:
“We prioritize activities like campaign execution without tying them to long-term strategic goals.”

The Challenge:
Without a clear vision, marketing risks being seen as reactive or irrelevant to strategy.

The Solution:
Roger L. Martin’s integrative thinking can help CMOs craft a vision that balances short-term wins with long-term brand growth.

Action:

• Define marketing’s role in driving a 20% increase in market share over three years through brand differentiation and demand generation.
• Execute Promotion campaigns that highlight the company’s leadership in innovation, tying results to measurable outcomes.

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4. Adopt Double-Loop Learning

CMOs need to challenge assumptions and mental models that limit marketing’s potential, rather than simply refining existing tactics.

What I Hear:
“We’re data-driven and agile in our decision-making.”

What I Need:
“Here’s how we’re rethinking outdated approaches to unlock new opportunities.”

What CMOs Say:
“We adjust tactics based on campaign performance.”

What CMOs Actually Do:
“We tweak campaigns but rarely address systemic issues like siloed decision-making.”

The Challenge:
Outdated assumptions about marketing’s role often go unchallenged, limiting its strategic impact.

The Solution:
Apply Chris Argyris’ double-loop learning to surface and test these assumptions, creating an environment of continuous improvement.

Action:

• Facilitate workshops to explore why marketing is undervalued and identify structural barriers to alignment.
• Use Place insights to evaluate whether distribution strategies reflect customer preferences or legacy practices.

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5. Empower Action by Removing Barriers

Structural and cultural barriers often prevent marketing from influencing critical decisions.

What I Hear:
“Marketing is fully integrated into our decision-making processes.”

What I Need:
“Here’s how marketing actively shapes pricing, product, and customer experience strategies.”

What CMOs Say:
“We’re working to align with other departments.”

What CMOs Actually Do:
“Marketing executes campaigns based on decisions made elsewhere, without input into strategic planning.”

The Challenge:
Marketing is often excluded from discussions on pricing, product development, and customer experience.

The Solution:
Break down silos by advocating for marketing’s involvement in strategic decisions and fostering collaboration.

Action:

• Advocate for marketing’s role in pricing discussions, using customer insights to align strategies with perceived value.
• Use Product feedback to influence innovation priorities based on customer needs.

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6. Generate Quick Wins to Build Credibility

Quick wins build momentum and prove marketing’s value to skeptical stakeholders.

What I Hear:
“Marketing delivers measurable results aligned with business goals.”

What I Need:
“Here’s how marketing drives revenue growth and improves profitability.”

What CMOs Say:
“Our campaigns are performing well.”

What CMOs Actually Do:
“Focus on short-term metrics without connecting them to broader outcomes.”

The Challenge:
Without tangible results, marketing risks being dismissed as low-impact.

The Solution:
Identify initiatives that deliver immediate results and tie them to strategic objectives.

Action:

• Launch a referral program that increases customer acquisition by 20% within a quarter.
• Execute Promotion campaigns that generate immediate pipeline growth while reinforcing long-term brand equity.

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7. Sustain Momentum Through Systems Change

Quick wins are a start, but lasting change requires embedding marketing’s role into organizational systems and processes.

What I Hear:
“Marketing is central to our strategic decision-making.”

What I Need:
“Here’s how marketing is institutionalized as a core driver of strategy.”

What CMOs Say:
“We’re aligning marketing with business priorities.”

What CMOs Actually Do:
“Marketing’s influence varies depending on leadership buy-in.”

The Challenge:
Short-term wins often fail to translate into systemic change.

The Solution:
Embed marketing’s role into systems and processes to ensure its influence endures.

Action:

• Establish dashboards connecting marketing KPIs, like CLTV and CAC, to overall business outcomes.
• Advocate for marketing’s role in strategy sessions to refine Place and customer experience strategies.

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8. Lead Cultural Transformation

Marketing shapes external perceptions and internal values. CMOs must align marketing principles with organizational culture.

What I Hear:
“Our culture is customer-centric and aligned with brand values.”

What I Need:
“Here’s how marketing reinforces our mission internally and externally.”

What CMOs Say:
“Our campaigns reflect the company’s mission.”

What CMOs Actually Do:
“Internal misalignment leads to inconsistent messaging and customer experiences.”

The Challenge:
Without internal alignment, external campaigns lack authenticity.

The Solution:
Collaborate with HR to align brand values with employee behaviour through hiring, training, and communication.

Action:

• Launch internal campaigns celebrating marketing wins to foster alignment and engagement.
• Use Product narratives to connect employees’ roles to the company’s mission, enhancing buy-in.

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I’ll leave you with this.

As a CEO, I don’t want marketing to be just another department running campaigns. I need it to be the connective tissue that brings together product innovation, pricing strategy, customer experience, and brand building into a cohesive growth engine. When CMOs focus solely on short-term activities or fail to align with overarching business goals, marketing gets relegated to the sidelines.

CMOs who blame CEOs for not “getting marketing” miss the chance to lead. The real solution isn’t to complain—it’s to act. By showing how marketing drives growth and alignment, CMOs can transform marketing into the engine that powers the entire business.

The 4Ps are not outdated—they’re underutilized. The disconnect isn’t just the CEO’s misunderstanding—it’s often the CMO’s failure to connect their work to the bigger picture. The future of marketing depends on bold CMOs willing to stop talking about what marketing can do and start proving it.

So, here’s the question: Will you step up and redefine marketing in your organization? Or will you remain stuck in the cycle of misalignment and frustration? The choice is yours.

It’s time to stop explaining and start showing. Stop blaming and start leading. The potential for marketing’s impact has never been greater—but unlocking it starts with you. What’s your next move?