Why ROI Is the Core Responsibility of Every CMO

The ability to demonstrate a clear return on investment (ROI) has become a central requirement for Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), as the role shifts toward a greater emphasis on commercial accountability. Marketing leaders are responsible for requesting investment and determining its allocation, and they are subsequently expected to prove that these expenditures create tangible value for the organization.

According to François Bazini and Michel Sara, the ROI question should sit at the center of every CMO’s job. The authors argue that when a marketing leader cannot explain the value generated by their activities in commercially credible terms, the marketing function risks being perceived as expensive rather than strategic.

This pressure for accountability is tied directly to professional stability. The analysis notes that marketers frequently face termination when they fail to deliver the results they promised to the organization.

Expanding Measurement Beyond Digital Metrics

While digital marketing and ecommerce have significantly improved the ease of ROI measurement, Bazini and Sara suggest that these standards must be applied across all forms of marketing investment. There is a tendency to focus on the metrics that are easiest to quantify, such as promotions or lower-funnel digital activity.

However, the authors contend that marketers should be able to defend the spending for activities that are traditionally more difficult to measure, including:

• Sponsorships
• Public relations (PR)
• Events
• Sampling
• Above-the-line advertising

The argument is that if these expenditures are worth the investment, the marketing leader must be capable of demonstrating their return, regardless of the complexity of the measurement.

Short-Term Gains Versus Long-Term Brand Equity

A significant challenge for CMOs is the distinction between immediate sales stimulation and the slower process of brand building. Short-term returns are often easily observable through data points such as clicks, conversions, and temporary spikes appearing on dashboards.

Brand building, by contrast, is described as more stubborn and does not typically appear in immediate sales reports. Effective advertising is intended to improve several key areas of brand health, including:

• Memory structures
• Consumer consideration and preference
• Willingness to pay
• The ability of the brand to maintain sales without relying on discounting

While these effects are real, they require a different approach to measurement than the immediate feedback loops provided by digital performance marketing.

The analysis concludes that when CMOs become vague about these returns, they often appear evasive. This lack of fluency in transitioning the conversation from what we did to what it returned can undermine the strategic standing of the marketing leader within the company.