Think Millions Podcast

Marketing Isn’t Broken. Trust Is. 80% of CEOs Don’t Trust Their CMO

• Alexa D’Agostino • Season 1 • Episode 101

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Most companies don’t have a marketing problem.
They have a trust problem.

Specifically, a trust breakdown between the CEO and the CMO.

In this episode of Think Millions, I unpack why CEOs don’t trust marketing leaders, why CMOs feel set up to fail, and why both sides are actually right. Modern buying behavior has changed, but the mental models and measurement systems evaluating marketing have not.

Buying is nonlinear.
Decisions happen privately.
Influence happens long before attribution ever shows up.

Yet marketing is still judged at the end of the funnel.

This episode breaks down the real reason trust erodes, why marketing feels invisible even when it is working, and how leadership teams can fix the disconnect without forcing marketing into outdated boxes.

No hype. No theory. Just what actually happens inside real companies trying to scale.

Key parts of the conversation:

0:16 – Why CEOs don’t trust CMOs and why CMOs feel set up to fail
0:54 – The stat that should make every CMO uncomfortable
1:14 – Why trust controls budgets, hiring, and risk
1:29 – One third of Fortune 500 companies eliminating the CMO role
2:01 – Why CEOs and CMOs are both right
2:12 – The outdated system quietly killing trust
2:36 – Rising expectations, shrinking budgets, impossible timelines
2:58 – Brand and trust compound quietly but are evaluated loudly
3:06 – Why modern buying no longer happens in a straight line
3:20 – Marketing influencing outcomes before it can be measured
3:34 – The burnout and trust fracture inside marketing teams
3:41 – Most marketing arguments are actually about fear
3:51 – Why uncertainty makes leaders pull back
4:13 – Marketing used to feel simpler, even with less data
4:25 – Marketing shapes preference before pipeline
4:30 – CEOs are asking the wrong question, not an unreasonable one
4:36 – Marketing is no longer transactional; it is directional

Great quotes from the podcast:

• “Most companies don’t have a marketing problem. They have a trust problem.”

• “80% of CEOs do not trust their CMOs. That should scare you.”

• “Trust is the foundation of every decision a company makes.”

• “When trust exists, leaders invest forward. When it breaks, leaders pull back.”

• “The CEO isn’t wrong. The CMO isn’t wrong. The system is outdated.”

• “Marketing is being evaluated on outcomes that no longer happen in a straight line.”

• “Marketing is influencing outcomes before it can be measured.”

• “Marketing is doing two jobs at once shaping perception early and justifying results late.”

• “Most marketing arguments aren’t about marketing. They’re about fear.”

• “Marketing is no longer transactional. It’s directional.”

• “Strong marketing starts to look invisible when measurement lives too late.”

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