Most marketing leaders would agree that driving growth is a critical aspect of their role. But when met with day-to-day realities, growth often takes a back seat. Marketers have to juggle limited budgets, competing demands, and the pressure to show quick wins. This results in marketing efforts that focus on what feels urgent and out of line with what leadership expects.
Forty-one percent of midmarket CMOs say that developing a strategy for new customer acquisition is their CEO’s top expectation over the next 12-18 months. This is according to IDC’s 2025 Global Midmarket Tech CMO Priorities Survey.
Yet many marketing teams remain focused on other outcomes. In fact, 30% say their top priority is increasing revenue from existing customers. Another 29% are focused on reducing costs and streamlining operations.
This isn’t a sign that marketing is off course. It’s a sign that the course itself is more complex. But when executive expectations point one way and internal execution points another, the disconnect can undermine momentum. This is the second of four major disconnects facing marketing teams, as identified by IDC. If left unaddressed, it limits marketing’s ability to deliver measurable business impact at the time it matters most.
nd the first step to achieving true AI-driven growth is breaking through the illusion.
Want the full picture? Download IDC’s Executive Insights Brief: The four disconnects shaping marketing in 2025 to get the four data-backed recommendations and realign your team’s priorities with executive growth goals.
How marketing lost sight of growth
In many ways, this disconnect was inevitable. Over the past few years, CMOs have had to adapt quickly — grappling with new technologies, shifting buyer behavior, and intensifying pressure to do more with less. Along the way, the role itself has fundamentally changed.
Just a few years ago, IDC’s survey data confirmed that most midmarket CMOs didn’t see that change coming. In 2021, 49% of CMOs said they expected no change in their role over the next two years, and only 15% predicted an evolution toward becoming a Chief Market Officer — a title that signals broader responsibility for revenue growth and customer insight. Today, that view has shifted: 33% of CMOs now recognize their role has expanded to include a new title, greater responsibility for understanding the market, and increased accountability for both marketing and sales outcomes.
In short, marketing is no longer responsible solely for generating leads or building awareness. Executives now expect it to directly fuel business growth through acquisition, expansion, and orchestrated, insight-driven customer journeys that span the entire funnel.
Against that backdrop, it’s understandable why many CMOs have leaned into retention and efficiency. In a time of rapid change, focusing on what already works can feel like the safest choice. But when the rest of the business pivots toward bold growth, those instincts can become misaligned. Efforts to protect what’s already working may unintentionally push growth initiatives to the sidelines.
The risks of misalignment
When executive expectations lean into growth while marketing remains focused on retention and efficiency, frustration builds. From the CEO’s perspective, marketing appears out of step. Results are being delivered, just not the ones the business is counting on.
At first, this disconnect can be hard to spot. A strong retention strategy can keep revenue steady in the short term, creating the impression that everything is on track, even as new customer growth begins to stall. Over time, however, the lack of a replenished pipeline becomes impossible to ignore.
The consequences compound quickly:
- Revenue projections slip as acquisition lags.
- Cross-functional trust erodes.
- Strategic credibility suffers.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many teams face challenges moving beyond their traditional role at the top of the funnel. Nearly 35% of midmarket CMOs say demonstrating marketing’s strategic impact and ROI beyond lead generation is the top credibility challenge their teams face, according to IDC’s research. Another 25% report difficulty reinforcing marketing’s leadership role in driving business growth across the organization.
Additionally, challenges in measurement deepen the disconnect. While the C-suite continues to prioritize outcome-based KPIs, midmarket CMOs report that these metrics remain the hardest to define and track. Without a clear way to measure and communicate progress toward growth, internal alignment stalls, and confidence from leadership wanes.
Meanwhile, competitors that invest in acquisition today are building relationships that may be difficult to disrupt later. And when pressure to deliver spikes during budget season, board reviews, or sudden pivots in business direction, marketing teams are left scrambling to respond, without the infrastructure or momentum to do so effectively.
This mirrors another key disconnect IDC identified for 2025: the “illusion of AI adoption.” In both cases, surface-level activity is mistaken for strategic progress. A well-run retention strategy may look like success until growth becomes the mandate, and marketing finds itself unprepared to scale.
The takeaway? Misalignment introduces real risk: missed targets, siloed execution, and reactive strategy. Without a deliberate shift in focus and accountability, marketing can end up sidelined from the very decisions it’s expected to help lead.
Recognizing the need for rebalance
This isn’t about choosing between growth, efficiency, or retention. The most effective marketing strategies in 2025 will do it all. But to meet rising expectations from the C-suite, CMOs must rebalance attention, resources, and measurement frameworks toward initiatives that drive net-new business.
That starts with acknowledging the gap:
- Are your current campaigns designed to reach new audiences?
- Are acquisition metrics part of your performance benchmarks?
- Is your team resourced and empowered to prioritize growth?
For many, the honest answer is “not yet.” But that’s not a failure. It’s a starting point. And it signals that now is the time to course correct. The sooner CMOs confront this disconnect, the better positioned they’ll be to respond before it widens.
Realigning for growth
Recognizing the gap is one thing. Closing it takes action.
Retention and efficiency will always matter, but acquisition needs to have a clear place in the strategic plan, with dedicated resources, defined metrics, and visibility across the organization. For many teams, that requires a shift in how priorities are set and how success is measured.
IDC’s Executive Insights Brief: The four disconnects shaping marketing in 2025 outlines specific actions that can help marketing leaders move toward better alignment with growth expectations. These are practical, manageable steps designed to show momentum now and build strategic strength over time.
Ready to bridge the gap between marketing and executive growth goals?
Get the four actionable steps to realign your strategy and strengthen your acquisition efforts today.
