Hiring an Insights Leader Could Make You a Better CMO
Every CMO in a growing B2C company eventually hits the same moment. The team has data, dashboards, and a steady flow of marketing activity, but major decisions still feel harder than they should. Customer behavior is shifting, but the reasons behind those shifts are unclear. Opinions compete for attention because no one has the full picture. You can feel the limits of what your team can see.
This is when many CMOs realize they need something they do not yet have. They need an insights leader. Not a department. Not a team with layers of roles. A person who owns the work of translating customer behavior into clarity. Someone who sharpens the thinking, strengthens decisions, and gives the company a more confident path forward.
What Happens Without Insight
Research consistently shows that companies who build customer understanding into their decision making perform better than those who do not. Forrester has reported that “customer-obsessed” organizations grow revenue and profitability at a faster rate. Academic research shows that companies with strong customer analytics capabilities outperform peers, especially in consumer categories.
Yet many mid-sized companies continue operating without an insights leader. They have data but no interpretation. They run research but not within a learning plan. They revisit the same questions because past studies were never synthesized or embedded in decisions.
The result is predictable: Teams work hard but lack clarity. Decisions depend too heavily on intuition. Customer shifts are noticed but not understood. Money gets spent on disparate research projects that are never fully acted upon.
Could an Insights Leader Make You a Better CMO?
Here’s a quick check:
You want clearer decisions
Big bets feel heavier than they should.
You spend energy sorting opinions from facts.
Your data is not telling the full story
Dashboards are full, but direction is unclear.
You have metrics, not meaning.
Your research is scattered
Teams run one-off studies with no plan.
Findings do not stick.
Spend feels reactive.
Insight is no one’s job
Research is split across teams.
Synthesis falls on you.
If several of these feel familiar, adding an insights leader would make your marketing function more strategic and effective.
But before you start worrying about headcount, consider exploring the fractional route. A fractional insights leader is often the fastest, most affordable way to start. You get expertise, structure, and clarity without waiting for a full-time role. And once the function proves its value, it becomes much easier to justify permanent investment later.
The fastest way to become a sharper, more confident CMO is to bring in someone who makes sense of your customer. Need help? Let’s talk.
