CMOF's principal aims are:

• To be a respected advocate for the Australian marketing profession within the business sector, government and the wider community
• To be a source of intellectual leadership for the marketing profession (including research and intellectual capital)
• To support its members in being appointed to public and not-for-profit Boards and to CEO roles
• To enhance the image and understanding of the marketing profession within the wider Australian community by its members offering marketing expertise, skills and advice - at no cost - to SMEs and not-for profit organisations
• To see marketing issues discussed in the Boardroom in an informed manner
• To advocate a common set of marketing metrics which gain acceptance as a clear framework for demonstrating marketing's contribution to organisational performance.

1. Measurability: while marketers have, at their disposal, an array of quantitative metrics for demonstrating marketing effectiveness, they are not always used to best effect in the Boardroom. This may be due to the senior marketer not wishing to be subject to Board scrutiny, or (as is more often the case) the Board having little, or no, idea that marketing initiatives can be measured with a robust degree of accuracy.
   
   
2. Accountability: an organisation's senior marketer needs to take responsibility for less successful marketing initiatives, as well as credit for the successful ones.
   
   Marketers can be highly entrepreneurial (which is to be lauded), but also somewhat less than forthcoming about their plans (which is not so laudable).
   
   For example, when you are part of a senior team involved in turning a company around - with tools that may include insights into consumer's emotional responses to a brand - you may be reluctant to share your plans with the rest of the executive team and the Board, before you've had the opportunity to see them through.
   
   
3. Longevity: accountants have a reputation for sticking with a job; marketers are often viewed as individuals who make their mark on an organisation - and then move on to the next challenge.
   
   A Finance Director, on average, remains in the role for up to five years (UK figures), while the average tenure for an ambitious Marketing Director may be only 18 months - two years.
   
   
4. The Business of Spending Money: Marketers are seen as a rather prolifigate bunch.
   
   Compared with a cost-conscious Finance Director, a Head of Marketing looking to advance their position with a Board may be seen to be a "less safe pair of hands".
   
   
5. Reluctance to move around an organisation: To make it to general management, marketers need to learn about line management and finance and have had responsibility for a P&L; in other words, to take a more holistic approach to running a business.
   
   Marketers have a tendency to stay in specialist marketing roles, creating the perception they are not capable of (or open to) taking on broader management challenges.

• The findings challenge company orthodoxy and are seen to reflect negatively on senior executives. These executives then go into denial - seeking to ignore and /or discredit the research.
• It's too hard (and will take too long) to seriously address major change and implementation issues arising out of research findings - so instead, small changes are made
• Market research is frequently linked to medium-longer term initiatives, involving a longer time horizon; management attention and effort gets diverted by fire fighting and short-term measures, meaning market research-related implementation gets pushed further down the agenda - sometimes to the point where its relevance and currency renders it marginally applicable.
• The "sponsor" of the research lacks the influence (resources and budget) to implement research findings.

• Ensure the groundwork has been laid with senior management so the research findings are received and interpreted in an environment of candour and honesty: of paramount importance, is acknowledging and acting on your customer/ stakeholders' attitudes and perceptions
• Ensure market research is viewed as an integral component of medium to longer-term business strategies, fully costed into business cases - so that actioning research findings remains a priority
• In terms of internal "sponsors", ensure the research is not sponsored by a central corporate function alone (e.g. Marketing, HR etc), but is also supported by the senior line managers most directly impacted by the research
• Leverage the research - so that it becomes a "living" and valuable tool.
  
  Most notably, build relevant marketing metrics based on the research (e.g. brand equity, customer purchase propensity), or update existing metrics drawing on the research; see whether external PR/media can be generated from the research findings; where appropriate, use the research findings in business cases, and for internal presentations and training.