Marketing Leader as Chief Promise Officer

Marketing makes promises to customers and prospects every day. We promise:

• “This product/solution is better than everyone else.”

• “Our service is second-to-none.”

• “You can trust our organization.” 

• “greater Innovation or reliability.”

These promises appear in videos, on websites, in social media, at trade shows, and throughout sales materials. 

Who’s accountable for those promises? Product? Customer Service? Sales? Or marketing itself?

When an organization fails to deliver on its promises, marketing’s job becomes exponentially harder. No amount of creative campaigns or polished messaging can overcome bad product reviews or subpar customer service. If sales can’t close deals because the product under delivers, the marketing team also bears the brunt of the fallout from the CEO, board, or investors.

Many marketing leaders often feel powerless to drive the needed change to ensure that promises are fulfilled.

Should the role of the Chief Marketing Officer evolve to that of a Chief Promise Officer? Should one of marketing’s core responsibilities be holding the company accountable to fully deliver on brand promises?

The Case for a Chief Promise Officer

Certainly marketing alone can’t (and shouldn’t) be overseeing every organizational function. But the concept of a Chief Promise Officer (CPO) underscores the importance of holding all functional leaders accountable for upholding brand values and attributes. A CPO would hold a holistic view of the customer experience, bridging gaps and fostering alignment across departments.

Elements of the CPO’s responsibilities could entail:

• Cross-Functional Alignment

  • Creating a shared understanding of the customer journey 

  • Collaborating with operations, sales, customer services and product teams to define success at each stage and identify areas for improvement

  • Ensuring that functional leaders are not just focused on their area of the business, but how it’s supporting the big picture.

• Guarding Against Overpromising

  • Grounding the business in reality - aligning brand messaging with realistic product and organizational capabilities.

  • Leveraging marketing's strong understanding of the marketplace - product alternatives and buyer behaviors - continually challenging the business to think what truly will differentiate the organization.

• Business Organizational Understanding

  • Educating the entire company about the promises being made to customers.

  • Connecting individual roles to the delivery of those promises, fostering accountability at all levels.

• Tracking Promise Delivery

  • Establishing, monitoring, and analyzing how promises are fulfilled, extending tracking beyond the traditional funnel of first impressions to closed deals.

  • Ensuring post-sale experiences, such as onboarding and customer success, are integrated into marketing’s data and insights.

• Showcasing organizational delivery 

  • Gathering the evidence of a great body of work - and putting it on full display both internally and externally.

Certainly the role of Chief Promise Officer shouldn’t fall solely on the shoulders of marketing leaders. Everyone in the C-Suite plays a role in ensuring the company is delivering on what is being promised. But because of the unique place that Marketing occupies - at the crossroads of multiple functions - it has a clear line of sight into customer expectations, market dynamics, and brand messaging, they might be naturally suited to lead this effort.

The Chief Promise Officer role would:

• Create accountability for promises beyond just sales or CX or operations to the entire organization.

• Embed a customer-centric focus across functions, ensuring that operational metrics align with customer experience goals.

• Encourage holistic, proactive, strategic thinking about brand differentiation.

Brand promises are more than just words in a marketing campaign. They’re commitments to customers, partners, and employees. By solidifying and empowering this role, organizations can ensure greater accountability and alignment, making promises that resonate—and delivering on them consistently.