Chief Marketing Officers working in the online trading industry average just 1.9 years in their roles.
That’s according to a new study by industry marketing agency FYI.
Agency Founder Christian Gorgen looked at 40 different executives that held the CMO position at brokers from 2014 until today.
FYI found that those people stayed in their roles for an average of just shy of two years. The median CMO tenure at a CFD broker for the period studied was 17.5 months – or less than a 1.5 years.
Perhaps most striking was the fact that only two of the CMOs looked at in the study stayed in their role for more than five years.
Why do CFD brokers CMO have it so hard?
Gorgen attributes the relatively short tenure that CMOs at brokers have to a heavy focus on bottom line numbers, like first-time deposits and lifetime value.
Although this makes sense, given the nature of the CFD business, it also means that broker CMOs can be faced with harsh, short-term goals set by management, when it can take much longer to undertake regular brand building and demand-generation marketing initiatives.
“Many CMOs step into these roles with their own misconceptions about what is needed,” said FYI’s Gorgen. “Coming from other industries, they often apply the same approaches that worked for them before. They invest heavily in rebranding, changing logos, refreshing colours and a new website. This is often followed by a huge branding campaign, supported by expensive media buys to raise awareness fast.
“However, in Forex, these initiatives rarely align with what leadership actually expects — fast, visible results. Rebrands and campaigns take time to gain traction, but founders are often impatient. Without a clear USP or real differentiation to promote, even the most polished campaigns struggle to deliver immediate impact.”
Gorgen believes that the solution for firms is ultimately to think longer-term and see marketing more about demand generation and brand building, rather than focusing solely on quick wins.
“Founders must move away from relying purely on performance marketing and affiliates, and start focusing on creating real demand and building brands that truly stand out,” he said.
“This starts with giving marketing a proper seat at the table. It shouldn’t be treated as a support function or a last resort when growth stalls. Marketing needs to be part of the core business strategy, working alongside Product and Sales to create offers that resonate and drive meaningful growth.”
