Relationships matter in business, but to marketers some matter more than others.
According to Marketing Week’s exclusive 2025 Career & Salary Survey, half (49.7%) of the 3,500 respondents say the sales team/chief sales officer is their most important relationship, closely followed by the CEO (46.5%).
The sample are almost twice as likely to cite the relationship with sales as they are the CFO/finance team (26.2%).
Just a quarter (24.7%) of marketers consider the relationship with the head of innovation/product team their most important relationship, followed by the head of insight (16.4%) and chief operating officer (13.8%).
And 9.9% of the total sample say the relationship with the chief digital officer is key, only marginally higher than the chief people officer/HR director (7.8%) and the chief technical officer (5.6%).
Most CMOs/marketing directors/vice-presidents (69.4%) claim the CEO is their most important relationship, followed by the sales team (61%). Some 41.9% of senior leaders say the CFO is their key relationship. While this percentage is higher than the total sample, this relationship clearly still lags behind sales and the CEO in terms of priorities for CMOs.
A fifth (21.5%) describe the head of innovation/product team as their most important relationship, followed closely by the chief operating officer (20.9%).
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Less than a fifth of senior marketing leaders deem their relationships with the head of insight (12.3%), chief digital officer (10.2%), chief people officer (8.9%) and chief technical officer (8.1%) to be key.
For the managers and senior managers surveyed, the sales team is their most important relationship (50.6%), followed by the CEO (42.5%) and head of innovation/product team (28.4%). Junior managers/marketing executives also cite the sales team as their most important relationship (41.2%).
Looking at the data by size of company, marketers working within large companies (250 employees and over) describe the sales team (51.5%) as their most important relationship, with just over a third (34.3%) saying the same about the CEO. Furthermore, just over a quarter of marketers (26.5%) within large corporates say the CFO/finance team is their key relationship.
The dynamic is slightly different within SMEs given smaller companies naturally have fewer layers between the CEO and the rest of the workforce. Well over half (62.7%) of SME marketers surveyed say the CEO is their key relationship within the business, followed by the sales team (47.2%). Again, slightly more than a quarter (26%) prioritise their relationship with the finance team above other functions.
The data also backs up the notion of the closeness between marketing and sales within B2B firms. Some 62.5% of the cohort view sales as their most important relationship, with half (50%) saying the same of the CEO. A far lower percentage (19.8%) prioritise their relationship with finance.
The numbers differ slightly among the B2C sample, 44% of whom claim the CEO is their most important relationship, followed by the sales team (38.3%) and finance (33.7%).
Getting closer
The data suggests some of these relationships have grown closer over the past year, as marketers put the work in to form stronger cross-functional relationships.
Despite not being one of the most valued relationships for marketers, 67.7% of the total sample have become closer to the insight function over the past 12 months, followed by the digital team (66.5%). Perhaps a reflection of the shifting focus within marketing teams.
Two-thirds (65.8%) have nurtured a closer relationship with the sales team over the past year, while 64.2% are closer to the innovation/product team. A further 63% have forged a closer bond with operations, while 62.7% are collaborating more closely with the finance team.
Marketers are also forging closer bonds with the chief technical officer (61.6%), HR team (60.9%) and CEO (59.8%).
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Looking specifically at senior marketers, 73% claim to be working more closely with the sales, while over two-thirds (69.4%) have closer ties to the finance team and 60.4% have formed a closer relationship with the CEO over the past 12 months.
When it comes to the dynamic with finance, almost seven in 10 (68.3%) B2C marketers report establishing a closer relationship over the past year, versus 56.9% of their B2B peers. The difference is far less pronounced when reporting a closer relationship with the CEO (B2B – 59.5% versus B2C – 59.6%) and sales team (B2B – 66.8% versus B2C – 65.4%).
Two-thirds (66.8%) of marketers working within SMEs claim they have a closer relationship with the finance team compared to last year, versus 60.1% of their peers within large organisations.
Seven in 10 SME marketers (69.9%) have forged a closer bond with the sales team over the past 12 months, as have 63.1% of their counterparts within large organisations. The data shows marketers in smaller businesses (61%) are also more likely to have worked closer with the CEO during the past year than their peers within large firms (58.6%).
Blindspots remain
While most marketers might be forging closer bonds with the finance team, the fact the total sample are almost twice as likely to identify sales as a priority relationship compared to the CFO could be a cause for concern.
An overwhelming 84.3% of the 3,500 respondents surveyed believe financial literacy will become a more critical skill for marketers over the next three years.
When asked why, 91.4% say financial fluency is critical to make a stronger case for marketing investment, while almost two-thirds (64.6%) believe this knowledge would help them be seen as a business leader.
Interestingly, over a third (36.7%) of the sample feel demonstrating financial fluency would help them build a closer relationship with the CFO, while 36.3% think it would prepare them for the transition into general management.
Looking specifically at CMOs, 92.3% agree financial literacy will become a more critical skill over the next three years, while half (49.5%) say this expertise would help them build a closer relationship with the CFO.
Beyond the need to get closer to finance, the data suggests HR is another relationship in need of nurturing.
Just 4.5% of B2C marketers describe HR as a key relationship, rising to 8.7% of their B2B peers. Only 7% of SME marketers and 8.3% working in large organisations prioritise the relationship with HR.
Similarly, only 8.9% of CMOs regard the relationship with the chief people officer as important.
As the talent agenda remains such a significant issue within businesses, with marketing teams in search of new skills and under pressure to attract – and retain – employees, paying so little attention to the relationship with HR feels like a missed opportunity.
Marketing Week will continue reporting on exclusive data from the 2025 Career & Salary Survey over the coming weeks, including exploring in-demand skills and the changing face of recruitment. Read all the content so far here.
