The gap between what marketing teams know and what they need to know has never been wider, particularly when considering The strategy skills gap.
I’ve been watching the data from recent industry surveys with growing concern. The numbers paint a troubling picture that matches what many of us are experiencing on the ground: marketing teams are increasingly skilled at tactics but struggling with strategy.
This isn’t a small problem. It’s an existential threat to marketing’s seat at the table.
In this blog, I’m exploring why this skills gap matters and how you can tackle it, even if you don’t have strategic marketers on your team.”.
Addressing The strategy skills gap is crucial for future success.
According to the Marketing Week 2025 Career & Salary Survey, over half (52%) of 3,500+ respondents report a strategy skills gap, highlighting the importance of addressing The strategy skills gap within their organisations.
The Strategy Skills Crisis By The Numbers
Let’s look at what’s actually happening. According to the 2025 Marketing Week Career & Salary Survey, over half (52%) of 3,500+ respondents report a strategy skills gap within their organisations. The problem is worse in B2B (53.5%) than in B2C (48.2%), and larger organisations struggle more than smaller ones.
But it gets worse. 60.5% of marketers say their organisation has an effectiveness skills gap – the biggest marketing skills gap cited in recent research. This concern is even more prevalent among leadership, with nearly 66% of CMOs and marketing directors identifying it as a major challenge.
What’s truly alarming is that almost two-thirds of marketers believe marketing strategy is undervalued in their organisations. Among CMOs, that number jumps to nearly three-quarters.
This disconnect between importance and recognition should worry anyone responsible for marketing outcomes.
How Did We Get Here?
The causes behind this strategic deficit aren’t mysterious, but they are systemic.
Digital transformation has inadvertently pushed marketers toward tactical execution rather than strategic development. We’ve created a generation of specialists who can execute campaigns flawlessly but may struggle to connect those tactics to broader business objectives.
Short-term business pressures haven’t helped. When quarterly results drive decision-making, long-term strategic thinking becomes a luxury many teams feel they can’t afford.
The structure of modern marketing departments often reinforces this problem. Teams are organised around channels and tactics rather than customer journeys or business outcomes.
And let’s be honest about training. Nearly half of marketers (48.8%) report their employers aren’t offering upskilling or training opportunities – a 15% increase from the previous year. When companies cut corners on development, strategic thinking is often the first casualty.
The Real-World Impact
This strategy deficit creates ripple effects throughout organisations.
Marketing teams become reactive rather than proactive, responding to requests without questioning their strategic value. They execute tactics brilliantly but struggle to demonstrate how those tactics drive business results.
Budgets get wasted on activities that don’t connect to meaningful outcomes. Campaigns may look good but fail to move the needle on business metrics that matter.
Perhaps most dangerously, marketing’s influence within the organisation diminishes. When marketers can’t articulate strategic value, they’re reduced to being tactical service providers rather than business partners.
The result? Marketing becomes a cost center rather than a growth driver.
When marketers can’t articulate strategic value, they’re reduced to being tactical service providers rather than business partners.
The Practical Impact of Missing Strategy Skills
Strategic thinking isn’t abstract. It shows up in specific, practical ways that affect marketing performance.
It’s the difference between knowing how to run social media campaigns and knowing which campaigns will actually drive business growth.
It’s understanding not just how to measure marketing activities but how to measure marketing’s contribution to business objectives.
It’s being able to look beyond immediate metrics to see how marketing efforts build long-term brand equity and customer relationships.
Strategic thinking enables marketers to make better resource allocation decisions, prioritise initiatives based on potential impact, and build programs that deliver sustainable results.
Bridging The Marketing Strategy Skills Gap
Addressing this crisis requires intentional effort at multiple levels.
For individual marketers, it means taking ownership of your strategic development. Read broadly outside marketing. Study business strategy. Learn to think in terms of customer and business outcomes rather than marketing outputs.
For marketing leaders, it means creating space for strategic thinking. Build it into your team’s workflow. Reward strategic contributions as much as tactical execution. Invest in developing your team’s strategic capabilities through training, mentoring, and hands-on experience.
For organisations, it means recognising marketing strategy as a core business capability, not a nice-to-have. Structure teams around customer journeys and business outcomes rather than channels and tactics. Create career paths that develop strategic thinking alongside technical skills.
The Path Forward: Becoming a Strategic Marketing Team
The marketing strategy skills gap won’t fix itself. If anything, the data suggests it’s getting worse.
But there’s an opportunity here for marketers who develop and demonstrate strategic thinking. As these skills become scarcer, they become more valuable.
The marketers who can bridge the gap between tactical execution and strategic direction will become indispensable to their organisations.
They’ll be the ones who can translate business objectives into marketing strategies, connect marketing activities to business outcomes, and drive sustainable growth rather than just campaign metrics.
In a world of tactical specialists, strategic thinkers become the difference-makers.
The marketing strategy skills gap is real and growing. But recognising the problem is the first step toward solving it.
The question is: will you be part of the problem or part of the solution?
How Marketing Collaborators Can Help
At Marketing Collaborators, we’re here to help bridge that gap. We help businesses that don’t have in-house strategic marketers. Whether it’s outsourcing the skill or coaching your team, we’ll make sure your marketing isn’t just about tactics, it’s about driving real growth. Let’s chat about how we can support you.
