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CEO - Marketing Gap Survey

At The Growth Stage Where Marketing Starts to Matter More
1 June 2026 by
Catherine Mak

ZILU is launching the CEO–Marketing Gap Survey, a research initiative designed to understand how founders and CEOs are using marketing today — and where the gap still exists between business ambition, marketing execution and measurable growth.


Why We Are Launching This Survey

Many growth-stage businesses believe in the value of marketing. Yet for many founders and CEOs, marketing can still feel reactive, activity-led, difficult to measure, or disconnected from the commercial priorities of the business.

At pivotal moments of growth, this gap matters.

As businesses scale, raise funding, enter new markets, launch new propositions or build teams, marketing should do more than create campaigns or content. It should help translate the founder’s vision into market traction, commercial clarity and sustainable growth.


Through this survey, ZILU aims to understand:

What CEOs Really Need From Marketing
  • how founders and CEOs are using marketing today

  • where marketing is supporting growth

  • where the biggest frustrations and gaps sit

  • what business leaders wish marketing could fix tomorrow

  • what ideal marketing support looks like at different stages of growth

  • how full-time, fractional, interim or project-based marketing leadership can better support business needs

Take the survey here: https://eu.surveymars.com/q/iHYOi3Q3L 

The findings will be developed into a practical insight report for founders, CEOs and growth-stage businesses, highlighting the challenges other leaders are experiencing and how marketing can be better positioned as a growth function.


Calling Founders at a Pivotal Stage of Growth

As part of the research, selected participants may also be invited to take part in a follow-up interview and case study. ZILU will provide free consultancy feedback to selected businesses, helping them explore what is working, what is missing, and where marketing could better support their next stage of growth.

The survey is anonymous and takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. Participants who wish to receive the final report or be considered for a follow-up interview can leave their contact details at the end of the survey.


Share Your Perspective
If you are a founder or CEO currently leading a business through a pivotal stage of growth, we would value your perspective.


>>>>Click here to take the survey


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Catherine Mak, Founder of Zilu consultancy Joined The Portfolio Executive Community