As marketing leaders, we often focus on new technologies, campaigns, and data strategies to drive growth. Yet, there is a hidden barrier within many marketing organizations that quietly erodes performance, drains talent, and delays results: organizational friction. Addressing this friction systematically is not just an operational concern; it is one of the most powerful levers available to CMOs and C-suite leaders seeking to unlock sustainable growth.
The Cost of Friction
Research from MMA Global and MarCaps reveals that 64% of marketing organizations report mid to high levels of organizational friction, regardless of company size, industry, or maturity. This friction manifests in slow decision-making, duplicated work, low clarity on roles, and challenges in aligning teams around shared goals. Unlike expenses that appear on a P&L, friction is a hidden cost, draining resources through inefficiency, lost speed to market, and reduced employee engagement.
The impact is clear: organizations with high levels of friction see a significant decline in their ability to achieve profit growth, with one study noting a drop from 70% to 38% in profit growth rates between low-friction and high-friction organizations. Moreover, friction increases coordination costs, slows innovation, and hampers a brand’s ability to respond to market shifts.
Why Marketing is Uniquely Vulnerable
Marketing’s evolution from a single, centralized function to a coalition of capabilities—ranging from data analytics to content, brand management, and performance marketing—has increased complexity. While this expansion allows for deeper specialization, it often results in unclear roles, conflicting priorities, and inconsistent decision-making processes. Unlike functions such as finance, where roles and decision rights are clear, marketing often struggles with operating clarity.
As highlighted in the MOSTT research, marketing must transition from managing a function to orchestrating a coalition, where multiple disciplines align around shared goals while maintaining agility.
Operating Clarity as a Strategic Advantage
Reducing organizational friction requires leaders to focus on operating clarity. This means clearly defining:
- Roles and responsibilities: Who leads, who provides input, and who decides on key actions.
- Decision rights: How decisions are made and who is accountable.
- Shared methods: Establishing frameworks and language that unify diverse teams.
Organizations that intentionally reduce friction and increase operating clarity outperform their peers, not only because they execute faster but also because they attract and retain talent more effectively. Friction reduction becomes a source of competitive advantage, directly contributing to growth and operational excellence.
A Call to Action for Marketing Leaders
Investing in reducing organizational friction is not a “soft initiative.” It is a strategic imperative that supports every aspect of marketing’s mandate—from improving campaign effectiveness to enabling the adoption of transformative technologies such as GenAI. As noted in the organizational links research, “marketing organizations done right and fit to purpose can significantly drive enterprise value and company sales performance.
CMOs seeking to reposition marketing as a growth driver must prioritize operational clarity as rigorously as they pursue customer data strategies or media investments. The best marketing organizations understand that speed, alignment, and clarity are growth levers, not administrative concerns.
Leading Through Simplicity
In a time when complexity is increasing across every facet of marketing, simplicity and clarity are superpowers. Leaders who address friction and align their teams around clear, shared objectives will not only deliver better marketing outcomes but also enhance their organization’s ability to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing landscape.
The hidden lever for marketing growth is within your reach. It begins by asking: Where is friction slowing us down, and how can we remove it systematically to let our teams—and our results—move faster?
