If asked what marketing really does, would your company’s CEO fumble around for an answer? Does he or she view marketing as a financial black hole in a business development plan, with immeasurable results and limited return on investment? If so, you have two choices: Update your resume, or get aligned with the CEO’s agenda. FuelNet recommends the latter. When creating your next strategic communications plan, keep the following 10 tips in mind to prevent a showdown with your CEO:

1. Make two lists. The first list should include all the things that keep your CEO up at night, and the second should be a compilation of your top projects. If your list doesn’t support his, tear it up and make a new one for yourself today.

2. Drive the agenda. Don’t describe how marketing will support the CEO’s agenda after the fact. Become involved earlier to influence the agenda as it’s being developed. That means going to the CEO with big ideas. “Sometimes you have to be courageous,” advises Ed Landry, a vice president at the consulting firm Booz Allen in McLean, Va. “You can’t have a fundamental impact on a company’s direction without taking a risk.”

3. Agree to agree. Is your role customer relationship marketing service provider, marketing adviser, or driver of growth? Know from the outset what the CEO expects of you, and continually monitor your progress against the job requirements.

4. Line up allies. Good CEOs never make decisions in a vacuum. Know whom the CEO listens to and appreciates and for what reasons. “The CEO might, for example, listen to Joe when it comes to creative ideas and to Sue when it comes to factual data,” says Marjan Bolmeijer, a consultant and CEO coach in New York. “Work the right people to be advocates of your cause.”

5. Market yourself. The CEO’s perspective can easily be poisoned by a staff member who thinks marketing isn’t meeting company objectives. Develop newsletters, status reports, and other strategic communications to let staff, board members, and the CEO know what is going on in your department. Think bottom line: be sure to communicate the benefits of your marketing programs in dollars and cents.

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