John Costello, president of global marketing and innovation at Dunkin' Brands. Marcos de Quinto, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at The Coca-Cola Company. Kelly Bennett, chief marketing officer at Netflix. These are just a few of the top marketing officers in the United States. These marketers have made a significant impact on their global organizations and have been highly influential to their companies' financial success.

That might sound great if you're one of the big guys, but what if you are a start-up? Do you need to invest in big-time marketing?

Yesterday and today, Promotional Consultant Today shares these insights gleaned from Mashable author Scott Gerber. He interviewed multiple entrepreneurs and compiled these top reasons your start-up needs a CMO.

1. When Multiple Marketing Functions Need To Coexist. A powerful component to marketing is the integration of functions and channel delivery. As one entrepreneur pointed out, the CMO can orchestrate this overall integration when there are multiple marketing functions that coexist and cooperate fluently with one another. If there is a need for multi-level sales, advertising, revenue maximization and affiliate programs to coexist, then you need a CMO.

2. When You Want To Spark Discussion. A CMO should take on the role of marketing innovator, looking beyond traditional advertising to spark interest in your community of customers and prospects. The CMO needs to be able to use data to drive decisions around the right messaging and engagement to your community. As entrepreneur Sarah Ware states, "Marketing and metrics is a marriage that can't be broken thanks to technologies that make both easier than ever to measure."

3. When You Run Campaigns Across Channels. According entrepreneur Kevin Tighe II, it is time to hire a CMO when your marketing budget becomes substantial enough to run campaigns across numerous channels. A CMO should be experienced in effectively allocating a larger budget, optimizing campaigns and driving ROI.

4. When You Decide What Your Company Provides. A CMO is the champion of driving connection between what the brand stands for and the operations that support that brand. If your company does not live up to, or exceed, its brand promise, then customers will leave-plain and simple. This means delivering a high-quality product to the right market at the right price. The CEO can champion the brand cause at the C-suite level, with the COO, CEO and other key leadership roles.

5. When You Establish The Company. Hiring a CMO can be a strategic move in the early stages of growth, not just late stages. As entrepreneur Liam Martin points out, having the right groundwork early can mean the difference between a company that accelerates at 20 percent a month and a company that accelerates at five percent.

6. When Nobody Knows Your Name. Finally, and most critically, the CMO is the amplifier of your brand. If you have a great product and no one knows about it, it's usually an issue related to bad branding or marketing. A CMO can build the strategy, structure and challenges to ensure consistent and targeted brand promotion.

Consider the leadership role that marketing plays in building your business. Is it time to hire a CMO?

Source: Scott Gerber is a serial entrepreneur, internationally syndicated columnist and TV host, and the founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council. He is also an active angel investor and author of the book Never Get a "Real" Job. He has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, TIME, Inc., US News & World Report and Entrepreneur and on CNN, Mashable, Reuters, CBS Evening News, MSNBC and Fox News.