Marketing leaders need the C-suite buy-in. But is it doable if you present a bill instead of an investment proposal to your CFO? It’s time to reevaluate.
Marketing teams have been losing their budgets for a while now. Even though businesses have understood the value of digital transformations and reaching relevant customers through marketing channels, budgets have been down.
That is the total budget allocated from company revenue in 2024. Marketing teams are asked to do more with less. They face the brunt of low-quality leads. Marketing is blamed for a weak sales pipeline.
And what is expected of them? The message should reach the right audience. It should resonate with them. The message should be creative. It should reach and influence many people. The team has a long list of requirements.
A creative endeavor with chains wrapped around it. Marketing leaders must now speak the language of the financial department.
Marketing isn’t a cost. We have all known that. It is an investment to grow market share, build trust, and pioneer creative thought. But these strategies must see the light of day. The only way to achieve this is by acquiring organizational buy-in.
Marketing is about pioneering communications. It is talking the language the core customer and stakeholders understands. That includes your C-suites.
Organizations cannot exist disconnected from their customers. There is a reason B2B marketing is talked about.
Yet budgets are still slashed. Do companies not trust in creativity? Marketing is supposed to be synonymous with creativity.
Catchy subject lines, advertisements that stir emotions, blogs that stimulate curiosity and knowledge, and social posts that entertain. Marketing is thought of as an artistic expression that is good to have.
Let us change this perspective. Marketing is pioneering communications.
Through strategy, marketing enables an organization to form a relationship with its core customer en masse, makingmarketing a must-have for organizations investing in the long term.
But how do you convey this value to your Stakeholders?
C-Suite communication
Stakeholders understand one language: Growth. Every business needs to focus on short-term and long-term growth. And the top management is hungry for it.
Yet, there is a disconnect between long and short-term planning. Some business leaders chase short terms aggressively, which hampers their long-term bottom line.
And this trend has affected marketing the most. The top brass thinks it’s a cost. The perception must be altered to align better with reality. Marketing is an investment; it is far from a cost.
And that applies to B2B marketing. Marketing leaders need to convey their proposition w.r.t time and the financial benefits of their strategies in a given time. Most marketing teams present a bill to their CFOs and not a proposal of investment. This is a lost opportunity for marketing leaders to help the CEO and CFO understand the value of their strategies.
Business and Marketing goal alignment
CEOs and CFOs have business outcomes and objectives planned for the next 3-5-10 years. That is the optimist in them.
A marketing leader must make them realize the potential of marketing for the success of the plans.
What is crucial for a business to survive? Low CAC, high Customer LTV, and increased rates of retention.
Marketing leaders have to create an annual proposal that highlights the role of marketing in the process of acquisition and retention. Google refers to this as outcome-based marketing.
It is sending your CFO an investment plan rather than an invoice. For example, if your company is planning on increasing 12% profits in the next two years. You can effectively show how your budget can contribute to the success of that percentage.
You could outline a strategy that enables the C-suite to understand the impact of marketing on that number. If you must acquire 20 customers in those two years and retain at least 8 to hit that goal, then outline your marketing team’s role in achieving it.
From customer marketing to product-led marketing strategies, there is a host of game plans proven to work in favor of businesses.
Although, it requires you to align long-term business goals with marketing. That requires you to go further than generic top-funnel lead generation. It requires a growth mindset. It is the marketing leader’s job to communicate the role of marketing in increasing market share through brand awareness and reputation.
Quantify marketing impact on sales.
Brand awareness has become a metric of growth. It builds trust between the buyer and the provider. As the B2B buyer buys to mitigate and avoid the risks in their industry, this trust is crucial in boosting sales.
As Adobe’s survey finds, 70% of the buyers purchase from brands they trust. And top management must understand that acquiring the buyer’s trust is marketing’s job.
90% of SaaS companies fail in the first year. What a grim statistic.
One of the reasons a company fails is because they miss out on product-fit markets. Identifying the buyer is marketing’s job. If they are under budget, the cost of failure could very well be a disaster. Stakeholders must understand the role marketing plays in the long-term success of an organization. Marketing drives sales by enhancing the reputation of a brand.
The message delivery, communication channels, cultural sensitivities, capturing attention. There is a reason for doing all of it. Brand awareness drives growth.
An intangible metric provides tangible results.
It isn’t just sales and marketing alignment. It is an organizational effort to grow.
Budget cuts with the same workloads provide a challenge for the modern CMO.
Their creativity and problem-solving are pushed to the brink.
However, marketing leaders must learn to present growth statistics and convey them as an investment proposal, not a cost. As marketing becomes data-backed and the success of retaining a customer becomes apparent to the finance departments, they will align themselves with marketing.
Marketing isn’t just a message, an ad, or a blog. It is a strategy of communicating with potential buyers and creating a bridge of trust. It is a driver of financial and reputational success.
And Ciente.io understands this. We provide unmatched experiences for your core customers and stakeholders. From brand awareness to amplification, our database provides B2B organizations by connecting them with relevant audiences and orchestrating marketing experiences for them.