Here’s how to prove them wrong.
When your CEO makes budget cuts, is marketing first on the chopping block?
If you work in a corporate marketing team, then you’ve likely heard of all the nicknames that this department gets called. “The colouring-in department”, “the hype team”, “the brand police” and even “the pretty picture people”. With nicknames like this, it can be challenging to build credibility, authority and trust within your organisation.
The disconnect
Why do many executives view marketing as a cost-centre, rather than a revenue driver?
Unlike Sales or Operations, there are times when marketing’s impact can be harder to tie directly to revenue. This is especially true for brand building activities which have longer term results. More importantly though, most companies struggle to properly attribute their marketing’s full impact across the customer journey, making its value appear smaller than reality.
Results can lag behind spend, when it comes to marketing. This creates a disconnect between spending and outcomes that make marketing seem dispensable in the short term.
When marketing is not measured, it becomes less valuable. Without proper measurement, marketing teams cannot demonstrate their contribution to revenue or business objectives, which makes it harder to justify budgets or strategic importance.
Data is so important when it comes to measuring marketing effectiveness. Without sufficient data on performance, marketers cannot prove what needs to be optimised, or whether the strategy is working at all.
When the marketing department cannot show their impact in concrete terms, then they lose their influence (and sometimes their budget, too!).
In summary, unmeasured marketing tends to focus on activities rather than outcomes, creating misalignment with broader company objectives.
The realignment
How do we fix this problem?
There’s a perception problem. Marketing’s language vs Executive’s language.
- Shift from ‘marketing activities’ to ‘marketing outcomes’. Rather than reporting on work completed, shift to reporting on the business impact created.
- Own a revenue number. Move from the language “supporting sales” to “driving demand”. Create a marketing-sourced revenue metric, and report on that.
- Kill your vanity metrics. Replace “impressions” with “qualified opportunities”. Find ways to track and measure leads through to closure.
- Show reporting. Any credible marketing agency these days should supply you with detailed data and metrics.
- Speak the CEO’s language. Frame everything possible, in terms of company objectives. Learn and use financial terms correctly and consistently
The proof is in the data
Data and reporting are crucial in marketing for several reasons. Without robust data and reporting, marketing departments may remain subjective and vulnerable—essentially relegating what should be a strategic business function to a creative service department.
Reliable data provides evidence of marketing’s contribution to revenue and business growth and when you use the data correctly, it allows you to make informed decisions and reduce potentially wasteful spending. Unmeasured marketing is typically first to be cut during budget constraints because its value remains abstract rather than concrete. We now even have access to some real-time data for measuring marketing’s effectiveness. Having solid, real-time data helps marketing teams communicate value to C-suite executives in the financial language they understand and respect.
Transforming your CEO’s perception won’t happen overnight, but it begins with speaking their language: results, revenue, and business impact. When marketing shifts from tracking activities to owning outcomes, from reporting vanity metrics to demonstrating financial contribution, the dynamics change dramatically. The most respected marketing leaders don’t ask for budgets—they justify investments with projected returns and then deliver on those promises. By embracing accountability, translating creative success into business value, and proactively aligning with company objectives, you won’t just change how your CEO sees marketing—you’ll fundamentally elevate what marketing contributes. The department that was once considered a joke will become indispensable to the company’s strategic future.
Need help setting solid marketing objectives, implementing them and then tracking the results? Let’s chat.
