Making the Business Case for Your Marketing Budget

Making the Business Case for Your Marketing Budget

Scrutiny over marketing budgets is a common experience for most CMOs. In fact, as reported in the August 2021 CMO Survey, pressure to prove the impact of marketing efforts is substantial and rising, with 59% of marketing leaders reporting increased pressure from CEOs and 45% experiencing pressure from CFOs.

A common challenge in this dynamic is proving the impact of marketing spending. How will marketing dollars drive business performance? How much bang will I get for my marketing buck?

To answer this question, many CFOs focus on the short-term financial impact of marketing spending, particularly sales revenue. More than 50% of CMOs we surveyed said they faced pressure from non-marketing leaders who “tend to focus on the short-run effect of marketing spending” and are “not patient for the long-run effects of marketing spending.”