The gold standard for building a business case for marketing spending is to run an experiment using a control group that does not get marketing spending.

The goal is to build a strong understanding of the counterfactual — what if marketing spending had not occurred? Th...

Recent research published in the Journal of Marketing finds that satisfied customers are more responsive to brand marketing and sales efforts, more open to future company offers, and more likely to share positive word of mouth — netting, on average, a 3% savings in future expenditures.

CMOs often face headwinds when making the case for investments in brand building, which many marketers acknowledge as being especially difficult to measure as compared to lower-funnel activities that are closer to sales and revenue.

CMOs can start by un...

The best marketing leaders have a logic based on experience and data, regarding how marketing spending will impact various business activities and outcomes.

This logic should be clearly articulated and justified to other decision-makers, particularly the C...

CFOs want to know what marketing dollars are actually going to do for the business. So marketers should be able to answer the questions: How does marketing spending marry up with what is most important to the future of the company? What are our strategic goals and how does wh...

Monthly meetings of the senior management team are unlikely to be the best place for making the case for marketing spending, as marketing leaders are not setting the agenda and are unlikely to have the airtime to offer a nuanced and comprehensive view of marketing’s impact.

But it...

According to surveys, 41% of marketing budgets are based on the previous year’s expenses and adjusted during the year if needed, while only 10% of marketing budgets are revisited every month or quarter to meet company objectives.

One reason budgets are not scrutinized more ...