Be honest, who enjoys those budget meetings with the CFO?!
You proudly share your data, and wait patiently for the nod of the head.
Instead, there’s a polite pause… then:
“Okay, but how does this help us make money?”
It’s not that your CFO is anti-marketing.
It’s just that your definition of success might not match theirs.
That’s the gap that needs to close.
Because here’s the truth: marketers, at all levels, are increasingly expected to speak commercial. To stop showing activity and start focusing on outcomes. To stop asking for budget and start making the business case.
The marketers who succeed here? They think like their CFOs:
- They talk in terms of customer lifetime value, not just MQLs
- They bring data that links marketing effort to sales velocity, pricing power, and margin.
- They frame campaigns in terms of return on investment, market share, cost management, and financial risk.
They don’t just report performance? they translate it into the language of the boardroom.
If we want a seat at the table, we need to act like the table matters. And that means reframing marketing as a growth enabler. A profit centre. A builder of long-term value.
Not just a “cost centre that makes the slides look better.”
If you only had 3 slides in your next board meeting… what would you show?