Prove how Marketing drives profits not losses to any CFO

Even in the most functional of businesses it’s rare to find a CMO and a CFO that will see eye to eye on everything.

These two functions often battle it out, fighting over a range of different causes, usually centered around how best to allocate their company’s resources.

It’s about time we stopped pitting these functions against each other and opened our eyes to the untapped potential that exists within this space - as only when these teams collaborate, can true magic happen.

Why can’t we all just get along?

Here’s some key reasons that have contributed to the demise of this potentially lucrative partnership.

Timing isn’t on their side

CFOs are under a lot of strain. They’re constantly working to tight deadlines and are responsible for projecting the company’s monthly, quarterly and yearly earnings to CEO’s and stakeholders.

Marketers, on the other hand, are more focused on creating long-term value through intangible assets, like the company’s brand.

This means the two functions are often at odds, with different priorities and timeframes to contend with.

ROI is difficult to prove

In the past, finance chiefs have been sceptical of marketing because it’s hard to see a return on investment. CFOs value visibility and transparency, so it’s no wonder they fear spending money on marketing, as it often takes time to see the true impact of a marketing activations (time the CFOs may not have).

Fortunately, this is changing, fast, with the introduction of new technology. Just take ProQuo’s AI Brand Management platform. Every day on ProQuo’s visual dashboard, you can see how you’re performing in real-time, versus your competition and category. This means you can execute a marketing campaign or product launch and see instant results. Nothing is more appealing to a CFO! 

Risk comes into play

Both teams have fundamentally different approaches to risk. Finance chiefs are responsible for ensuring the company stays afloat – so they’re usually thorough, comprehensive and cautious when planning how best to spend their company’s budget.

Marketers do not have this same responsibility and are therefore more likely to take bigger risks. As much of marketing is often reliant on gut, intuition and timing, it’s unsurprising they’re willing to spend big for a larger pay-off.

Where does that leave us?

Clearly, these two teams operate on different wavelengths, with their own priorities, goals and ways of working.

It’s possible we may never see complete cooperation from these functions. But maybe that isn’t the true goal?

Perhaps, we should be aiming to improve the chemistry between these functions - implementing small behavioral shifts to encourage a more harmonious working relationship. 

If you’re interested in maximizing your relationship with your CFO, we explore how to do so in greater depth through our e-book, diving into; the balance between performance and brand marketing, learning the language of the financial world, creating the best narratives for your brand, and the technologies to use to get your brand to grow.

With new technology, (like ProQuo AI) an infinite world of possibilities is opened up, making it easier than ever for these two functions to collaborate seamlessly.

ProQuo provides a common language for marketers and financiers to use to better understand each other. A language that revolves around data and metrics. ProQuo’s platform give marketers immediate and real-time clarity on how their brand is progressing. Since marketers can always see the momentum of their brand, they’re equipped with the metrics financiers need to prove brand performance to stakeholders. Win, win.

It’s clear there’s a need for a strong relationship between marketing and finance, since they can achieve more together than they can individually. 

Think of Steve Jobs - a Wall Street sweetheart, who built the most valuable company of the modern day. Apple benefits from financial success partly due to its marketing executions, as the brands is recognized and loved worldwide.

If you want to make your CFO happy, have a read.