Research shows that many marketing managers and executives are frustrated with the constant budget restraints and pushback that they face when trying to plan their company's marketing.  Is this you? If so, we’re here to tell you that it doesn't have to be this way. In this webinar, Danni and Fran will discuss the common concerns and priorities of bosses or upper management when it comes to marketing spend.  We'll also share some proven strategies for aligning marketing objectives with the overall business strategy, proving the ROI of your marketing efforts, and building strong relationships with your boss and stakeholders. By the end of this webinar, you'll have the tools and knowledge you need to justify your marketing budget and get the resources you need to succeed.

1. How to justify your
marketing spend to
your boss
Presented by Danni Johnson & Fran Watson

2. Our speakers today
Social Media Executive at Xpand
2 years in social media marketing
& hospitality
Has a Masters in Art and Design
Fran Watson
Head of Digital Marketing at Xpand
20 years in sales, marketing and
recruitment
Trained by LinkedIn & CIM certified
Danni Johnson

3. What we'll cover today:
8 ways to justify your marketing spend
Examples
Q&As

4. Sound familiar?
We don't have any
budget for that
We tried that
before and it failed
That'll take too long
Sue in Finance can
send out a flyer
The sales guys
can do that
Don't you just play
on social media?

5. We asked Chat GPT ...

6. What do bosses think
about marketing?

7. Investment vs. expense
Measurable results
Customer-centric focus
Innovation and creativity
Alignment with business goals
Adaptability to change
Risk and reward
Integration with sales
Long-term strategy
Data-driven decision making

8. But, the most striking point
it made was...

9. Some may see marketing as an expense
that needs to be minimised, especially if
they have concerns about ROI or lack a
clear understanding of marketing's impact.

10. What does that mean
to you?

11. You need to block any
challenges/concerns before
they become just that.

12. But how?

13. Regularly
communicating
the results
Clearly defining
marketing
objectives
Using data
and case
studies

14. Let's dig deeper

15. When preparing a budget
request, you should follow
these 8 strategies

16. Building relationships
and collaboration
1

17. Regular
reporting
Listen and
incorporate
feedback
Align with
business
priorities
Collaborate
across
departments

18. Anticipating and
addressing objections
2

19. We expect these right?
But, how should we really
handle them?

20. Preemptive communication: Anticipate
and address potential objections
proactively.
Managing risks: Show how you plan to
minimise risks and react to unexpected
challenges.
Cost-benefit analysis: Demonstrate the
benefits outweigh the risks.
Testing and pilots: Suggest starting with
smaller-scale tests to gather data and
validate the potential success of larger
initiatives.

21. Influence is power! Never
let anything be a surprise

22. Budget allocation and
resource planning
3

23. As a marketing manager, you'll
often face the challenge of
justifying your budget allocation
to higher-ups.

24. But, how do you do that?

25. Base your budget allocation on:
Data-driven budgeting
1.
historical performance
market trends
data-driven insights

26. Show how previous investments
have yielded positive results

27. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis
for each marketing initiative.
Compare the potential returns
against the investment required
to demonstrate the value of
the expenditure.
2. Cost-benefit analysis

28. Be clear with what each
initiative will deliver

29. Focus on marketing activities that
have a high potential to impact
business goals.
Justify why investing more in
these areas will yield better results.
3. Prioritise high-impact activities

30. Be pragmatic!
If I had to swap one thing for
another, what would it be?

31. Demonstrate that your budget is
flexible and adaptable to changes in
the market or business conditions.
Show that you can scale up or down
based on the results and feedback.
4. Flexibility and scalability

32. Remember the ‘can you just’
moments and include them here

33. Developing a results-
oriented marketing plan
4

34. A well-defined marketing plan
is the foundation for justifying
your marketing spend.

35. A results-oriented
marketing plan
should include:

36. Clear objectives
A defined target audience
Budget allocation
Strategies and tactics
Contingency plans
A results-oriented
marketing plan
should include:

37. Explain why you chose these
approaches and how they align
with your audience and goals

38. Defining key metrics for
marketing success
5

39. Use data to show ROI
Vision, mission, and strategy of your
organisation
How the metrics relate to the general
business objectives
Show
Demonstrate
Evidence

40. Increase revenue > Increase conversions on your landing pages
Improve customer satisfaction > Increase 5* Google Reviews
Expand market share > Increase brand awareness
Examples:

41. Demonstrate marketing's impact on
business growth, profitability, and
cost-effectiveness with example
metrics like these...

42. Website traffic:
How well your
marketing is
reaching your
target audience.
Leads generated:
How effective your
marketing is at
generating interest
in your business.
Customer lifetime
value (LTV):
Measures the long-
term profitability of
your marketing efforts.
Sales closed:
Important metric
for measuring the
ROI of your
marketing efforts.
Cost per acquisition
(CPA):
Measures effectiveness
of different marketing
channels.

43. Know your numbers.
Show your numbers.

44. Use data to back
up your marketing
decisions.
If you have the data to show how
your marketing budget impacted
revenues last year, it's easier to go
to the table and ask for a larger
budget next year.

45. Ask your sales team for their input.
What worked for them?
Data doesn’t always need to be
factual numbers.

47. Make connections between:
Top of funnel KPIs
(Brand awareness, demand generation)
And
Bottom of funnel KPIs
(Revenue/sales growth, retention, lifetime value)

48. Presenting data and
analytics to justify spend
6

49. The success of justifying
marketing spend relies heavily on
how you present data and
analytics to your boss.

50. Visual storytelling
Utilise visual aids like charts,
graphs, and infographics to
present complex data in a clear
and engaging manner.
This helps in conveying your
message effectively.

51. Highlight key
insights
Focus on the most relevant
and impactful data points
that directly link marketing
efforts to business outcomes.

52. Benchmarking and
comparison
Compare the current
performance with past data or
industry benchmarks to provide
context and show improvements.

53. Use real examples
Share real-life success stories
and case studies from your own
or other companies to
demonstrate the potential
impact of marketing spend.
You don't have to relate them to
business, but rather to the
proposed campaign.

54. Actionable
recommendations
Provide actionable insights
based on data to demonstrate
that you not only analyse results
but also use the information to
make informed decisions.

55. Everything you do can be
matched by your competitors,
especially if they have a bigger
marketing budget.
Remember:

56. Social Ad Libraries
Rival IQ
Screaming Frog
Similar Web
Useful tools:
It’s important to look at what the competition are
doing and how they're spending their money.
You should consider assessing their:
Website
Social media - organic and paid
PPC
Share of voice

57. Leveraging technology
and automation
7

58. Technology and automation can
make a significant difference in
justifying marketing spend.

59. Utilise these to gather and analyse
data, providing insightful metrics to
support your justifications.
Marketing analytics tools
Automated reporting
A/B testing
CRM integration
Chat GPT/Bard

60. Marketing analytics tools
Automated reporting
A/B testing
CRM integration
Chat GPT/Bard
Use automation to generate regular
reports, saving time and ensuring
consistent reporting across periods.

61. Marketing analytics tools
Automated reporting
A/B testing
CRM integration
Chat GPT/Bard
Implement A/B testing to optimise
marketing campaigns and
demonstrate the efficiency of data-
driven decision-making.

62. Marketing analytics tools
Automated reporting
A/B testing
CRM integration
Chat GPT/Bard
Track leads, conversions, and
customer interactions effectively by
integrating your customer
relationship management (CRM)
system with marketing efforts.

63. Marketing analytics tools
Automated reporting
A/B testing
CRM integration
Chat GPT/Bard
Use AI tools like these to research
your competition or assist with
content creation.
You don't need to be afraid of them.
They can assist and save time.

64. Include case studies
and examples
8

65. Make your justifications more
convincing and relatable with
case studies and examples.

66. Align with
your
industry
Show
tangible
results
Include
similar
challenges
Quantify
results

67. In summary

68. Results-
orientated
Use data
to back
you up
Clear and
concise
Highlight
the key
takeaways

69. Just one more thing...

71. We're here to consult, support and guide.
You're Batman.
We'll be your Alfred.

72. You now have
8 strategies to
justify your
marketing spend.
Building relationships and collaboration
Anticipating and addressing objections
Budget allocation and resource planning
Developing a results-oriented marketing plan
Defining key metrics for marketing success
Presenting data and analytics to justify spend
Leveraging technology and automation
Include case studies and examples

73. Any questions?

74. /XpandMarketing
@Xpand_Marketing
/company/xpand-marketing
/xpandmarketing
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www.xpandmarketing.co.uk