Samir Balwani’s Post

Reprogramming the Broken Marketing Brain Many digital-first companies see their largest single line-item expense in user acquisition, and transitioning reporting and analysis away from the models, metrics, and dashboards to which the entire company had grown accustomed represents a substantial effort. When user acquisition and performance marketing are the primary drivers of revenue for a business — which is true for many digital-first businesses! — then the perceived precision and timeliness of analytics are viewed as functionally critical. Transitioning marketing measurement away from the tools and reports that had previously dictated budgeting decisions is an intimidating, if not frightening, proposition.

How will brands win when marketing budgets are shrinking? They’ll have to market solutions, not features. How? We’re seeing enterprise marketing teams invest in high quality thought leadership that teaches them something new. This requires custom, never-before-seen research. Brands that respect the customer’s intelligence will win with data and win the day. At NewtonX, we recently launched our 2023 recap and 2024 predictions piece. Check out more of the executives’ predictions on the state of the industry. Link in comments 👇

"Ever wondered what fuels the most successful marketing strategies? It’s not just creativity—it’s data, driven by finance. As someone with a background in both finance and marketing, I've seen how aligning marketing efforts with financial KPIs like ROI and customer lifetime value transforms campaigns from good to game-changing. 📈 When finance and marketing join forces, businesses make smarter decisions, optimize budgets, and see real growth. How are you leveraging this synergy in your business? Let’s chat about bridging the gap for better results! #Finance #Marketing #GrowthStrategy #DataDriven 🤓

Organizational alignment is key 🔑 to successfully executing your marketing strategy; yet it always presents hurdles and marketing teams have to spend valuable time managing stakeholders instead of focusing on action. A recent Zinklar survey of senior marketers showed that 45% of them believe executives pay close attention when decisions are based on consumer insights. It’s hard to argue with data. To become customer centric and to be data driven should be one and the same thing. Integrating an actionable real-time insights program into your strategy can only increase confidence and improve the ROI of your business decisions. This is why 83% of companies are reporting regular investment in consumer data, with the figures growing every year. You can now ask consumers 🗣️✅ themselves what you need to validate your strategy in the moment. You can read more about how to eliminate guesswork and get alignment with your stakeholders in our recent blog post 📘: How to make management trust your marketing decisions https://lnkd.in/dppnpWMe #datadriven #research #ROI

Unlock the Power of Data-Driven Marketing! Ever wondered which metrics truly matter in the vast ocean of data? Conversion Rates: The heartbeat of your campaigns. Customer Acquisition Cost: Your growth's price tag. Customer Lifetime Value: Forecasting future earnings. Return on Investment: The bottom line of your marketing efforts. Tomorrow, I'll show 10,000 marketers how to transform these metrics into a roadmap for success. "Turn Data into Decisions" If you want to be part of this transformative journey, subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/gtj7ghGh

Discover how the Revenue-Centric CMO model aligns marketing efforts directly with business goals, ensuring that every strategy drives toward financial success. Dive into this Forbes article for insights on transforming marketing into a primary revenue driver. 🎯 #MarketingStrategy #BusinessAlignment #CMOInsights https://lnkd.in/gK4MF3YF

Are you ready to elevate your brand's profitability? Advanced forecasting is your secret weapon, and Keen has the ultimate guide for you! Discover how to move beyond historical analysis and intuition to guide your marketing decisions. Our game-changing guide reveals: 📈 Generate forecasts that guide strategic decision-making 💲Predict ROI across expanding paid and unpaid channels ➡️ Link marketing efforts directly to sales and financial outcomes 💡Confidently communicate the impact of your decisions to stakeholders 📊Optimize investments across your entire marketing mix Let's make this the year your brand achieves unprecedented growth and profitability. Dive into our latest guide ➡️ https://bit.ly/3MYIzOn #AnnualPlanning #MarketingStrategy #Forecasting

Last week, we delved into how professionals balance marketing with other business tasks. Link here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e84EAjkt Here’s a brief summary of what we found: 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 (𝟯𝟲%): A significant portion sees marketing as essential for revenue and growth, focusing on its ability to enhance customer engagement and sales. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝟱𝟱%): Most respondents advocate for a balanced approach, integrating marketing with product development, customer service, and operations to ensure sustainable success. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 (𝟵%): A smaller group faces challenges managing time for marketing due to resource constraints or operational inefficiencies. How do these insights align with your strategies? Share your thoughts in the comments!

🚀 "Marketing is Everything" - A timeless insight from Regis McKenna that has shaped the marketing landscape since its publication in 1991. 🌟 As we dive into the customer-centric era, McKenna foresaw the 1990s as the decade where consumer empowerment would redefine business strategies. He argued that marketing extends beyond mere promotion, weaving into every organizational fabric. It's not just a department; it's a philosophy where customer needs inform every function, from product development to customer service. Key takeaways: - Marketing is synonymous with customer understanding. How deep is your customer knowledge? - Integration is key. How connected is your marketing strategy with other business functions? - Technology and analytics are powerful allies. Are you leveraging data for precise marketing? - Continuous adaptation is crucial. Is your marketing strategy evolving with market demands? The notion that "Marketing is Everything" underscores its role in guiding organizational strategy and sustaining competitive advantage. How has this paradigm influenced your approach to marketing? Share your thoughts and dive deeper with the full article! #Marketing #CustomerCentric #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #TechAndAnalytics #ContinuousImprovement

How to articulate how #Marketing drives financial value for a #brand. 61% of senior marketing leaders struggle to show impact on financial outcomes. The #CFO is a critical internal customer, and when marketers don’t demonstrate a clear link between their activities and the company’s bottom line, their budgets become easy targets for cuts. In #B2B, the problem is outsized: B2B businesses represent nearly half (48%) of the US economy, but only 15% of marketing and advertising spend. If we increase #Finance’s confidence in Marketing, we could increase B2B marketing spending by over $200B. To bridge the gap, marketers must frame their contributions in the language that resonates with CFOs. We need to become financial storytellers, explaining how marketing’s efforts – and the effectiveness principles that underlie them – impact financial outcomes. Start by drawing on one of the foundational models in finance, the Gordon Growth Model, to uncover the three ways to enhance a company’s valuation: 1. #growth 2. #profit 3. #riskmanagement 1. GROWTH Articulate why effective marketing is central to every possible avenue of revenue growth. Finance thinks about the growth of the business in terms of current and future cash flows. Marketing enhances current and future cash flows by influencing both current and future buyers by driving top-of-mind awareness in key buying situations. Strategic campaigns, linked to buying situations, can reshape a company’s customer acquisition rate and customer defection rate. 2. PROFIT Identify ways that Marketing can reduce costs within an organization and increase profits. B2B marketers who understand the distinction between price and value can contribute to firm profitability by creating headroom for higher pricing, which expands the opportunity for firm margin. Effective marketing communicates the emotional benefits of the product or service — as these are more likely to be remembered in a buying situation. 3. RISK MANAGEMENT Understand how effective marketing can minimize risk and, thereby, cost of capital. Effective marketing can reduce a company’s financial risk. Strongly branded companies enjoy more predictability of demand, and therefore more certain cash flows. Researchers of the University of South Carolina compared a portfolio of highly branded companies to companies not appearing on that list and found that over the course of seven years the branded portfolio not only had higher average monthly returns, they also had less than average market risk. Check out the full deep dive into these three drivers of financial value from marketing here: