Showing the value of marketing

Demonstrating the return-on-investment on marketing spend continues to be an ongoing issue in many organisations. Marketing has many tasks and channels to manage. With so much reliance on strong leadership, effective sales execution, and a quality product or service, it often takes the blame when business goals are not met.

At the end of the day, as a marketing manager and budget holder, all you can do is track the data showing marketing impact, align with the wider business, and build trust through consistent reporting.

Here’s how I approach it.

1. Start with the 12-month marketing plan

The marketing plan needs to align with the annual business objectives to ensure resources are pointed in the right direction.
In the past, I’ve had marketing goals focused on things like revenue growth, customer acquisition, increasing customer lifetime value, or launching new products and services. For any marketing function, I find that having up to 4 main marketing objectives is sufficient to keep everyone focused.

The annual marketing plan should be flexible and have milestones that are reviewed every quarter. In today’s environment, being ready to pivot on a quarterly basis is crucial.

2. Set KPIs that reflect the full buyer journey

In B2B marketing, where buyer journeys are longer and involve multiple influencers and decision-makers, you need to track more than just top-of-funnel engagement. Map your marketing objectives (and resources) to your marketing funnel and buyer journey to see which areas need the most attention.

Also, your KPIs must be aligned with the sales team. Regular collaboration with sales will help you keep track of which tactics and channels perform the best, and where you need to make tweaks.

I prioritise metrics like

• Marketing Influenced Revenue
• Cost per Lead
• Cost per Sale
• Customer Lifetime Value
• Lead to Customer Conversion Rate

These show how marketing is contributing across the full customer journey, not just generating surface-level interest.

3. Use the tools that work for your team

When it comes to reporting, data doesn’t need to be fancy to be effective. Depending on the tools available and the audience, I’ve used everything from real-time dashboards to Excel spreadsheets to PowerPoints and even Word docs.

The important thing is clarity. Choose tools that help you and your stakeholders clearly understand what’s happening and where action is needed. Simplicity often wins when you’re reporting to busy leadership teams.

4. Turn data into insights and action

The best reports don’t just list figures and show pretty graphs. They tell a story. Highlight wins, but don’t shy away from what didn’t land. For every drop in performance, ask yourself why and suggest what to test next.

It can be tempting to include a lot of data in your reporting, but having a handful of relevant key metrics will translate best to the rest of the team.

When we take action based on insights, we prove that marketing is a living, evolving function that can pivot quickly.

5. Create space for feedback and discussion

Reporting isn’t just about sending a slide deck. It’s about communication and shared understanding. Host a monthly meeting to share the marketing report, so there is space for commentary.

I also recommend giving the team the opportunity to provide input during the quarterly and annual reviews. This could even happen at a Sales Kick-off event. This allows time for meaningful discussion, where stakeholders can ask questions, share insights, and better understand their role in the marketing engine.

When people are part of the conversation, they become advocates, not just observers.

Ultimately, marketing reporting isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about bringing the bigger picture to life and creating shared understanding across the business. With a solid plan, aligned KPIs, flexible tools, and time for discussion, you’ll not only show your impact — you’ll elevate the role of marketing in your organisation.