Speaking in terms the C-Suite can understand - and relevance of marketing spend to overall budget

The logical connection then between the marketing function and senior management is that we marketers must communicate our successes to the “C-Suite” in a way that they will understand.  We cannot rely on our own metrics and peculiar language (think about when you were new to marketing and first heard the term GRPs – that term doesn’t exist outside the media and marketing world).  Senior managers often do not understand the connection between page views and sales.  They certainly don’t make see the direct correlation between sports sponsorships and business performance.   We have a “language” problem.  We are like a dog that drags in a dead bird and wildly wags her tail at their superior performance of finding the dead bird (that stinks to high heaven – which makes it EVEN BETTER) and dropping off as a gift of great import – an homage – to its owner.  In the dog world, we hit a home run and are up for a CLIO award!  But the owner only sees a stinking dead bird that is ruining their day.  All they want from the dog is love and probably some sense of security for their residence.  We have to learn to speak in terms of the senior managers.  Terms that do not include GRPs!

Side note: In most large companies, marketing activities represent about 10% of the overall operating budget.  It is significant in itself, but in the total big picture it is only 10% of the budget.  Worse than that, it is one of the few that is often perceived of as pure cost and not directly connected to profit.  Marketing has the same persona as Human Resources – or Finance – got to have it but really hate paying for it!  Marketers tend to be ethno-centric and assume the rest of the world is as interested in marketing as they are – and they are not – they are interested in their world – the world of the 90%!