Asking your founder, CEO or CFO for more marketing budget is unlikely to go well if you turn up without a clear business case.
As a marketing consultant with 18 years' experience, I’m sharing tips for marketing managers to keep their pitch simple, data‑driven and outcome‑focused. Here are five things that make your ask easy to understand, and hard to say no to.
1. What are the key performance indicators in marketing?
First and foremost, you will need to start with a clear understanding of the metrics you are tracking, and map and monitor these for at least 4 months to gauge clarity on where and why you are requesting additional budget. Without data, you will be unable to make informed decisions and will find it very difficult to sway the higher powers.
Typical metric types to track are:
- Lead metric such as traffic, engagement on various channels and the website, new users, click through rates from various channels, CRM qualified leads, and actions such as add to cart events.
- Lag metrics such as online revenue per week or month, or closed deals and value per quarter. Here it is vital to have set targets you can monitor and share with your teams.
- Performance metrics are also critical as understanding these allows you to understand how to not just meet your overall goals such as revenue but how to get the marketing engine to work smarter. Examples of these are ROAS, MER, nCAC, which we will uncover further below.
2. How to show current media efficiency
What to include: Current MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio), or Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio. This compares a customer's total lifetime value to the cost of acquiring that customer. With a strong understanding of the business performance, costs and margins, you will be able to determine if either of these alone are at a healthy ratio.
For example, a 1 or 1:1 ratio for CLV:CAC is generally not efficient as it would mean you are only just breaking even.
How to get this data:
- MER = Total revenue divided by media spend
- CLV to CAC Ratio =
- CLV = multiply Average Purchase Value by Purchase Frequency, then by Average Customer Lifespan
- CAC = Total media spend divided by number of new customers over a period
- CLV divided by CAC
Why it matters: Scaling usually causes MER to dip. If you’re already at a highly profitable MER, meaning based on the media spent you are generating a strong amount of revenue which is above your cost of goods and you are profitable, you can easily demonstrate strong performance and room to scale.
How to present it: A clear chart or table showing current MER, CAC, and CLV over time comparing year on year data.
3. Highlight inefficiencies in other channels
What to include: A strong growth marketing channel involves channels across the customer funnel all pulling their weight. Evidence of certain channels declining can show an opportunity to invest in their performance. Signs to look for are declines in organic traffic, stagnant email performance, poor engagement on creative, and low social engagement.
Why it matters: Reallocating or supplementing marketing budget can fix gaps in the funnel and improve long‑term performance. For example, declining organic visitors can justify investment in SEO, or rising CPC on Google Ads calls for a clear Google Ads strategies for the business.
How to present it: Before/after trends and a short explanation of how the proposed spend will address the decline and the expected timeframe for results.
4. Use your nCAC to size the budget
What to include: your nCAC (new customer acquisition cost) and the target number of new customers given by the business.
Why it matters: this makes the request quantifiable. If you know how many new customers you need and the cost to acquire one, you can calculate the additional budget required to hit the target.
How to present it: simple maths and a breakdown: target new customers × nCAC = additional marketing budget required. (Also show expected lifetime value where relevant.)
5. For lead‑based businesses: cost per MQL and the value of an MQL
What to include: as your mission is how to generate leads, cost per MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) and the average value of an MQL to the business are your most important lag metrics.
Why it matters: CFOs think in costs and outcomes. MQLs are often a cleaner, more tangible metric than “all leads” because they tie closer to sales readiness and conversion potential.
How to present it: show the cost per MQL, conversion rate from MQL to customer, and expected revenue per converted MQL. This gives the CFO a simple picture of cost versus return.
6. If you’re starting small: ask for a pilot budget
What to include: a short, time‑boxed pilot marketing plan with clear KPIs and a go/no‑go decision point.
Why it matters: pilots reduce perceived risk. CFOs are more likely to approve a limited test for a new channel, product or service line than a big, permanent increase.
How to present it: proposed spend, expected KPIs (e.g. CAC, MQLs, conversion rate), test duration (e.g. 8–12 weeks) and the criteria you’ll use to scale or stop.
Our Experienced Marketing Consultants Can Help
Whether you are brand building or driving growth through paid media, asking for more marketing budget should be something you approach with confidence. Make it logical, present clear metrics, tie spend to outcomes the C-suite understands (like MER, nCAC or cost per MQL), call out inefficiencies in other channels, and offer a low‑risk pilot if you’re starting small.
Need a hand developing your marketing strategy and creating a paid media plan? Reach out to a marketing consultant today.
