In a recent article in Campaign, revered strategist Richard Huntington said, "The CFO is not our enemy. The CFO is the person who controls the capital that funds the growth that our work creates. If we can't have that conversation as equals, there will always be a cost to cut."
I could not agree more. But it got me thinking. Why do we think this? There is a long-running thought that this is because marketing and finance work in silos, but it's not this. It's because there isn’t a common language. As Richard said, "We must talk about business outcomes. Margin. Market share. Customer lifetime value. The things the board actually cares about." Preach.
So we have stress-tested this view (and many others) by talking to a host of CMOs to try and work out what this language is. The observations in this article are drawn from those conversations, as well as insights from a senior CFO and commercial finance specialist. The most interesting finding wasn't that finance and marketing disagree. They often mean different things when they use the same words. The challenge isn't conflict, it's translation.
So what would happen if marketers started framing their ideas through a commercial lens from the beginning? Here's what we found would help everyone get onto the same page - and then understand what was written on it.
1. Brand investment doesn't mean much unless you explain the outcome
When marketers say: "We need to invest in the brand." Many finance leaders hear: "We need to spend money without clear accountability."
That doesn't mean CFOs don't believe in brands. In fact, many of the finance leaders we spoke to strongly support long-term brand investment. What they actually need is clarity. What they want to know is, how will stronger brand equity reduce acquisition costs? Improve retention? Increase pricing power? Create future demand?
2. Awareness is not a business objective
When marketers say: "We need to increase awareness." CFOs often hear: "We haven't defined success."
This is because awareness matters but awareness alone rarely appears on a board agenda - business outcomes do. The most effective marketers connect awareness to commercial impact, not because awareness is unimportant, but because awareness is a means to an end, not the end itself.
3. Long-term doesn't mean unmeasurable
When marketers say: "This is about long-term brand building." Finance leaders often hear: "You'll have to trust us."
This is when trust becomes of the utmost importance - and evidence. The strongest marketers don't pretend long-term effects are easy to measure; instead, they explain what indicators they expect to see along the journey. They articulate why today's activity supports future growth and they acknowledge uncertainty honestly. One CFO told us that they become far more comfortable supporting investment when marketers openly discuss assumptions and risks rather than presenting plans as guaranteed outcomes.
4. Experimentation is not the same as risk
When marketers say: "We need to experiment." Many CFOs hear: "We're taking a gamble."
This is one of the biggest misunderstandings in modern business. The best marketers and the best finance leaders actually agree on experimentation and both understand that organisations that stop learning eventually stop growing. The key is framing it, that experiments should be treated as investments in knowledge. You need to ask and answer key questions, such as what are we trying to learn? How much are we willing to spend? What would success look like? What decisions will this information help us make? When presented this way, experimentation becomes a risk-management tool rather than a risk itself.
Urmi Dutta-Roy, CFO of The Folio Society and Portfolio Non-Executive Director, argues that experimentation is a continuous business discipline that becomes even more valuable during periods of uncertainty. "The best time to test isn't when you're under pressure, it's when you're performing well. Businesses should be experimenting all the time because today's success doesn't guarantee tomorrow's growth. Continuous testing helps organisations make better decisions, identify future opportunities and build resilience. It shouldn't be viewed as a cost, but as an investment in learning, better decision-making and the long-term sustainability of the business."
For marketers under pressure, that's an important reminder. The objective isn't to eliminate risk altogether, but to learn quickly, make better decisions and build future competitive advantage.
5. Creativity is a growth lever
Several marketers we interviewed highlighted a different challenge. Growth doesn't just stall because budgets shrink, it stalls because organisations become cautious. Too much process, too much approval, too much fear. A lack of ambition. An unwillingness to stand out.
One growth leader described how businesses often become trapped in decision-making loops. Another pointed to risk aversion and lack of autonomy as major growth killers. The irony? These behaviours often create far greater commercial risk than bold thinking ever could. The strongest marketers don't frame creativity as self-expression, they frame it as differentiation. And differentiation is one of the most valuable commercial assets any business can possess.
6. Data should inform decisions, not replace them
When budgets tighten, marketers often hear the same advice: "Go back to the data."
It's good advice but data isn't a substitute for judgment. Several senior marketers we spoke to stressed the importance of combining evidence with curiosity. The most effective growth strategies emerge when leaders use data to identify opportunities, then apply creativity to exploit them. The famous 70:20:10 principle remains relevant. 70% of investment should go into proven activity; 20% into testing and optimisation; 10% into entirely new ideas. The percentages may vary, but the principle remains powerful. Growth requires both confidence and exploration.
7. Stop thinking like a marketer. Start thinking like a growth operator
Perhaps the most important lesson from our conversations is this:
"The marketers creating the greatest impact today are no longer acting purely as marketers. They're acting as growth operators. They understand finance, commercial strategy, risk management, customer behaviour, technology and data - and creativity."
Renaye Edwards Ammunition
They don't see finance as a barrier. They see finance as a partner. That mindset also changes how they think about investment. Rather than searching for a single channel, tactic or silver bullet, they build balanced growth strategies that combine immediate returns with long-term value creation. As Urmi puts it, "a good growth strategy isn't about putting all your eggs in one basket. It's about diversifying investments across channels, balancing short-term performance with long-term value creation, and building resilience into the business. That's how you reduce risk and create sustainable growth."
