Get stakeholders signoff - Marketing Budget Guide

Always run first the analysis on your own and adjust budgets if anything raises your concerns. Never skip the Budget Insights Checklist before jumping to approval. Missing this step often leads to major budget revisions later, damaging your credibility as CMO.

The stakeholder approval process requires two different approaches: one for the board/CEO, and another for the finance team. Each group needs specific information presented in their preferred format.

For CEO and Board - Business View

The CEO and board need a concise pitch deck visualizing the budget plan. Focus on metrics they care about: budget versus conversion growth, major category changes, and marketing spend as a percentage of total company revenue. Address potential questions proactively by including relevant charts from your budget analysis. Show clearly how your budget plan aligns with company growth targets.

For Finance Team - Technical Requirements

As covered in chapter 2.3, the finance team needs your budget in a specific technical format. Export your budget with their required line item properties:

Cost center names and IDs
Currency details
VAT information
Payment terms
Vendor details (if applicable)

Use marketing budget tools like Etropo to generate export files matching your finance team's requirements. This saves time and reduces back-and-forth about formatting issues.

Finance team consolidates all department budgets into total company spend - only then can the CEO give your marketing budget final approval.

Remember that final CEO approval typically comes after the finance team reviews all department budgets. They need to evaluate marketing spend in context of the total company budget. Be prepared to wait for this broader financial review to complete before getting final signoff.

Your finance team speaks in cost centers, not marketing categories. When discussing budgets with them, always reference the official cost center names and IDs to speed up the approval process.

After submitting your budget, stay available for questions. Quick response times during the review period can significantly accelerate the approval timeline.

Common Budget Review Questions

The most common scenario is that you will get follow-up questions after submitting your budget. Prepare answers to these typical questions in advance:

Question	Why It's Asked
Why is the headcount budget growing by X%?	Headcount is the most fixed cost - harder to reduce than pausing campaigns or ending contractor agreements. Finance needs strong justification for adding these long-term commitments.
Can you replace the new FTE with contractors?	Companies prefer flexible costs over fixed costs. Contractors can be terminated quickly if needed.
What is % of new vs existing initiatives in $?	High percentage of new initiatives means higher risk of not delivering targets. Finance prefers scaling what worked before over experimenting with new approaches.
Can you reduce the total budget by 10%?	Standard negotiation tactic - always have a plan for what you would cut if needed.
Why is your CPA target higher than last year?	Rising costs need clear explanation - market changes, competition, or strategic shifts.
Could you move budget from Q1 to later quarters?	Companies often want to delay spending to reduce risk and improve cash flow.

Always tie your answers to growth targets and ROI - explain why your approach delivers the best results.