Whether or not you’re crafting a brand new content material marketing campaign, launching a YouTube collection, or revamping your social technique, management will inevitably ask: “How will this impression our firm’s backside line?”
Answering this query isn’t all the time easy. That’s why I all the time be certain that to determine my key efficiency indicators (KPIs) earlier than looking for govt buy-in. KPIs not solely assist me measure success but additionally present the concrete proof wanted to achieve management’s help and switch concepts into actuality.
And also you possible understand how shortly the advertising and marketing panorama is altering — 56% of selling leaders agree it has modified extra up to now three years than up to now fifty. So, it’s clear to me that the bar for securing buy-in has risen.
Management desires concrete proof of impression, typically backed by AI-powered insights, buyer understanding, and confirmed ROI.
To get a clearer image, I spoke with advertising and marketing leaders to assemble their high suggestions for receiving buy-in and to uncover which KPIs matter most to them in 2025.
Desk of Contents
What’s govt buy-in?
Govt buy-in is extra than simply getting a nod of approval from management — it’s about incomes their energetic help in your thought or marketing campaign. When leaders purchase into your plan, they develop into champions for it, assist safe mandatory assets, and take away organizational obstacles which may impede success.
As Kyle Denhoff, senior director of media at HubSpot, explains, “Securing management buy-in goes past presenting sturdy concepts; it’s about aligning these concepts with the broader objectives of the enterprise. At HubSpot Media, we middle our investments round two core enterprise goals: construct model consciousness and drive demand.”
Denhoff emphasizes the significance of effectivity and alignment right here: “When presenting to executives, the hot button is to tie your initiatives to metrics they care about whereas being environment friendly (lean group, low prices).”
By instantly connecting your initiatives to the KPIs that matter most to management, you make a compelling case that resonates with their priorities.
The right way to Get Purchase-In From High Advertising and marketing Leaders
For those who’re aiming to safe significant govt buy-in, listed below are some key steps I recommend you observe.
1. Lead with enterprise impression.
Don’t begin with techniques — begin with outcomes. Body your initiative by way of enterprise goals and the KPIs that matter most to executives, akin to Return on Advertising and marketing Funding (ROMI) or Buyer Lifetime Worth (CLV).
“It’s straightforward to get misplaced in vainness metrics like visitors or web page views, however executives care most about return-on-investment,” says Dhanvin Sriram, head of content material advertising and marketing at Neptune.AI, including that displaying tangible outcomes is vital to getting executives on board.
“For example, we use content material engagement metrics akin to time spent on web page, click-through charges, and bounce charges to evaluate the effectiveness of our content material.
If engagement is excessive, it’s typically an indication of sturdy content material that resonates with our target market. As soon as we demonstrated that elevated engagement was resulting in the next conversion fee, executives understood the connection and had been extra supportive of our content material initiatives.”
Take into account how your proposal will contribute to the corporate’s backside line. For instance, in case you’re suggesting a brand new social media marketing campaign, clarify the way it will generate certified leads that may convert into gross sales, thereby growing income.
Our information backs this up, too. In accordance with the Advertising and marketing Chief’s Subject Information, 20% of leaders prioritize growing income and gross sales, so tying your marketing campaign to monetary outcomes is crucial.
2. Again it up with information.
Numbers construct belief. I like to incorporate business benchmarks, competitor insights, and inner information to create a data-driven case for my initiative. I’ve discovered that is a lot extra highly effective than coming to management with a moonshot thought you need to attempt — it’s worthwhile to have the numbers to again it up.
For instance, let’s say you’re proposing a marketing campaign concentrating on dormant electronic mail subscribers. You should use historic conversion information to estimate the incremental income this viewers might generate. As a bonus, I like together with visuals like charts or case research to make the case simpler to digest.
Luca O’Neil, head of development advertising and marketing at Entry Partnership, shares a singular technique: displaying the info from a pilot take a look at. For instance, he piloted a LinkedIn advert marketing campaign concentrating on a distinct segment B2B phase.
“With a 35% enhance in certified leads and a lower-than-average CPL, the success supplied the arrogance wanted to scale the initiative globally,” he stated.
“Creating executive-friendly dashboards with related metrics helps maintain buy-in. I exploit platforms like HubSpot to supply concise overviews of pipeline impression, CLV, and engagement tendencies, making certain executives have on the spot entry to information that helps decision-making,” he added.
And, in fact, you possibly can’t overlook tying the info again to a bigger story. “Storytelling is simply as highly effective as information. I’ve shared buyer testimonials and case research throughout board conferences for instance how our advertising and marketing initiatives impression actual folks,” he stated. “This method makes advertising and marketing really feel extra tangible and aligned with the corporate’s mission.”
3. Current clear milestones.
Break your initiative into manageable phases with particular, measurable objectives for every stage. Outline what success seems to be like and set up common check-in factors.
I like to indicate how small, preliminary investments can result in fast wins and description how these successes will be scaled. This helps construct confidence within the bigger technique and helps construct a path to scaling additional.
Going again to the marketing campaign for dormant electronic mail subscribers, this might seem like:
Section
Motion
Aim
Fast Win
Section 1
Ship re-engagement emails
Obtain a 20% open fee
Reactivate 200 subscribers
Section 2
Provide unique incentive
Convert 10% into leads or gross sales
Generate quick income
Section 3
Nurture with focused content material
Enhance engagement by 15%
Safe conferences with certified leads
Section 4
Analyze outcomes and scale
Exhibit clear ROI
Current outcomes to executives
By aligning your milestones with KPIs that executives care about, you present a roadmap that illustrates how your initiative will contribute to the corporate’s goals.
What Targets Matter Most to Advertising and marketing Leaders in 2025 [+ KPIs to Track]
What do leaders need? That’s the query it is best to ask your self in case you’re trying to get govt buy-in. In accordance with HubSpot’s 2025 State of Advertising and marketing Tendencies Report and our Advertising and marketing Chief’s Subject Information, advertising and marketing leaders are primarily centered on three objectives:
Rising income and gross sales (20%).
Getting a greater understanding of your clients and their wants (16%).
Rising model consciousness and reaching new audiences (15%).
For every of those objectives, let’s discover why they matter, the important thing KPIs to trace, and tricks to safe govt buy-in.
1. Enhance income and gross sales.
In 2025, advertising and marketing leaders face mounting stress to show their division’s direct impression on the corporate’s backside line. Advertising and marketing is now not considered as a value middle — it’s anticipated to be a income driver.
For those who work backward out of your firm’s major objective of accelerating income, it is smart that reaching new audiences and changing them into certified leads could be high priorities.
As Jordan DiPietro, former HubSpot vice chairman of selling, says, “As a advertising and marketing chief, it’s essential to decide on a KPI that’s most aligned together with your firm’s overarching enterprise goals — it could possibly be a income metric, it could possibly be a attain metric, or within the case of HubSpot Media, it could possibly be each!
The essential factor is that your KPIs and the motion plans related to these KPIs are ones that may be instantly linked to the KPIs of the enterprise.”
DiPietro’s group focuses on two primary KPIs: total attain (visits, opens, listeners, and views) and leads (internet new contacts pushed by media content material).
He elaborates, “Our attain KPI is indicative of the truth that HubSpot desires to develop top-of-the-funnel consciousness for the enterprise. Our media group does this by growing the attain of our weblog content material, newsletters, podcast community, and YouTube community.
“Our income KPI is indicative of the truth that HubSpot is a SaaS enterprise — so we need to generate leads that may be shared with the gross sales group in an effort to flip these leads into certified leads after which into glad clients,” he provides.
What KPIs matter most?
Return on Advertising and marketing Funding (ROMI). This metric quantifies how a lot income is generated for each greenback spent on advertising and marketing. It’s a favourite amongst CMOs who need to converse the CFO’s language.
Income Development Charge. Monitor total development and segment-specific development (e.g., new clients vs. current clients).
Buyer Acquisition Price (CAC). This metric has develop into more and more essential as digital promoting prices rise. Sensible groups observe CAC tendencies throughout channels, segments, and campaigns, utilizing this information to constantly refine their acquisition technique.
Pipeline Velocity. This composite metric reveals how shortly your advertising and marketing efforts convert to income.
Securing Govt Purchase-In
To safe buy-in for a marketing campaign tied to this objective, it’s worthwhile to body it by way of monetary impression. Executives reply properly to ROI-focused proposals.
Converse their language. As an alternative of explaining advert spend by way of clicks, current it as a $1,000 funding that would generate $10,000 in income.
Leverage predictive analytics. For instance, present how a brand new marketing campaign concentrating on dormant electronic mail subscribers might generate $500K in incremental income primarily based on historic conversion charges.
By instantly connecting your KPIs to income outcomes, you make it simpler for executives to see the worth of your proposal.
2. Get a greater understanding of your clients and their wants.
With AI and superior analytics on the forefront, understanding buyer wants is each simpler and extra very important than ever. Prospects anticipate personalised, seamless experiences. With out deep insights, manufacturers danger falling behind.
Carey Thiels is a requirement era strategist and advertising and marketing marketing consultant. She helps tech startups plan and execute a advertising and marketing technique that can get them to exponential development.
“Product adoption will inform you how properly your clients are utilizing your product. And, in fact, renewal and/or churn fee will inform you if clients need to keep or transfer on to a different different,” she says.
All of those components are key to understanding your clients and their wants higher.
What KPIs matter most?
Buyer Lifetime Worth (CLV). Understanding CLV by phase helps advertising and marketing leaders make smarter acquisition and retention investments
Web Promoter Rating (NPS). An easy metric for gauging buyer satisfaction and loyalty.
Buyer Satisfaction Rating (CSAT). Measures how glad clients are together with your services or products.
Buyer Retention Charge. Greater retention alerts your efforts to grasp and meet buyer wants are working.
Securing Govt Purchase-In
Executives care deeply about buyer satisfaction, however they’re extra prone to be persuaded by numbers and tangible outcomes.
Current buyer tales. Use survey information, testimonials, or case research to show how assembly buyer wants has led to measurable success.
Hyperlink to market share. Spotlight how higher buyer insights can result in a aggressive benefit, whether or not it’s successful new audiences or decreasing churn.
Jason Marshall, CMO at Huntress, additionally emphasizes this method: “Monitoring KPIs may help advertising and marketing leaders construct a compelling case to get the help they want. By projecting the income a buyer generates over their lifetime with the enterprise, advertising and marketing leaders can discover methods to enhance buyer retention whereas avoiding attrition.”
3. Enhance model consciousness and attain new audiences.
In 2025, standing out is not any small feat. The digital panorama is extra crowded than ever, with manufacturers competing fiercely for a similar consideration.
Whereas income stays the highest precedence, there’s a powerful concentrate on deepening buyer understanding and increasing attain. This implies a balanced method between short-term gross sales objectives and long-term model constructing.
Model consciousness is the inspiration for future development. It ensures your organization stays related within the eyes of your viewers and top-of-mind after they’re able to make a buying resolution. Reaching new audiences is especially essential as market dynamics shift and current buyer bases evolve.
Denhoff shared with me how he thinks about this objective at HubSpot. “The HubSpot Weblog receives over 10M visits per 30 days, every an impression for our model. HubSpot Media is goaled on Leads first, Attain second. We’re centered on filling the lead pipeline for the gross sales group.”
He highlights how model consciousness efforts align instantly with income era, a vital connection for incomes govt buy-in. By rising HubSpot’s viewers by way of owned media like blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and YouTube channels, HubSpot Media reviews on complete viewers attain month-to-month, offering a tangible sign of elevated model visibility amongst key viewers segments.
For instance, Denhoff explains how a video on rising your LinkedIn firm web page may embody a call-to-action to obtain a premium information. By changing viewers into leads through gated content material, HubSpot Media not solely boosts attain but additionally drives significant pipeline development — in the end supporting the corporate’s broader income objectives.
What KPIs matter most?
Share of Voice (SOV). This metric helps advertising and marketing leaders perceive their model’s presence relative to rivals.
Engagement-to-Attain Ratio. Somewhat than simply monitoring followers or attain, sensible entrepreneurs measure significant engagement.
Securing Govt Purchase-In
Model-building initiatives typically face skepticism from leaders centered on short-term outcomes. The hot button is connecting model metrics to income outcomes.
Use sturdy examples. Exhibit how a 20% enhance in model consciousness on LinkedIn led to a ten% enhance in gross sales inside a key market phase.
Leverage benchmarks. Use business information to indicate how rivals are investing in brand-building and the dangers of falling behind.
Huang Xiong’s expertise backs this up.
“As for 2025 KPIs, the sport’s evolving. Positive, we’re nonetheless monitoring CAC, LTV, and ROAS — these are the spine — however now we’re trying deeper into engagement and neighborhood,” says Xiong, an electronic mail information advertising and marketing marketing consultant.
“Two KPIs I’m loving proper now are buyer engagement rating (how typically folks work together with our content material) and neighborhood development fee (development of our social presence and user-generated content material). These aren’t simply numbers; they present if we’re constructing actual connections with our viewers.
“Advertising and marketing is much less about one-off gross sales and extra about creating loyal clients who really care about your model. Backside line: Concentrate on the numbers that inform the total story, not simply the sale.”
Use KPIs to contribute to your organization’s success.
I’m all for modern concepts and moonshot plans, and I believe it’s an essential high quality of an excellent marketer. Nevertheless, I’ve discovered that in an effort to flip these concepts into actuality, you want crucial elements like KPIs to measure success and significant govt buy-in.
For those who can’t see a powerful connection between your KPIs and the enterprise’s KPIs, it is likely to be time to reassess your focus. Shifting your technique to raised impression the underside line is not going to solely improve your contributions but additionally assist obtain buy-in from management.
By beginning with enterprise impression, backing up your proposals with information, and presenting clear milestones aligned with the KPIs that matter most to executives, you’ll enhance your possibilities of securing the manager buy-in it’s worthwhile to succeed.
Editor’s notice: This submit was initially printed in October 2022 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.