To avoid constant battles over unproven ideas, proactively allocate 5-10% of the marketing budget to a line item officially called "Marketing Experiments." Frame it to the CFO as a necessary fund for exploring new channels before current ones tap out and for seizing unforeseen opportunities.

To get C-suite buy-in for long-term brand investment, marketers should run small, ring-fenced test campaigns. By isolating a market segment and layering brand tactics on top of demand generation, you can demonstrably prove superior growth compared to a control group, de-risking a larger investment.

A sophisticated paid acquisition strategy involves spending enough to acquire a customer at a cost equal to their first month's payment. Profitability is achieved in subsequent months and through referrals, enabling aggressive, uncapped scaling by focusing on lifetime value (LTV) over immediate ROI.

To ensure positive Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI), Autodesk's CMO uses a simple rule: a partnership must generate at least three dollars for every dollar spent. This financial discipline forces marketers to pursue only high-impact collaborations that act as a force multiplier for the brand.

Omer Shai argues LTV is an unreliable, long-term guess. He prefers TROI, which measures how quickly marketing spend is recouped using short-term cohorts (1-28 days). This metric enables faster, more confident decisions on scaling successful channels and managing cash flow.

Marketing's value, like brand fame, compounds over time and is probabilistic. Finance departments, however, wrongly apply simple, linear math (addition, subtraction) and demand immediate ROI, killing long-term initiatives that require time to pay off.

While LTV is important, it's often a lagging and inaccurate indicator. Focusing on the CAC-to-Payback Period ratio provides a more immediate, tangible metric. If the ratio is positive against a set goal (e.g., 12-36 months), it's a clear signal for marketing teams to aggressively increase spend and accelerate growth.

Contrary to its reputation, zero-based budgeting frees marketers from historical spending patterns. It forces a fundamental re-evaluation of tactics against objectives, often leading to smarter, more effective plans that may even require increased investment.

Position marketing as the engine for future quarters' growth, while sales focuses on closing current-quarter deals. This reframes marketing's long-term investments (like brand building) as essential for sustainable revenue, justifying budgets that don't show immediate, direct ROI to a CFO.