A study of 110 CMOs reveals a direct correlation between growth and marketing spend. High-growth firms (over 6% YoY revenue growth) invest substantially more—about 35%—in their marketing budgets, challenging the common practice of cutting marketing during economic uncertainty.

To achieve significant growth (over 10%), contractors should allocate 10-12% of their target revenue goal to marketing, not a percentage of last year's actual revenue. This forward-looking investment is scary but necessary to fund the growth you want to achieve, rather than just sustaining current levels.

In a resource-constrained environment, growth is found by improving and connecting existing channels, not by launching new ones. Re-architect your current marketing activities—like paid ads and field events—to work together to create a unified customer journey, rather than chasing the next shiny object.

To challenge managers' insistence on expensive Yellow Pages ads, Jim Clayton installed a dedicated red phone with a number used only in that ad. When the phone never rang, it provided undeniable proof of zero ROI, allowing him to cut the spend based on data, not opinion.

Georgia Pacific built trust for marketing investments by bringing analytics and market mix modeling (MMM) in-house. This allowed them to not only highlight wins but also to act with credibility by quickly identifying and stopping underperforming tactics, demonstrating fiscal responsibility to leadership.

Instead of saying 'no' to partner requests for low-ROI activities like golf events, use data as an anchor. By presenting the past results (or lack thereof), the conversation shifts from a subjective refusal to an objective, collaborative effort to find more effective, pipeline-driving alternatives. This protects the relationship while enforcing financial discipline.

In turbulent economic times, leadership often cuts marketing first. However, marketing is the lifeblood of an organization, driving revenue and reputation. Data shows that increased marketing investment during downturns leads to greater returns and long-term growth.

Shift the mindset from a brand vs. performance dichotomy. All marketing should be measured for performance. For brand initiatives, use metrics like branded search volume per dollar spent to quantify impact and tie "fluffy" activities to tangible growth outcomes.

A core, often overlooked, part of a marketing leader's job is managing the team's composition like a sports GM. This involves making difficult decisions, such as letting go of a high-performing employee whose role is wrong for the company's current stage, in order to reallocate budget and headcount to functions that will drive immediate growth.