4 ways to strengthen the CMO-CFO relationship

[shaownhasan]

The role of chief marketing officer (CMO) is changing dramatically. When I think about marketing leaders in my networks and our customers—whether it’s B2C or B2B—our roles encompass so much more than bringing awareness to our brand and positioning.

A CMO’s charge is to show up as a clear mirror for the organization in terms of where we are succeeding, where we are failing and what our customers want. We are the lens into how we can better position ourselves, our company and our product for future growth—a viewpoint that depends on social media.

In the current climate, whether you’re a CMO with a background in strategy or band data demand generation, you will be called upon to communicate the value of social media to your CFO.

But regardless of your background or experience, there are steps you can take to communicate the value of your social strategy to your CFO and other financial peers to help protect critical marketing dollars, even in a down economy.

Before you can successfully advocate for the value of social to your CFO, you need a solid working relationship. Here are four ways to build a collaborative, trusting partnership.

The first step is to understand how your marketing plan, strategies and teams ultimately support the business plan. CFOs are highly attuned to the overall business metrics, so you need to understand their quantitative definition of success in terms of the business plan, revenue and margins.