Securing budget for marketing isn’t always easy — especially when competing against other business priorities. But when you approach it strategically, with a clear connection to business goals and outcomes, the conversation becomes a whole lot easier.
At Versed, we work with B2B organisations and we’ve seen the difference it makes when marketers speak the language of the boardroom. Here’s our top seven tips on how to get your next marketing budget approved – and backed with confidence.
Tip #1: Start with Strategy
Before you even begin building a budget, make sure you have a clear marketing strategy in place. Your executive team isn’t just looking at costs — they want to see the “why.”
A good marketing strategy:
- Aligns directly with business goals and priorities.
- Identifies key audiences and how you’ll reach them.
- Maps out how each activity delivers value.
If you’re proposing a campaign or retainer, ground it in this strategy. Instead of “We need a new campaign,” say: “To support our Q1 objective of increasing brand visibility in the agri-sector, we’re proposing a digital awareness campaign targeting decision-makers in XYZ.”
Tip #2: Show the Business Value (beyond just revenue)
Yes, revenue is important. But marketing delivers value in a number of ways – and not all of them show up immediately in the bottom line. Executives care about:
- Lead generation and pipeline development
- Brand equity and reputation
- Customer retention and loyalty
- Stakeholder engagement and sentiment
- Employee attraction and internal culture
Use language your exec team understands — talk about reducing risk, increasing visibility, improving trust, and creating efficiencies. These are outcomes that align with their goals, even if they don’t sit squarely in the sales funnel.
As Rachael Hedges, Managing Director of Versed, says:
“Marketing works best when it’s embedded across the business — it becomes a driver of not just sales, but reputation, recruitment, retention, and strategic growth. That’s the story you need to tell when presenting your budget.”
Tip #3: Use Data – Past and Present
Where you can, bring data to back up your request. That could include:
- Results from past campaigns (engagement, leads, conversions).
- Market benchmarks or trends.
- Stats that back your driver, ie visits to X page, hits on X type of posts, content with X seeing an increase in traffic from X.
- Audience behaviour insights (e.g. digital performance or customer preferences).
If you don’t have historical data, share your plan to track and report on key metrics so leadership can see the ROI.
Tip #4: Present Tiered Options
Execs appreciate flexibility. Present your marketing budget in tiers:
- Essential (baseline activity aligned to BAU goals)
- Growth (additional spend to unlock key opportunities)
- Stretch (investment to accelerate longer-term objectives)
This approach shows that you’re prioritising spend effectively, and gives them room to say “yes” even if not at the top tier.
Tip #5: Collaborate, Don’t Just Pitch
Where possible, bring key stakeholders into the process early, especially finance or commercial teams. Understand what matters most to them, and tailor your budget pitch to reflect that.
Be ready to answer:
- What happens if we don’t invest in marketing this year?
- How will we measure success?
- What other business functions will benefit from this investment?
And make sure you have your own questions prepared:
- What are the businesses’ key goals and drivers?
- Is there anything you specifically need to be aware of? Any curveballs?
- What would you like to see highlighted?
- What wouldn’t you like to see?
The Wrap-Up
To get your marketing budget approved, you need more than a list of costs, you need a clear strategic case that aligns with your business goals, delivers measurable value, and shows you’re thinking like a commercial partner.
When your executive team sees that marketing isn’t a cost centre but a value driver — that’s when they start to say yes.
Need help building your case?
We work with businesses across APAC to develop strategies and marketing plans that get buy-in, get traction, and get results.
Let’s chat — book a free discovery call via www.versedin.co
