In Determining A Marketing Budget Part 1: Budget Trends, we discussed industry standards as a benchmark for your aerospace and marketing budget. In Part 2: Building Your Budget, we gave insight on aerospace and defense budgets and what to ask when building your own budget. In Part 3, we will discuss the return on investment or ROI and why it is vital for the budget.

Why Is ROI Important?

According to The CMO Survey, marketing executives are taking greater roles in a wide array of growth activities. Only about one-third of marketers surveyed feel their roles are well-defined as they take on increased responsibility of company success – we truly wear all the different hats.

Because of this, there often seems to be a missing link between business objectives/budgets and marketing strategy and growth. Almost 40% of B2B company marketers report driving growth is their biggest overall challenge, while more than 63% of all marketing departments surveyed rank demonstrating marketing’s ROI on financial outcomes as the largest communication challenge.

The disconnect is only magnified when you discover that only 32% of B2B CEOs have marketing experience.

What does this have to do with building a budget? Everything. 

How to Impress the Boss (And Get the Budget You Need)

There is a strong correlation between a corporation’s perception of marketing, marketing measurement practices in place, and the approved marketing budget.

If the CEO doesn’t have experience in marketing - and tbh it’s highly unlikely when working in the aerospace and defense industry - it’s highly unlikely they understand why you need a bigger budget for marketing.

In addition, the Blackfriars Marketing Index™ indicated when companies do not measure marketing performance, 23% of executives were dissatisfied with performance, but when marketing performance was measured, that number reduced to only 9%.

It pays to show your work. For aerospace and defense industry marketers, this means if you want to protect and grow your budget, you need to measure the effectiveness of your work and clearly demonstrate the marketing budget’s ROI.

Before we begin any marketing project at Aerospace Marketing Lab, we develop a clear road map identifying specific marketing communication objectives and the measurable requirements to achieve each. Scalable programs, clear measurements, and realistic expectations are essential. To advocate for adequate resources to support the goals and objectives, you need to show proof of the goals reached and measurements achieved.

Side Note: For more info on the do’s and don'ts of asking for funding, check out this resource.

And That’s It!

Aerospace and defense marketing demands a successful strategy that reflects evolving trends, transitioning tech, and customer expectations. Knowing these trends, some guidelines to building the budget, and the importance of ROI, can help you nail down a budget that works for your marketing strategy so you can accomplish the marketing objectives, and by extension, the business goals.

About Aerospace Marketing Lab

Aerospace Marketing Lab brings more than 20 years of complex aerospace marketing, sales, branding, and strategy development experience and insight to every customer. We understand aerospace’s complex marketing and sales models. We use this insider knowledge to break boundaries and raise aerospace and defense clients to the next level.

This blog reflects research that was conducted prior to COVID-19. Actually projections may vary as our industry adjusts to the changes in the market.