How to get buy-in from top marketing leaders and which KPIs really matter

Whether you’re designing a new content campaign, launching a YouTube series, or overhauling your social media strategy, leadership will inevitably ask, “How will this impact our company’s bottom line?”

Answering this question is not always easy. For this reason, I always make sure to identify my key performance indicators (KPIs) before seeking executive buy-in. KPIs not only help me measure success, but also provide the concrete evidence I need to gain leadership support and turn ideas into reality.

And you probably know how quickly the marketing landscape is changing – 56% of marketing Leader I believe it has changed more in the last three years than in the last fifty years. So it’s clear to me that the bar for securing buy-in has been raised.

Leadership wants concrete evidence of impact, often backed by AI-powered insights, customer understanding and proven ROI.

To get a clearer picture, I spoke to marketing leaders to collect their top tips for winning buy-ins and find out which KPIs matter most to them in 2025.

Table of contents

What is an Executive Buy-in?

Executive buy-in is about more than just getting a nod of approval from leadership – it’s about gaining their active support for your idea or campaign. When leaders agree to your plan, they become advocates for it, helping to secure necessary resources and removing organizational obstacles that could hinder success.

As Kyle DenhoffSenior Director of Media at HubSpot, explains: “Securing buy-in from leadership goes beyond presenting strong ideas; It’s about aligning these ideas with the company’s broader goals. At HubSpot Media, we focus our investments on two core business goals: building brand awareness and driving demand.”

Denhoff emphasizes the importance of efficiency and alignment here: “When presenting to executives, the key is to tie your initiatives to metrics that matter to them while being efficient (lean team, low costs).”

By linking your initiatives directly to the KPIs that matter most to leadership, you provide a compelling argument that aligns with their priorities.

How to get approval from top marketing leaders

If you want to secure meaningful executive buy-in, I recommend you follow the following key steps.

1. Lead with business impact.

Don’t start with tactics, start with results. Design your initiative around business goals and the KPIs that matter most to leaders, such as: B. Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) or Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

“It’s easy to get lost in superficial metrics like traffic or page views, but executives place the greatest value on return on investment,” he says Dhanvin SriramHead of Content Marketing at Neptune.AI, adds that showing tangible results is crucial to getting executives on board.

“For example, we use content engagement metrics such as time spent on page, click-through rates, and bounce rates to evaluate the effectiveness of our content.

When engagement is high, it’s often a sign of strong content that resonates with our audience. When we showed that higher engagement led to higher conversion rates, executives understood the connection and became more supportive of our content initiatives.”

Consider how your proposal will contribute to the company’s bottom line. For example, if you’re proposing a new social media campaign, explain how it will generate qualified leads that can be converted into sales, thereby increasing revenue.

Our data also proves this. According to the Guide for Marketing Managers20% of executives prioritize increasing revenue and sales. Therefore, it is crucial to tie your campaign to financial results.

2. Back it up with data.

Numbers create trust. I like to incorporate industry benchmarks, competitive insights, and internal data to build a data-driven case for my initiative. I’ve learned that this is so much more powerful than coming to leadership with a breakthrough idea that you want to try – yourself need to have the numbers to back it up.

As an example, let’s say you’re proposing a campaign that targets dormant email subscribers. You can use historical conversion data to estimate the additional sales this audience could generate. As a bonus, I like to add visual elements such as diagrams or case studies to make the case easier to understand.

Luca O’NeilHead of Growth Marketing at Access Partnership, shares a unique strategy: presenting data from a pilot test. For example, he ran a LinkedIn advertising campaign targeting a niche B2B segment.

“With a 35% increase in qualified leads and a below-average CPL, the success gave the confidence needed to expand the initiative globally,” he said.

“Creating leadership-friendly dashboards with relevant metrics helps maintain adoption. “I use platforms like HubSpot to provide concise overviews of pipeline impact, CLV and engagement trends, ensuring executives have immediate access to data to support decision-making,” he added.

And of course, don’t forget to connect the data to a larger story. “Storytelling is just as powerful as data. I shared customer testimonials and case studies at board meetings to illustrate how our marketing initiatives impact real people,” he said. “This approach makes marketing seem more tangible and more aligned with the company’s mission.”

3. Present clear milestones.

Divide your initiative into manageable phases with specific, measurable goals for each phase. Define what success looks like and establish regular check-in points.

I like to show how small initial investments can lead to quick successes and outline how these successes can be scaled. This helps build confidence in the broader strategy and paves a path for further scaling.

Back to the dormant email subscriber campaign: It could look like this:

phase	action	Goal	Quick win
Phase 1	Send re-engagement emails	Achieve a 20% open rate	Reactivate 200 subscribers
Phase 2	Offer exclusive incentives	Convert 10% into leads or sales	Earn instant income
Phase 3	Nurture with targeted content	Increase engagement by 15%	Secure meetings with qualified leads
Phase 4	Analyze and scale results	Demonstrate clear ROI	Present the results to managers

By aligning your milestones with KPIs that leaders care about, you provide a roadmap that illustrates how your initiative will contribute to the company’s goals.

What Goals Matter Most to Marketing Leaders in 2025 (+ KPIs to Track)

What do managers want? This is the question you should ask yourself if you want to get executive buy-in. According to HubSpot State of Marketing Trends 2025 Report and our Guide for Marketing ManagersMarketing managers primarily focus on three goals:

• Increase in sales and revenue (20%).
• Gain a better understanding of your customers and their needs (16%).
• Increasing brand awareness and reaching new target groups (15%).

For each of these goals, let’s explore why it’s important, what key KPIs to track, and how to secure executive buy-in.

1. Increase sales and revenue.

In 2025, marketing leaders will be under increasing pressure to demonstrate their department’s direct impact on the company’s bottom line. Marketing is no longer viewed as a cost center – it is expected to be a revenue driver.

When you work backwards from your company’s primary goal of increasing sales, it makes sense that reaching new audiences and converting them into qualified leads is a top priority.

As Jordan DiPietroformer marketing vice president of HubSpot, says: “As a marketing leader, it’s important to choose a KPI that best fits your company’s overarching business goals – it could be a sales metric, it could be a reach metric, or something like that.” In the case of HubSpot Media could be both!

What’s important is that your KPIs and the action plans associated with those KPIs can be directly linked to the company’s KPIs.”

DiPietro’s team focuses on two main KPIs: overall reach (visits, opens, listeners, and views) and leads (new contacts through media content).

He explains: “Our reach KPI shows that HubSpot wants to increase awareness of the company at the top. Our media team achieves this by increasing the reach of our blog content, newsletters, podcast network and YouTube network.

“Our revenue KPI is an indication that HubSpot is a SaaS company. “So we want to generate leads that can be shared with the sales team to convert those leads into qualified leads and then into happy customers,” he adds.

Which KPIs are most important?

• Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). This metric quantifies how much revenue is generated for every dollar spent on marketing. It’s a favorite among CMOs who want to speak the CFO’s language.
• Sales growth rate. Track overall growth and segment-specific growth (e.g. new customers versus existing customers)..
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). This metric is becoming increasingly important as the cost of digital advertising increases. Smart teams track CAC trends across channels, segments and campaigns and use this data to continually refine their acquisition strategy.
• Pipeline speed. This composite metric shows how quickly your marketing efforts are converting into sales.

Securing executive buy-in

To ensure buy-in for a campaign tied to this goal, you need to frame it in terms of financial impact. Leaders respond well to ROI-focused suggestions.

• Speak their language. Instead of explaining ad spend in terms of clicks, think of it as a $1,000 investment that could generate $10,000 in sales.
• Use predictive analytics. For example, show how a new campaign targeting dormant email subscribers could generate $500,000 in additional revenue based on historical conversion rates.

By linking your KPIs directly to sales results, you make it easier for executives to see the value of your offering.

2. Gain a better understanding of your customers and their needs.

With AI and advanced analytics at the forefront, understanding customer needs is easier and more important than ever. Customers expect personalized, seamless experiences. Without deep insights, brands risk falling behind.

Carey Thiels is a demand generation strategist and marketing consultant. She helps technology startups plan and implement a marketing strategy that helps them grow exponentially.

“Product adoption shows you how well your customers are using your product. And of course, renewal and/or churn rates will give you insight into whether customers want to stay or switch to another alternative,” she says.

All of these factors are key to better understanding your customers and their needs.

Which KPIs are most important?

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Understanding CLV by segment helps marketing leaders make smarter investments in acquisition and retention
• Net Promoter Score (NPS). A simple metric to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT). Measures how satisfied customers are with your product or service.
• Customer retention rate. Higher customer retention signals that your efforts to understand and meet customer needs are successful.

Securing executive buy-in

Managers place a high value on customer satisfaction, but are more likely to be convinced by numbers and tangible results.

• Showcase customer stories. Use survey data, testimonials, or case studies to show how meeting customer needs led to measurable success.
• Link to market share. Highlight how better customer insights can lead to a competitive advantage, whether it’s attracting new audiences or reducing churn.

Jason MarshallAlso, CMO at Huntress, emphasizes this approach: “Tracking KPIs can help marketing leaders develop compelling arguments to get the support they need.” By extrapolating the sales a customer will make over their lifetime Generated by the company, marketing leaders can develop strategies to improve customer retention while preventing churn.”

3. Increase brand awareness and reach new audiences.

In 2025, standing out from the crowd is no easy task. The digital landscape is more crowded than ever and brands are competing fiercely for the same attention.

While revenue remains the top priority, there is a strong focus on deepening customer understanding and expanding reach. This suggests a balanced approach between short-term sales goals and long-term brand building.

Brand awareness is the foundation for future growth. It ensures that your business remains relevant and top of mind in the eyes of your target audience when they are ready to make a purchasing decision. Reaching new audiences is particularly important as market dynamics change and existing customer bases evolve.

Denhoff shared with me how he thinks about this goal at HubSpot. “The HubSpot blog receives over 10 million visits per month, each one an impression of our brand. HubSpot Media targets leads first and reach second. We are focused on filling the lead pipeline for the sales team.”

He emphasizes how brand awareness efforts tie directly into revenue generation – a crucial link to winning buy-in from executives. By growing HubSpot’s audience through owned media such as blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and YouTube channels, HubSpot Media reports on overall audience reach on a monthly basis, providing a tangible signal of increased brand visibility among key audience segments.

For example, Denhoff explains how a video about growing your LinkedIn company page could include a call-to-action to download a premium guide. By converting viewers into leads through gated content, HubSpot Media not only increases reach but also drives meaningful pipeline growth – ultimately supporting the company’s broader revenue goals.

Which KPIs are most important?

• Share of Voice (SOV). This metric helps marketing managers understand their brand’s presence compared to competitors.
• Engagement to Reach Ratio. Instead of just tracking followers or reach, smart marketers measure meaningful engagement.

Securing executive buy-in

Brand building initiatives are often met with skepticism from executives focused on short-term results. The key is to link brand metrics to sales results.

• Use strong examples. Show how a 20% increase in brand awareness on LinkedIn led to a 10% increase in sales in a key market segment.
• Use benchmarks. Use industry data to show how competitors are investing in brand building and the risks of falling behind.

Huang Xiong Experience confirms this.

“When it comes to KPIs for 2025, the game is evolving. Of course, we still track CAC, LTV and ROAS – that’s the backbone – but now we’re digging deeper into engagement and community,” says Xiong, an email data marketing consultant.

“Two KPIs I like at the moment are customer engagement score (how often people interact with our content) and community growth rate (growth of our social presence and user-generated content). These aren’t just numbers; They show whether we are building real connections with our audience.

“Marketing is less about one-time sales and more about creating loyal customers who actually care about your brand. Bottom line: focus on the numbers that tell the whole story, not just sales.”

Use KPIs to contribute to the success of your company.

I’m all for innovative ideas and moonshot plans and think this is an important quality of a great marketer. However, I learned that implementing these ideas requires critical components such as KPIs to measure success and meaningful leadership involvement.

If you can’t see a strong connection between your KPIs and the company’s KPIs, it may be time to reevaluate your focus. Changing your strategy to have a better impact on the bottom line will not only increase your contributions but also help gain buy-in from leadership.

By starting with business impact, supporting your proposals with data, and presenting clear milestones aligned with the KPIs that matter most to executives, you increase your chances of getting buy-in from the executives you need for your business need success.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in October 2022 and has been updated for completeness.