Building the Bridge Between Marketing and Finance

The way marketing and finance departments work together can help or hurt a company. While each department has different objectives and workflows, they also share goals — and together, marketing and finance teams can work to create growth between departments and across the company.

Below, explore ways to bridge the gap between marketing and finance to increase success.

1. Find Common Goals

By taking time to list common goals, companies can ensure their finance and marketing departments work together effectively. Both departments are likely interested in:

Growth.
Increased revenue.
Brand recognition.
New customers.

Every business benefits when all the components work together for a common purpose. Understanding shared goals gives everyone common ground. As a result, collaboration is easier, as teams from each department can work toward the same goals.

2. Offer Team Building

Team building events and activities help people understand one another better. When department heads understand communication styles, they can get their points across more efficiently.

Finding opportunities to connect requires forethought. Here are some interesting team building ideas:

Solve a puzzle together.
Pass out cards with facts about co-workers and have them match their cards to another person.
Form teams with employees from each department and host a scavenger hunt.
Have a meeting with a short show and tell session.
Host optional trivia nights for fun.
Invest in a team building activity such as taking everyone to an escape room.

The type of icebreaker and team building activities matter less than offering opportunities for departments to come together and get to know each other. This step is especially important if departments have never interacted before — taking the time to introduce team members to each other is crucial for the collaboration’s success.

3. Understand Business Liquidity

Training makes a difference in everyone’s outlook and can prevent misunderstandings about budget and spending. The financial health of the business is impacted when the company meets daily operational costs. Both marketing and finance must understand:

How long it takes to convert assets into cash.
The importance of flexibility during sudden disasters or downturns.
The risk involved with spending high dollars on marketing that might not pay off.
The long game of gaining market share.
Plans for the worst case scenario.

When teams work together to better understand ways to make assets liquid and cover expenses, a company thrives. Even during difficult times or lower revenue months, the entire staff will understand how to keep things ticking.

4. Consider Return on Investment

Statista estimates digital global ad spending will hit nearly $680 billion in 2023. With significant amounts of money being put toward marketing efforts, finance teams should be involved in the process to ensure budgets are being allocated wisely.

The finance team likely wants to know each marketing campaign's return on investment (ROI). The marketing department knows these campaigns are sometimes about reaching new audiences and the payoff comes later or is immeasurable. Finding a medium between cold, hard numbers and brand building requires understanding mutual goals.

Encourage marketing to focus on potential return and share charts.
Ask finance to understand not everything has a monetary payoff.
Allow departments to brainstorm ways to improve campaigns for better ROI and predictable returns.

5. Use Technology

Since the pandemic, companies have embraced new technologies that make their work more efficient. Find ways to use technology in both departments to enhance what each does.

Find digital communication tools to communicate between departments.
Utilize social media analytics to track the effectiveness of different campaign types.
Track inventory to prevent loss.
Embrace innovations, such as software that makes customers’ lives easier.

Although marketing may be more hands-on with tapping into technology to reach buyers, finance can appreciate the necessity to follow trends.

6. Brainstorm Cost Effective Alternatives

The finance department’s role is to help ensure the company’s financial health. In cases where marketing teams might need to invest in software, advertising options or other components, the departments can work together to find cost-effective solutions. For example:

Scale to a smaller subscription on a promotional website.
Test ads more thoroughly to be sure they create a beneficial ROI ratio.
Look for creative ways to accomplish more with less.
Use artificial intelligence to complete repetitive tasks and free up work hours.

When everyone works together, the company will find ways to get the word out about products and services without spending as much money — a win for everyone involved.

7. Share Dashboards and Tools

A simple fix for miscommunication between teams is a better understanding of where each is at in different workflows. Sharing dashboards and tools allows each side to check results. Some ideas for types of software and tools to share include:

Analytic reports showing profit.
Digital whiteboards for checking in on brainstorming sessions and adding thoughts.
Communication tools to check in on project management.
Long-term graphs and charts showing the result of various campaign types.

When everyone has access to the same information, it builds in trust through transparency. Finance can see where money goes and what the return is. Marketing can see how much is left in the budget for specific projects.

8. Keep in Contact

It’s crucial to keep in contact throughout various projects and as budget and promotional needs change.

Host a weekly or monthly meeting where employees from both sections report on successes and goals.
Department heads should check in with one another to make sure things are going well and answer any unresolved questions.
Marketing and finance should present results to upper management as a team, showing a united force.
Team members should support the other by asking what they can do to make the other’s job easier.

Even though finance and marketing are woven together in most companies, the two have vastly different roles. Bridging these departments requires patience and attention to building understanding.

9. Celebrate Success Together

Build relationships between marketing and finance departments by celebrating big and small successes as a unified team. Here are some ideas:

Throw a monthly gathering with free lunch and shout outs for achieving goals.
Host an annual company retreat where departments can mingle.
Pass out gift cards for extra attention to detail and hard work.
Let employees give one another accolades from across departments.

When both marketing and finance teams feel recognized for their contributions, they’ll be more likely to continue giving their maximum efforts and working to perfect their collaborations.

Achieve Success by Bringing Marketing and Finance Teams Together

Ensuring marketing and finance departments can successfully work together only serves to benefit the overarching company. Through careful collaboration, both departments can work to achieve branding and advertising goals that make financial sense for the business. Using the above strategies, companies can encourage these teams to better understand each other and open up communication to achieve success.