At some point in every B2B marketer’s career, they become more keenly aware of the role that they and their department play in the commercial engine – and what that means for how they behave. For Toby West, Global Head of Marketing, MarketAxess, that insight came in stages.
“There were three things that I think it took me time to understand early in my career: one, that a good business measures everything; two, that every department, person and activity is intricately connected to the top or bottom line; and three, that finance is the language of the business.”
Propolis research suggests that the most effective B2B marketing leaders understand that their credibility does not come from brand campaigns or pipeline dashboards alone. It comes from fluency in the economics of the company. Toby puts it bluntly:
“You’re either a revenue generator or a cost of doing business. In marketing, you very much want to be more the former than the latter.”
Achieving financial fluency rarely come in a single defining moment – rather it’s built over time. Usually, it’s built around the responses to seemingly simple questions: ‘Why do we need a website? Why are we investing in social media? Why this campaign and not that one?’
These types of question force marketing leaders to frame answers in the language of finance, considering impact on top-line revenue growth and customer lifetime value, rather than in purely marketing terms. Intelligence from Propolis shows that this shift toward commercial thinking is increasingly what defines the most effective marketing leaders.
Tying Metrics to Revenue
The metrics that guide day-to-day marketing decisions should go far beyond click-through rates or campaign impressions. Marketing leaders need to focus clearly on revenue growth targets and assumptions around Serviceable Addressable Markets (SAM), using these lenses to shape the GTM (Go-to-Market) strategy and decide where campaigns should be deployed for maximum impact.
Increasingly, marketing priorities are dictated not by benchmarks, but by a clear understanding of anticipated revenue streams: which client segments will deliver the most impact, which geographies need investment, and which product lines and pricing models will move the needle.
Toby puts it simply: “The more you understand where the money is expected to come from, the more effectively you can pivot your resources to where they will make the most impact.” Commercial fluency also helps to improve the marketing-finance dynamic, from negotiation to genuine collaboration.
“At MarketAxess, we’re very close partners with finance,” Toby says. “They help us to understand where to target, how to model impact and how to organize data into narratives that influence decision-making.”
Marketing, in turn, brings finance closer to the market: explaining buyer behaviour, the realities of go-to-market execution, and how clients engage with stories and products.
When these perspectives converge, decision-making sharpens. When marketing leaders speak confidently about margins, revenue mix and growth assumptions, boards respond with attention and trust. Credibility is built not just within marketing but across the enterprise, influencing how opportunities, risks and competitive strategies are evaluated.
Priorities, Trade-Offs and Agility in B2B Marketing
A deep understanding of the business’s financial mechanics doesn’t just make marketing safer but also sharper. Agility is about knowing when to double down on initiatives that drive value and when to pull back from those that don’t. Marketing ROI wears many faces, shifting by channel, purpose and audience.
The mark of a disciplined marketing leader is the constant awareness of what is working, what isn’t, and the courage to respond decisively. But in complex B2B environments, marketing ROI rarely follows a straight line. Influence accumulates through conversations, touchpoints and over time. Some outcomes are measurable while others are behavioral or intangible.
Toby identifies a common misstep: overstating marketing’s impact. Pressure can tempt even seasoned leaders to mask uncertainty with the illusion of precision, presenting marketing revenue attribution as a complete and closed equation. He is clear: executive credibility rests on honesty.
“The reality is that marketing impact is made up of tangibles and intangibles; not everything is linear and fully measurable. You have to make assumptions and attribute ROI to behaviour as well as outcomes. Being clear about this early ensures business alignment and trust.”
Authority comes from articulating clearly what is known, what is inferred and why the organization can act with confidence. Financial acumen gives marketing leaders the confidence to defend investments, pivot when necessary and discontinue underperforming initiatives.
Curiosity as the Multiplier
At the heart of commercial marketing excellence lies curiosity: the drive to understand how the business makes money, to question competitive strategy, to challenge growth assumptions and to assess impact with rigor and honesty. For the next generation of B2B leaders, the question is how deeply financial acumen can be embedded into decision-making.
“Financial acumen is no more or less critical than it has always been. Good marketers drive revenue achievement, and have the tools and language to show it,” Toby notes.
What has changed is the intensity of scrutiny. Capital is tighter, boards are sharper and expectations are higher than ever. Fluency in marketing alone is no longer enough. Marketing leaders must speak the language of business, bridging strategy, finance and market insight.
When financial acumen is embedded, marketing stops asking for budget and starts allocating capital strategically. It stops merely telling stories and starts driving measurable growth. This is when it earns true authority: when it is recognized as a strategic engine capable of steering the business toward sustainable, risk-adjusted returns.
Learn How to Build Financial Acumen and Influence Commercial Decisions
