Simon Llyod – Chief Strategy Officer at Algorithm

With 20 years of experience in senior roles across multiple sectors, Simon is obsessed with driving digital performance, efficiency, and automation. He cuts through vanity metrics and fluff, delivering straight-talking, data-led insights that help brands turn potential into performance. As a Loeries judge and a seasoned strategist, he brings a sharp, no-nonsense approach to digital marketing—always focused on what truly moves the needle.

Stay tuned for his monthly content, where he’ll challenge industry norms, unpack complex strategies, and offer actionable solutions rooted in Extreme Partnership.

In an era where marketing is more data-driven than ever before, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are uniquely positioned to shape business strategy, drive revenue, and influence the broader C-suite. However, to gain the trust and support of CEOs, CFOs, and other key decision- makers, CMOs must demonstrate measurable impact and align marketing initiatives with overarching business objectives. Wherever possible marketing spend needs to be backed by data that explains its contribution to the revenue it generates or is attributed to.

As a digital marketing agency specialising in paid media, organic search, data and business intelligence, conversion rate optimisation (CRO), and user experience (UX), we work with eCommerce and lead generation brands that rely on marketing to fuel growth. In this article, we’ll explore how CMOs can leverage data-led strategies to build influence within the C-suite and beyond, ultimately positioning marketing as a key revenue driver rather than a cost centre.

Align Marketing Metrics with Business Objectives

One of the biggest challenges for CMOs is demonstrating how marketing contributes to bottom- line performance. Many C-suite executives prioritise revenue, profitability, and customer lifetime value over the softer “vanity marketing” metrics such as impressions, clicks, and engagement.

How to Bridge the Gap:

• Speak in Financial Terms: Instead of focusing on marketing KPIs alone, tie efforts directly to business outcomes like revenue growth, cost per acquisition (CPA), return on ad spend (ROAS), and customer acquisition cost (CAC).
• Implement Marketing Attribution Models: Use multi-touch attribution and data-driven models to show how different marketing channels contribute to conversions and sales.
• Leverage Business Intelligence (BI): Invest in BI tools that integrate marketing data with financial data, offering a holistic view of marketing’s impact.

How To Use Data to Drive Strategic Decision-Making

The most influential CMOs leverage data to make informed business decisions. With access to vast amounts of first-party and third-party data, CMOs can provide insights that go beyond marketing and inform product development, pricing strategies, and customer experience improvements.

Actionable Strategies:

• Leverage Predictive Analytics: Use AI-driven models to forecast demand, optimise pricing, and predict customer churn.
• Apply Cohort Analysis: Identify trends among different customer segments to refine messaging and targeting strategies.
• Use Data Visualisation Tools: Present insights in an accessible way for non-marketers in the C-suite using platforms like Google Data Studio, Tableau, or Power BI.
• Integrate Marketing & Business Data : the data that often sits in silos needs to be stitched to the data systems that record or record business value. For example in Lead Generation campaigns the challenge is to say what marketing campaign and cost was associated with with leads and the status of those leads all the way through to closed sales. For eCommerce, the marketing platform data needs to be “stitched” to the actual sales performance data with the added challenge of correlating digital spending with the impact on store footfall/store revenue.

How to Drive Alignment:

• Create a Unified Revenue Team: Foster collaboration between marketing and sales by aligning KPIs and incentives.
• Implement CRM and Automation Tools: Use platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce to ensure seamless lead handoffs and nurture workflows.
• Refine Lead Scoring Models: Ensure marketing delivers high-quality leads by implementing AI-driven lead scoring and intent-based targeting.

Maximise ROI on Paid Media & Organic Search

CMOs can strengthen their influence by demonstrating how strategic investments in paid and organic channels lead to measurable revenue growth.

For Paid Media:

• Adopt a Full-Funnel Strategy: Invest in awareness, consideration, and conversion campaigns, ensuring a balance between brand-building and performance marketing.
• Leverage AI and Automation: Use machine learning tools to optimise ad bidding, audience segmentation, and creative testing.
• Measure Incrementality: Use experiments to assess the real impact of paid campaigns beyond last-click attribution.

For Organic Search (SEO):

• Focus on High-Intent Keywords: Prioritise search terms that indicate strong purchase intent rather than vanity metrics.
• Optimise for User Experience (UX): Google’s algorithms now prioritise UX signals like Core Web Vitals, so CMOs must work closely with developers to ensure site speed, mobile responsiveness, and usability are optimised at all times.
• Create Data-Driven Content Strategies: Use search data and customer insights to develop content that aligns with user intent and drives conversions.

Prioritise Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) and UX for Growth

Many brands pour resources into driving traffic but neglect optimising the user experience for conversions. CMOs who champion CRO and UX improvements can drive significant revenue gains without increasing acquisition costs.

Key CRO and UX Strategies:

• Run A/B and Multivariate Tests: Continuously experiment with landing pages, checkout flows, and call-to-action (CTA) buttons to identify what resonates with users.
• Eliminate Friction Points: Use heatmaps and session recordings (MS Clarity, Hotjar, Crazy Egg) to analyse user behaviour and remove conversion barriers.
• Personalise the Customer Journey: Use first-party data to deliver personalised experiences, such as dynamic product recommendations and targeted messaging.

Educate and Evangelise Marketing’s Impact

CMOs must take an active role in educating the C-suite on marketing’s value. This requires clear communication, transparency, and the ability to translate marketing performance into business outcomes.

Ways to Build Influence:

• Host regular Strategy Meetings: Present quarterly marketing impact reports that tie efforts to business growth.
• Develop an Internal Marketing Dashboard: Create a real-time dashboard accessible to leadership, showing key metrics like marketing-attributed revenue and customer acquisition cost.
• Champion a Test-and-Learn Culture: Encourage data-driven experimentation across departments to drive continuous improvement.

In Conclusion: CMOs as Business Growth Leaders

The modern CMO must be more than just a marketing leader—they must be a business leader. By aligning marketing strategies with revenue objectives, leveraging data to drive decisions, and fostering collaboration across departments, CMOs can cement their influence within the C-suite and beyond.

For eCommerce and lead generation brands, success hinges on the ability to optimise paid media, organic search, CRO, and UX through a data-driven approach. By demonstrating clear ROI and advocating for marketing as a growth engine, CMOs can not only secure a seat at the table but also drive the strategic direction of the entire organisation.

At Algorithm, our strategic consultants help CMOs implement these strategies, ensuring marketing is not just seen as an expense but as a critical driver of long-term business success. Want to learn how we can help your marketing team maximise influence and revenue? Get in touch with one of our experienced consultants today.

Simon Llyod – Chief Strategy Officer At Algorithm