[Column] Robyn Beckworth Judge: The hidden cost of shrinking your marketing investment

In tough economic times, marketing is often the first budget to get scaled back. But in complex industries, it’s often the glue holding everything together, including the customer experience!

The potential reallocation of marketing budget is a move that may cost more than it saves in the long run. When the economy slows and businesses start trimming so-called "non-essentials,” marketing frequently tops that list: Seen as a ‘nice to have’ during strong markets, marketing is often not seen as a necessity in tough ones. This outdated perception misses a critical truth: in complex environments, marketing is the connective tissue holding the organisation – and the customer experience – together.

Marketing is the unifying force that links the organisation internally and shapes the customer experience externally. It’s one of the few functions that sits across every department – from product to sales to HR – and is still expected to make strategic sense of it all, for the market.

In most functions, roles are clear-cut: Compliance handles compliance. Product builds product. But marketing must understand what’s being built, who it serves, what problem it solves, and how it fits into the broader strategy - and all before it goes to market. It’s not just a loudspeaker; it’s a translator, a mirror, and a strategic lens.

This bird’s-eye view is powerful and pressure-filled. To do this well, you can’t skim the surface. You have to go deep into the business, understand its culture, its clients, its strategy – and then translate that into a coherent narrative that aligns internally and lands externally. And that’s not easy.

Because we’re at the intersection of it all, we tend to pick up on misalignments early. That could be mixed messages in the market, lack of clarity for clients, or internal culture shifts that need a story to unify teams. Those gaps matter – and that’s where marketing can drive real business value.

The numbers support this. High-performing companies are increasingly treating marketing as a revenue contributor, not just a cost centre. But the paradox is hard to ignore: Gartner’s CMO Spend Survey shows that marketing budgets dropped to just 6.4% of total company revenue in 2023, before recovering slightly to 7.7% in 2024 - still far below the pre-pandemic average of 11%.

It’s a risky play. Because while marketing is often treated as the most "flexible" spend, it’s also the function that helps reduce friction, improve adoption, drive alignment, and build relevance – all critical capabilities in a constrained economy. Marketing doesn’t need to be the loudest department. But it does need to be the most fluent and consistent – fluent in the business, in the market, and consistent in the story we’re telling.

That fluency can’t be automated. It’s built over time, through consistency, context, and deep organisational understanding. It’s why tenure, trust, and strategic alignment matter more than ever – especially when the stakes are high.

The most forward-thinking organisations are realising this. They’re no longer treating marketing as a bolt-on. They’re seeing it for what it truly is: a strategic lens. One that shapes how clients experience the business, how teams stay aligned, and how the organisation is understood – inside and out.

And often, the rewards go far beyond commercial success.

Robyn Beckworth Judge is the Head of Group Marketing at e4

www.e4.co.za

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn