As a function marketing influences more than half of the buyer journey, yet most boards still struggle to interpret its performance. Fewer than 35% of leadership teams surveyed by Gartner last year feel confident in how marketing communicates its impact. This disconnect is not driven by a lack of data. It stems from how that data is framed, and how easily leadership can connect metrics to revenue, efficiency and strategic momentum.
“The board isn’t looking for click‑through rates or engagement numbers. They care about business impact,” says Jessica Roubitchek, a Fractional CMO and Growth Strategist. She supports owner‑led businesses striving for consistent demand and long‑term stability, reframing metrics through a board‑level lens. By shifting the starting point from tactics to growth priorities such as revenue, profitability and customer retention, marketers can elevate their narrative. The way to do this is to tie every KPI to something the board considers mission critical. A rise in website traffic becomes meaningful only when linked to qualified leads, conversion trends or expanding market share.
Turning Raw Data Into Strategic Insight
Roubitchek encourages marketers to see themselves as translators. The board wants the story, not the spreadsheet. “Instead of reporting raw data, give it context,” she says. For example, when customer acquisition cost (CAC) drops, framing it as evidence of higher efficiency, improved targeting or stronger margins rather than a standalone figure allows the board to see the broader strategic gains. If CAC falls from 120 dollars to 85 dollars after refining targeting and simplifying an offer, the story becomes clearer. The board sees that each new customer now costs 35 dollars less to acquire, margin pressure eases and the business can scale acquisition with greater confidence.
This interpretive layer also helps decision‑makers evaluate risk, opportunity and momentum in real time. “Leaders want to know what is working, what must change and what can scale,” says Roubitchek. A campaign that shortens the pathway from awareness to intent reveals more than performance metrics. It offers clarity on how the organization is strengthening its demand engine and how future investments might accelerate it.
Using Visuals to Anchor the Narrative
Even the strongest insights can lose impact when buried inside complex reports, which is why she emphasizes simplicity and structure when bringing KPIs to the boardroom. “No one wants to walk through a spreadsheet,” she says. By providing clean visuals supported by concise explanations, marketers help the board engage with the material rather than sift through it. This is also where storytelling becomes essential. Showing a 90‑day journey from low awareness to high intent illustrates how strategic choices shape outcomes. It demonstrates not only what happened but why it matters, and raises confidence in the marketing function’s judgment and capabilities.
Communicating With Confidence and Clarity
Marketing KPIs hold value only when leaders understand their implications. When marketers connect performance metrics to business goals, contextualize insights and present findings with clarity, they do more than report. They lead. Her career reflects the credibility behind this approach. After founding and scaling multiple brick‑and‑mortar ventures, and later advising dozens of service‑based companies, Roubitchek has seen how strategic communication can transform relationships between marketing teams and decision‑makers. Boards respond to clarity, alignment and strategic thinking, and she urges marketers to cultivate all three.
“When we translate metrics into strategic insights and connect them to business outcomes, we do more than report. We lead.” It is the gateway to smarter decisions, stronger trust and sustainable growth.
Follow Jessica Roubitchek on LinkedIn for more insights.
