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!
According to Robyn Beckworth Judge, Head of Group Marketing at e4, a leading digital transformation partner, the potential reallocation of marketing budget is a move that may cost more than it saves in the long run.
Beckworth-Judge says that 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 This outdated perception misses a critical truth: in complex environments, marketing is the connective tissue holding the organisation – and the customer experience –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,” says Beckworth Judge. “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.
She says that this bird’s-eye view is powerful and pressure-filled. “To do this well, you can’t skim the surface,” Beckworth Judge adds. “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.”
Over her 13+ years at e4, she’s seen marketing evolve from a support function to a strategic pillar underpinning product launches, client experience, internal culture and even talent retention. Her team touches everything from onboarding and sales enablement to thought leadership and training. They’re not just running campaigns – they’re spotting friction points early, aligning messaging with strategy, and building continuity between what the company does and how it shows up.
“Because we’re at the intersection of it all, we tend to pick up on misalignments early,” Beckworth Judge explains. “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% [1].
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,” Beckworth Judge says. “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. Beckworth Judge’s team, for example, helps drive #e4Empowers initiatives like Girls in STEM, supporting access and inclusion in technology from the ground up. “Those are the moments,” she says, “where marketing helps shape the future – not just the message.”
About e4
e4 is a technology company specialising in digitalisation. By understanding the complexity of a digital journey, e4 partners with its clients to provide innovative solutions that suits their unique needs. Using an omni-channel platform approach, e4 offers a range of digitally-inspired services as well as solutions.
Working across financial services, data and the legal sector, e4 understands the intricate requirements in these sectors, and uses its expertise to assist clients in effectively managing their businesses through digitalisation [2].
Source:
[1] https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-05-13-gartner-cmo-survey-reveals-marketing-budgets-have-dropped-to-seven-point-seven-percent-of-overall-company-revenue-in-2024
[2] https://www.e4.co.za/
