Lenovo CMO: Demonstrate marketing’s role in protecting price to make talks with the CFO ‘easier’
Lenovo’s marketing VP Emily Ketchen highlights three ways marketers can better communicate with finance.
Price inelasticity is the “most important” thing to CFOs, so being able to demonstrate marketing’s role in keeping the value of products constant to avoid discounting is crucial, according to tech brand Lenovo’s Emily Ketchen.
“It’s incredibly important to be able to demonstrate your value in the context of what perhaps is most important of all to a CFO, which is price inelasticity,” she said. “If you can charge the same price for your products, and you can keep the value equation there, you’re going to have easier conversations with your CFO than not.”
Reducing the need for discounts and promotions is “great for the organisation, it’s great for your products, and it’s great for your CFO,” added Ketchen, who is CMO and vice president for Lenovo’s Intelligent Devices Group (IDG) and international sales organisation (ISO).
Talking this morning (18 June) at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Ketchen shared that becoming a board member for a non-profit has opened her eyes to the challenges and priorities that are most important to those around the table.
