Growth · Short

How to read a P&L like a CMO

Five minutes on the only three lines on a P&L a marketing executive actually needs to read.

By Abdullah Al Alamin12 April 20241:24
On reading a P&L as a marketing executive.

The three lines

The CMO's job is to read the three lines on a P&L that connect marketing to revenue: gross margin, contribution margin, and customer acquisition cost. The rest of the P&L is finance's job.

Why this matters

Marketing decisions are made on those three lines. The CMO who reads the rest of the P&L is reading finance's job; the CMO who reads only those three lines is reading the job.

  • Fractional CMO — Senior marketing leadership in the chair, without the full-time hire.
  • 90-Day Growth Sprint — A scoped, measurable brand transformation in one quarter.

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