iryo

If you talk to three CFOs, two will tell you without hesitation that marketing is an expense and the third, well, probably the same, just with nicer words. The marketing budget is often seen as something “necessary” to raise brand visibility, launch a couple of campaigns a year, and boost sales.

But that way of seeing it is falling by the wayside. Marketing is no longer a closed concept or a creative department that designs pretty ads or posts on social media. In highly competitive environments, marketing has fortunately changed for the better.

For several years now, and at an increasingly rapid pace, markets have become digital, hyper-competitive, and fast-paced… and here, marketing has gone from being “the friendly cost” to becoming the strategic lever that sustains brands, their sales, and drives business growth.

Marketing is present at every step of the customer journey. Every contact with a customer, from the first ad to the post-sale email, is an opportunity to sell… and to sell better.

We're not just talking about advertising. We're talking about market research, building strong brands that are resilient to all kinds of changing trends—not just consumer behavior, but also the effects of geopolitics — capturing leads, automating processes, personalizing experiences, and building loyalty.

Those of us dedicated to marketing have had to convince a CEO or CFO more than once that marketing isn't an expense.

• Increase awareness and you capture more demand. Here's the key.

• As awareness increasesW, it drives the rest of the brand funnel's KPIs: consideration, use, and loyalty.

• The brand's perceived value increases proportionally. If people recognize, trust, and care about your brand, they'll pay more. And I'm not talking about a pretty logo: strategic branding is what allows you to differentiate yourself when the market is saturated.

• It makes commercial investment more efficient. Maketing and Sles must work together to benefit from opportunities, the cost of acquisition (CAC) decreases, and conversions increase.

• The demand rises. A good strategy knows who to talk to, how, and where. The main goal is should be always to bring in qualified leads and keep the sales funnel alive.

• Builds loyalty. It's not enough to sell once. You have to retain, repeat, and win over customers. CRM, email marketing, loyalty programs... everything contributes to lifetime value (LTV) and improves profitability.

“Marketing is proving to be a strategic investment that drives growth, creates differentiation, and strengthens customer relationships”

For finance management to understand the value of marketing, they must measure what matters and use KPIs that speak the CFO's language:

• Awareness, consideration, usage, and loyalty. The KPIs of the brand funnel.

• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): how much is earned per euro in advertising.

• CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): investment to acquire a new customer.

• LTV (Lifetime Value): total revenue generated by a customer throughout the relationship.

• Conversion rate: from interested customer to buyer.

• Market share

With these clear numbers, marketing ceases to be a black box and becomes a measurable and optimizable engine.

Let's Look at a Recent Success Story: Iryo, More Than Just a High-Speed Train

The arrival of iryo, the first private high-speed train operator in Spain by number of frequencies, was a paradigm shift in the market. Competing against major players in the industry isn't exactly easy, but iryo didn't enter the market to position itself based on price, but rather to offer a different, higher-value travel experience to the customer.

• Quality and comfort: the seats with more space of the market, carefully curated cuisine, personalized service, and a clear focus on the traveler experience.

• Technology: 100% digital ticket sales though web and app

• Sustainability: Trains made with 94% recyclable materials and 100% clean energy from renewable energy sources

Iryo is a short name with international feel and easy to remember. Combined with a clean and modern visual design, relatable campaigns, and a well-crafted social media presence, the result is rapid recognition and a niche of loyal customers.

The case of iryo shows how marketing can be decisive even in sectors where the basic product, a train ticket, is a commodity.

Marketing is definitely a strategic investment that creates differentiation, and drives growth for companies. It also strengthens customer relationships and turns them into true long term relations.

If your Marketing plan is made with clear objectives and metrics, it not only helps sell, but it also transforms business models.

And I repeat, because this is the key: when a CEO or CFO stops seeing it as an expense and understands it as a generator of profitability... the company's mindset changes forever.