Stop Asking Marketing for ROI (Until You Define Success)

In this episode of Tech Qualified, host Baylee Gunnell sits down with Justin Brown, Co-Founder at Marketers in Demand. They explore what marketing ROI means when your team must both “keep the lights on” and drive growth.Justin draws a hard line between table-stakes marketing and growth marketing. Your website, basic content, and consistent presence work like HR or accounting: you need them to run a business, and not every dollar ties to a clean return. Problems start when leaders demand perfect attribution for everything, or when marketers accept vague goals like “more” without a definition.For growth work, Justin pushes for a model built on history: cost per lead, cost per opportunity, and pipeline targets. He shows how board numbers can set teams up to fail, even when performance rises. If you lack data, he recommends setting a baseline, using benchmarks, and getting leadership to sign off on metrics.This episode is produced by New North.  New North is a strategic B2B marketing agency specializing in working with tech companies. Going beyond conventional tactics, we craft a personalized marketing strategy, conduct research, lay a solid foundation, execute dynamic campaigns, and continuously refine our approach through analysis. With New North, your small, scrappy marketing team transforms into a powerful growth engine, achieving your goals with less pressure and more precision.