The quiet tension between CMOs and CFOs

In most organizations, there is an unspoken tension that surfaces every budgeting cycle.

Marketing teams talk about reach, engagement, brand lift, and long-term impact. Finance teams talk about revenue, margin, and return. Both sides are rational. Both sides are right within their own systems. And yet, they often speak past each other.

The reason is simple: they are looking at different scoreboards.

Marketing optimizes against proxies that indicate potential influence. Finance validates performance against money that actually moved. As long as those scoreboards remain disconnected, marketing ROI will always feel debatable, explainable, and open to interpretation.

POS changes that dynamic.

Why marketing metrics feel endless — and inconclusive

Most marketing metrics are designed to answer how activity happened, not whether it truly worked.

Impressions tell you exposure.
Clicks suggest interest.
Viewability confirms opportunity.
Brand lift implies perception shift.
Modeled attribution estimates contribution.

Each of these metrics has value. But none of them settles the core commercial question decisively: did this activity result in a verified sale?

Because they are proxies, they invite debate. A click might be accidental. A view might not register. A brand lift study might be directionally positive but statistically soft. Attribution models might disagree with each other depending on assumptions.

As a result, marketing performance often becomes a discussion rather than a conclusion.

POS does not invite that discussion.

POS as the ultimate arbiter of truth

At the checkout, ambiguity disappears.

Either a shopper exchanged money for your product, or they did not. Either they chose your SKU, or they chose a competitor’s. Either volume moved in a region, or it stalled.

POS does not explain why something happened. But it confirms that it happened.

This is what gives POS its unique power in measurement. It is not another metric layered into the mix. It is the grounding reference against which all other signals can be validated.

When marketing claims impact, POS can confirm or challenge that claim. When attribution models suggest uplift, POS can reconcile or contradict them. When brand narratives sound compelling, POS can verify whether they translated into behavior.

This is why POS is not just a data source. It is an arbiter.

From “modeled incrementality” to observed outcomes

For years, the industry has relied heavily on modeled incrementality to bridge the gap between marketing activity and sales outcomes. These models are sophisticated, valuable, and necessary—especially in complex, multi-channel environments.

But models are only as credible as their alignment with observed reality.

When a model suggests a 20% uplift but POS shows 5%, the model does not win the argument. The observed outcome does. Over time, this forces a recalibration of trust. Models that consistently reconcile with POS become stronger. Models that do not lose credibility.

This is not a rejection of modeling. It is a maturation of it.

In a POS-anchored world, models still matter—but they orbit around verified transactions, not assumptions.

Why POS becomes the shared language of the organization

One of the most powerful effects of POS-led measurement is organizational alignment.

When marketing, sales, trade, and finance all look at the same underlying truth, internal friction decreases. Debates shift from “whose numbers are right” to “what do we do next.”

Marketing uses POS to validate ROI.
Sales uses POS to negotiate with retailers and prioritize coverage.
Trade teams use POS to design promotions that are additive, not destructive.
Finance uses POS to allocate budget with confidence.

The scoreboard becomes shared. The conversation becomes constructive.

This is how POS stops being “shopper data” and becomes enterprise intelligence.

Why CFOs care deeply about POS — even if they don’t say it

No CFO wakes up excited about viewable impressions. They wake up concerned about margin pressure, cash flow, and growth sustainability.

POS data speaks directly to those concerns.

It translates marketing activity into language finance understands: incremental units sold, incremental buyers gained, incremental revenue generated. It makes marketing outcomes verifiable, auditable, and defensible.

This is why, over time, POS-based measurement reshapes budget conversations. Marketing is no longer asking for trust based on soft indicators. It is presenting evidence grounded in transactions.

When that happens, marketing earns not just budget—but credibility.

Retailers, platforms, and the coming competition for POS intelligence

As POS becomes the currency of ROI, the balance of power in the ecosystem begins to shift.

Retailers and platforms will not compete solely on media reach or inventory. They will compete on the quality of POS intelligence they can provide. The retailer that can say “we give you near-realtime, SKU-level, new-to-brand outcomes” will command more strategic relevance than one that can only offer impressions.

This does not mean walled gardens disappear. Retailer ecosystems remain powerful and essential. But brands will increasingly value environments where POS insight is transparent, timely, and interoperable with their own data.

Cheap reach in a data-poor environment will lose to slightly more expensive reach tied directly to verified outcomes.

When POS turns marketing into a commercial function

The long-term implication of this shift is profound.

As POS becomes the primary ROI currency, marketing stops being judged on activity and starts being judged on contribution. Success is no longer defined by how much attention was bought, but by how much demand was converted.

This elevates marketing’s role inside the organization. It moves the function closer to revenue, closer to strategy, and closer to decision-making authority.

Marketing becomes not just a storyteller, but a commercial engine.

Why this sets the stage for identity and journeys

At this point in the narrative, POS has done something critical: it has anchored measurement in truth. But on its own, POS is still anonymous. It tells you what was bought, where, and when—but not who.

The next transformation happens when POS events are connected to first-party identity and shopper journeys. That is where anonymous tickets turn into relationships, and where measurement evolves into growth intelligence.

Conclusion

When marketing and finance operate on different scoreboards, ROI will always be debated. POS anchors both sides to the same truth—verified transactions—turning performance discussions into clear decisions. As organizations align around POS outcomes, marketing evolves from an influence function into a measurable commercial driver.

Want to align your ROI on one truth?

Grivy helps brands anchor marketing performance to verified POS outcomes. Contact us to see how POS intelligence can become your shared language for growth.

‍