How To Assess The ROI Of Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Deepak Bansal, Director of Digital Marketing, Atihsi LLC and CEO & Founder, Clearpath Technology Pvt Ltd.

In today’s data-driven world, digital marketing is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s essential for business growth. But despite the wealth of data available, one of the biggest challenges I see among clients is proving the return on investment (ROI) from their digital efforts. Whether it’s a fast-growing startup or an established enterprise, I’ve seen many brands struggle to answer a simple question: Are our marketing dollars actually working?

Over the years, I’ve helped hundreds of businesses navigate this exact challenge. From large corporations to local businesses, I’ve found that the key to answering that ROI question lies in setting the right goals, tracking smartly, and continuously optimizing based on data—not assumptions. Here’s how I guide my clients through it.

Start with goals that are grounded in reality.

Before diving into metrics and dashboards, I always ask clients, “What does success actually look like to you?” Are you looking for more leads, higher lifetime value, improved brand visibility or shorter sales cycles? Many brands skip this conversation and jump straight into campaign execution, which leads to fuzzy key performance indicators (KPIs) and even fuzzier outcomes.

For example, I once worked with an e-commerce brand whose initial goal was to “increase website traffic.” But traffic alone doesn’t guarantee sales. After a deeper conversation, we reframed their goal to increase conversion rates by 20% in three months—a KPI that was more measurable and more aligned with their business priorities.

My tip: Use SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound—and tie them directly to your sales funnel. Be careful not to set vague or vanity KPIs (like “go viral”) that are hard to tie back to revenue.

Understand and apply the right attribution model.

Attribution is another area where I see confusion—especially when different channels and platforms start producing overlapping results. The temptation is to give credit to the last click or the platform that shows the highest numbers. But that rarely reflects the full customer journey.

Take this example: One of my Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) clients saw conversions spike after running LinkedIn ads. But it turned out that most of their prospects first discovered them via Google search. If we’d only looked at last-click attribution, we would’ve wrongly credited LinkedIn for the full sale.

That’s why I often recommend starting with a multi-touch attribution model. It distributes credit across multiple touchpoints, helping clients understand how their paid search, email campaigns, organic content and retargeting efforts all work together. For more advanced teams, data-driven attribution powered by AI can surface deeper insights, though that often requires a higher level of tech readiness and data maturity.

If you’re unsure which model to choose, ask: Where in the journey do I need more visibility? Then choose an attribution method that reflects that.

Leverage the right tools, but prepare your team first.

Technology is a game changer—but only if your team knows how to use it. I’ve seen businesses invest in powerful customer relationship management (CRM) tools, automation platforms or analytics dashboards only to underuse them because they skipped training or failed to integrate them properly.

A healthcare client of mine once purchased an expensive marketing automation tool but didn’t realize it required syncing with their electronic health record system to be effective. The tool sat idle for months.

So, before investing, map out how a new tool will plug into your current tech stack. Will your CRM talk to your email marketing platform? Can your analytics system track attribution across both web and offline channels? And, most importantly, will your team actually use it?

I always encourage clients to roll out tools gradually and build internal champions who can train others and encourage adoption.

Don’t just measure ROI. Interpret it holistically.

The formula for ROI is straightforward: First, subtract the marketing costs from the revenue to find the net profit of your efforts. Then, divide that number by the original marketing cost, and multiply that total by 100 to convert it to a percent.

But remember that this number only tells part of the story. One client had a campaign with “only” 120% ROI—but it introduced their brand to new regions and sparked a partnership that would later yield six-figure deals. On the other hand, another campaign boasted 500% ROI in the short term but churned customers quickly due to overpromising messaging.

That’s why I encourage clients to also track softer metrics: brand sentiment, repeat customer rate, organic mentions and time to conversion.

Make optimization a habit, not a phase.

One thing I’ve learned: There is no perfect campaign—only a better one.

I routinely run A/B tests across every client campaign, including on subject lines, calls to action, landing pages and even the day of the week ads run. For a B2B SaaS client, simply changing their call to action from “book a demo” to “get a personalized walkthrough” increased demo requests by more than a third. The point is: Small tweaks can yield big results.

But testing alone isn’t enough. You need a system for reviewing results, iterating based on data and sharing those learnings across teams. Make optimization a weekly rhythm, not a quarterly scramble.

Align marketing with sales to maximize ROI.

Finally, none of this works if your marketing and sales teams are misaligned. I’ve seen too many promising leads fall through the cracks because there was no follow-up system or because sales didn’t understand the marketing messaging.

One tactic that works well is implementing lead scoring in your CRM so high-intent leads are fast-tracked. I also advise creating shared dashboards between sales and marketing to track not just leads but also actual revenue outcomes. At one logistics company I worked with, simply sharing sales feedback with the content team helped improve ad messaging dramatically.

Final Thoughts

Measuring the ROI of digital marketing isn’t just about crunching numbers; it’s about uncovering what’s truly driving growth. By grounding your strategy in clear goals, using the right attribution models, investing in the right tools (and training), and fostering collaboration between marketing and sales, you can make smarter decisions that move the needle.

These aren’t just theories—they’re hard-earned lessons I’ve learned from being in the trenches with clients. If you want to get more out of your digital marketing spend, start by making measurement a mindset, not an afterthought.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?