--- title: ROI metrics every CEO should demand from their marketing team description: Marketing is an investment rather than an expense. Here are some ROI metrics you should demand from your marketing team. image: https://blog.upperscore.be/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/ROI-metrics-every-CEO-should-demand-from-their-marketing-team-Feb-20-2025-10-37-37-7639-PM.jpg --- [![Logo Upperscore medium](https://blog.upperscore.be/hubfs/Logo%20Upperscore%20medium.png)](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com) - Solutions ## Solutions Get a good understanding of how exactly we help your business forward ### [HubSpot revenue sprint Turn your HubSpot from a digital graveyard into a Revenue Engine](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot-21day-sprint) ### [Discovery workshop Get tangible results and build lasting relationships with your target audience](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/discovery-workshop) ### [HubSpot onboarding We set up your portal, with clean data ,the integrations you need and templates to help you get started](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/onboarding) ### [HubSpot support Need extra hands, or someone to fix issues? We provide expert support on your HubSpot portal.](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/support) - [HubSpot](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot) ## [![HubSpot icon](https://blog.upperscore.be/hs-fs/hubfs/Hubspot%20product%20logos/HubSpot%20icon.png?width=20&height=20&name=HubSpot%20icon.png) HubSpot As HubSpot partners, we are specialized in onboarding teams, training users and fixing HubSpot portals](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot) ### [![ProductIcons_MarketingHub_Icon_Orange](https://blog.upperscore.be/hubfs/Hubspot%20product%20logos/ProductIcons_MarketingHub_Icon_Orange.svg) Marketing Hub All your marketing in 1 place, powered by a powerful CRM platform](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/marketing-hub) ### [![ProductIcons_SalesHub_Icon_Orange](https://blog.upperscore.be/hubfs/Hubspot%20product%20logos/ProductIcons_SalesHub_Icon_Orange.svg) Sales Hub Let your sales team save tons of time on manual tasks so they can spend more time selling](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/sales-hub) ### [![ProductIcons_ContentHub_Icon_Orange](https://blog.upperscore.be/hubfs/Hubspot%20product%20logos/ProductIcons_ContentHub_Icon_Orange.svg) Content Hub A state-of-the-art CMS, AI-powered, for maximum content impact](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/content-hub) ### [![HubSpot icon](https://blog.upperscore.be/hs-fs/hubfs/Hubspot%20product%20logos/HubSpot%20icon.png?width=20&height=20&name=HubSpot%20icon.png) HubSpot onboarding Our certified HubSpot team helps you onboard on the platform the right way](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/onboarding) ### [![HubSpot icon](https://blog.upperscore.be/hs-fs/hubfs/Hubspot%20product%20logos/HubSpot%20icon.png?width=20&height=20&name=HubSpot%20icon.png) HubSpot training Train new users on your HubSpot platform so they can work efficiently and confidently](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/solutions/hubspot-training) - [Resources](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/resources) ## [Our resources Blog articles, whitepapers, tools, calculators and guides all in 1 place](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/resources) ### [Insights We write articles regularly about HubSpot, inbound marketing, revenue operations and more](https://blog.upperscore.be) ### [HubSpot ROI Calculator Calculate your organization's ROI working with the HubSpot platform](https://get.upperscore.be/roi-calculator) ### [CRM powered marketing Get our free guide to CRM-powered marketing](https://get.upperscore.be/whitepaper/guide-to-crm-powered-marketing) ### [Lead generation guide Download our free guide to help you generate more qualified leads and build your pipeline](https://get.upperscore.be/whitepaper/b2b-lead-generation-guide) ### [HubSpot TCO Calculator Get a good understanding of your HubSpot TCO compared to other platforms](https://get.upperscore.be/tools/tco-calculator) - [Cases](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/cases) - About us ## About Our values, principles, team and way of working ### [About us All about our values, partners, and how we work](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/about) ### [Contact us Contact our team if you need any help with your HubSpot, marketing or sales](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/contact) [BOOK A CALL](https://get.upperscore.be/book-your-consultation) inbound marketing # ROI metrics every CEO should demand from their marketing team [Tom Staelens](https://blog.upperscore.be/author/tom-staelens) jan 10, 2025 --- For most companies, every Euro matters. It is certainly the case for all those small and medium-sized businesses that struggle with high labor costs. Marketing might feel like an unnecessary expense at times, but it can be a true growth engine. As a CEO, demanding clarity on the [return on investment (ROI) from your marketing](https://get.upperscore.be/roi-calculator) team can transform your company’s approach to growth and profitability. To get there, you need to focus on the right metrics: ones that directly tie marketing activities to revenue and long-term success. Below, we break down the essential marketing ROI metrics every CEO should demand from their marketing team. [**Calculate your marketing ROI**](https://get.upperscore.be/roi-calculator) ## Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Your CAC measures how much you’re spending to acquire a single customer. This metric is fundamental for assessing the efficiency of your marketing efforts. ### How to calculate CAC **Here’s the simple method for calculating CAC: ***CAC = MCC ÷ CA* **MCC: **Total marketing campaign costs related to the acquisition **CA: **Total customers acquired   **Here’s the complex method for calculating CAC: ***CAC = (MCC + W + S + PS + O) ÷ CA* **W: **Wages associated with marketing and sales **S: **The cost of all marketing and sales software **PS: **Any additional professional services (e.g., consultants) used in marketing/sales **O: **Overhead **CA: **Total customers acquired ### Why your CAC matters - Your CAC helps you determine if your marketing spend is sustainable. - It provides insights into whether campaigns are cost-effective. - It reveals whether you need to optimize your funnel to reduce wasted spend. To get a clear idea about your CAC, you need to ask your marketing team some questions:  - How does CAC vary by channel (e.g., LinkedIn Ads vs. organic SEO)? - Are there opportunities to lower CAC by shifting resources? It should be obvious that your CAC should be lower than your CLV (we’ll get to that below).   ## Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Lifetime Value measures the total revenue you can expect from a single customer during their entire relationship with your business. ### How to calculate CLV **LTV = Customer Value x Average Customer Lifespan** Customer value is the average amount of Euros they spend at your company. Average customer lifespan refers to how long they are a client at your company. This may look like a simple formula, but finding out the right numbers is trickier than it looks. The simpler your business is, the easier it will be to figure this out. ### Why your CLV matters -  It gives a clear view of how much revenue each customer generates. - It helps determine if your CAC is justified. (Hint: Your LTV should always be higher than your CAC.) - It enables better decisions around upselling, cross-selling, and retention strategies. When trying to figure out your Customer Lifetime Value, you need some input from your team, so ask them:  - How does LTV vary by customer segment? If they don’t know, make sure they put measures in place to find this out. - What efforts are in place to increase LTV through upsells or renewals? ## Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) to Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) Conversion Rate The MQL-to-SQL conversion rate tracks how effectively your marketing team is generating leads that your sales team can close. Ideally, you convert as many MQLs as possible into SQLs, but losing some MQLs along the way is inevitable. The thing is: you do need a certain amount, and that is different for every business. How do you calculate this?  MQL-to-SQL conversion rate = SQL/MQL × 100 The difficulty here is not in calculating this number, as this is a fairly easy formula. The hard part here is often in deciding what defines an MQL of an SQL for your business. As time goes by and your team learns, this will get easier and your conversion rate will be more accurate.   ### Why does this conversion rate matter - It reflects the quality of your leads. - It indicates how well your marketing and sales teams are aligned. - It highlights bottlenecks in your lead qualification process.   There are some things you need to ask your team to get a good idea about your MQL-to-SQL conversion rate: - Are we targeting the right audience? (A buyer persona workshop can do wonders here) - How are MQLs being scored, and is this scoring effective? - What steps are being taken to improve alignment between marketing and sales?   Sales and marketing alignment makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, we see too many companies not really giving a damn about this alignment, resulting in lost opportunities along the way and more importantly a lot of internal frustration. You should be using a [CRM platform](https://www.upperscore.be/10-key-benefits-of-using-a-crm-platform/) that keeps track of what leads are SQLs or MQLs. If you don’t use a [CRM](https://get.upperscore.be/crm-implementation/) right now, then stop reading right now and get started with a good CRM asap. [Hubspot](https://get.upperscore.be/hubspot/) might be a good choice because it allows you to get started cheaply with a platform that can grow along with your business.   An obvious first step is to make sure that there is a shared vision of the technology your organization should use. It’s also rarely really the case for organizations to have that shared vision. So first of all, you need to make sure that every department understands how collaboration contributes to your overall organizational goals. Open communication and transparency about priorities are key here. Once there is a shared vision, you can take further steps. ## Pipeline velocity Pipeline velocity measures how quickly leads move through your sales pipeline. This metric provides insights into how effective your marketing and sales teams are at driving prospects to close. ### How to calculate Pipeline Velocity Pipeline Velocity = (Qualified Opportunities x ACV x Win Rate) / (Sales Cycle Length / Days in Lookback Period).  ACV = Average Contract Value This equation reflects the dynamics of the sales process. ### Why Pipeline Velocity Matters - It helps you understand how fast your business is generating revenue. - It shows where marketing can help shorten the sales cycle. - It reflects the health of your overall funnel.   To figure out your pipeline velocity and how to speed it up, these are some questions to ask your team:  - Are there specific stages of the funnel where leads are stalling? - What campaigns are driving faster sales cycles? - Can we reduce the length of the sales cycle by targeting better-fit leads? ## Cost per lead (CPL) CPL measures how much it costs to generate a single lead. This metric is particularly useful for benchmarking campaign performance across your channels. This is a simple formula:  **CPL = marketing spend / Leads generated** You can also break this down by channel or campaign to zoom in on specific campaigns you ran in the past or to evaluate how channels compare to each other in terms of CPL. ### Why CPL matters - It helps you assess the efficiency of specific campaigns or channels. - It provides clarity on whether your targeting is cost-effective. - It enables smarter budget allocation.   To find out your CPL and how to improve it, here are some questions you need answers to: - Which channels have the lowest CPL? - Are there campaigns with high CPL but low conversion rates? - What’s being done to improve lead quality while managing costs? You may need to involve your CFO to get all the details related to costs.  As a business leader and certainly as a CEO, staying laser-focused on ROI metrics is non-negotiable. Metrics like CAC, LTV, MQL-to-SQL conversion rates, pipeline velocity, and CPL ensure that your marketing team stays accountable and aligned with your business goals. So as a business leader, empower your marketing team to track and optimize these metrics, and you’ll gain the clarity needed to drive sustainable growth. It is a shared responsibility to get these insights and make data-driven decisions. Remember, marketing isn’t just a cost center, it’s an investment in company growth. But like any investment, its success depends on careful measurement and strategic oversight. CALCULATOR #### Get a clear idea about your Hubspot ROI If you are using or considering Hubspot, check our calculator to get a clear view of the ROI for your organization. [CALCULATE MY ROI](https://get.upperscore.be/roi-calculator)   [inbound marketing](https://blog.upperscore.be/tag/inbound-marketing) ## Similar posts Marketing automation ### [10 marketing automation pitfalls you need to avoid](https://blog.upperscore.be/marketing-automation-pitfalls) Tom Staelens nov 30, 2021 inbound marketing ### [What is inbound marketing and why should you care?](https://blog.upperscore.be/what-is-inbound-marketing) Tom Staelens nov 30, 2019 inbound marketing ### [6 ways to optimize your digital marketing spend](https://blog.upperscore.be/6-ways-to-optimize-your-digital-marketing-spend) Tom Staelens apr 27, 2023 ### Get notified on new marketing insights Be the first to know about new B2B Marketing insights to build or refine your marketing activities with the tools and knowledge of today’s industry. [![Logo Upperscore wit](https://blog.upperscore.be/hubfs/Logo%20Upperscore%20wit.png)](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com) Upperscore Egemstraat 96 9420 ERPE-MERE BE0700.726.218 ![Hubspot provider-badge-color](https://blog.upperscore.be/hs-fs/hubfs/Hubspot%20provider-badge-color.png?width=240&height=206&name=Hubspot%20provider-badge-color.png)   ### HubSpot - [Marketing Hub](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/marketing-hub) - [Sales Hub](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/sales-hub) - [Content Hub](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/content-hub) - [HubSpot implementation](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/onboarding) - [HubSpot support](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot/support) - [HubSpot training](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/solutions/hubspot-training) ### Solutions - [HubSpot revenue sprint](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/hubspot-21day-sprint) - [CRM implementation](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/crm-implementation) - [Discovery workshop](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/discovery-workshop) - [Content marketing](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/solutions/content-marketing) ### Resources - [Insights](https://blog.upperscore.be) - [Cases](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/cases) - [Guide to CRM-powered marketing](https://get.upperscore.be/whitepaper/guide-to-crm-powered-marketing) - [ROI Calculator](https://get.upperscore.be/roi-calculator) - [TCO Calculator](https://get.upperscore.be/tools/tco-calculator) - [Website grader](https://get.upperscore.be/website-grader) ### Company - [About us](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/about) - [Contact us](https://upperscore-3480348.hs-sites.com/contact) © 2026 Company All rights reserved [Privacy Policy](https://3480348.hs-sites.com/privacy-policy) [Powered by Atlas - a B2B SaaS HubSpot theme](https://www.kalungi.com/atlas-hubspot-theme-for-b2b-saas-software) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Tom Staelens", "url" : "https://blog.upperscore.be/author/tom-staelens" }, "dateModified" : "2025-03-06T14:06:39.025Z", "datePublished" : "2025-01-10T08:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "ROI metrics every CEO should demand from their marketing team", "image" : [ "https://blog.upperscore.be/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/ROI-metrics-every-CEO-should-demand-from-their-marketing-team-Feb-20-2025-10-37-37-7639-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.upperscore.be/roi-metrics-every-ceo-should-demand-from-their-marketing-team", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.upperscore.be/hubfs/Logo%20Upperscore%20medium.png" }, "name" : "Upperscore" } } ```