Marketing ROI: Watch What Works

Marketing without tracking is like throwing darts in the dark—you might hit something, but you’ll never know how or why. In today’s fragmented landscape of digital ads, printed campaigns, and word-of-mouth referrals, it’s not enough to ask if your marketing is working. You need to know which parts are working—and what’s just draining your budget.

That’s where ROI becomes your most valuable metric. By tracking Return on Investment across every format—digital, print, and referral—you can focus your resources where they actually drive revenue.

Let’s break down how to track what works across all three.

1. Digital Marketing: Your Data Goldmine

Digital marketing is the easiest channel to track—and that’s exactly why you shouldn’t waste the opportunity to go deep with your analytics.

What to track:

• Click-through rates (CTR)
• Conversion rates (sales, signups, form fills)
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Revenue per campaign/channel
• Lifetime value (LTV) per traffic source

Tools to use:

• Google Analytics
• Meta Ads Manager / Google Ads
• CRM platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce
• UTM parameters (use Campaign URL Builder to create unique links)
• Pixel tracking (Facebook, Google, LinkedIn)

Pro tip: Tag every campaign link. If you’re sending emails, running ads, or posting content, make sure every click is traceable back to its source.

2. Print Marketing: Old School, Still Powerful (If You Track It Right)

Print is tactile and trusted—but paper doesn’t come with a dashboard. You need to build tracking into your print by making every interaction measurable.

How to track print ROI:

• Unique URLs or QR Codes: Create custom landing pages (e.g., yourbrand.com/springoffer) and track visits and conversions.
• Exclusive Discount Codes: Assign a different promo code to each print piece so you know which campaign brought in the sale.
• Trackable Phone Numbers: Use call-tracking services to assign unique numbers to flyers, postcards, or magazine ads.
• Ask at Checkout: Include “How did you hear about us?” in forms, POS systems, or onboarding workflows.

What to measure:

• Number of redemptions per promo code
• Page visits from QR codes or vanity URLs
• Phone inquiries from print numbers
• Sales volume tied to print campaigns

Pro tip: Use short, memorable links and QR codes that direct to mobile-optimized landing pages—make it effortless for offline audiences to go online.

3. Referral Marketing: Tracking Word of Mouth

Referral marketing might feel informal, but with the right systems in place, it can be one of the most trackable and highest-ROI channels you have.

How to track referrals:

• Referral Codes: Give each customer a unique code to share with friends.
• Referral Links: Use software like ReferralCandy, Post Affiliate Pro, or built-in features in eCommerce platforms to automate tracking.
• Manual Attribution: If a new lead says they were referred, track who referred them and reward accordingly.
• Affiliate Software: For influencer or ambassador referrals, use affiliate platforms with dashboards that track clicks, sales, and commissions.

What to measure:

• Number of new customers from referrals
• Referral conversion rate
• Revenue per referrer
• Cost per acquisition (if you’re offering rewards)

Pro tip: Incentivize both the referrer and the referee—this boosts participation and gives you two conversion points to track.

Pulling It All Together: Build a Cross-Channel ROI Dashboard

You don’t need to track everything manually. Set up a simple dashboard or spreadsheet that shows:

This makes it clear, fast, and actionable. You can instantly see where to invest more—and what to pause or optimize. You can even extrapolate more detail by seeing the revenue over leads to see the amount needed to reach cost and revenue targets. You can also divide revenue by conversions to see the average value of conversions. With spreadsheets of data, the world is your oyster!

Final Thought: Don’t Market Blind

Great marketing is measurable marketing. Whether you’re investing in Google Ads, printing postcards, or asking loyal customers to spread the word, the real power lies in your ability to watch what works.

Stop relying on intuition. Start relying on data. Track across digital, print, and referral—then double down on what delivers.

Because when you know what works, you know how to grow.

Would you like me to turn this into a downloadable resource or design a dashboard template to pair with the post?