Measuring ROI in HubSpot
ROI reporting connects marketing spend to closed revenue. The exam tests the formulas, the attribution model behind the revenue, and the cost data you must maintain.
The formulas
ROI equals (revenue minus cost) divided by cost, expressed as a percentage. ROAS equals revenue divided by cost, expressed as a ratio. A campaign with 5,000 cost and 60,000 revenue has ROI of 1,100% and ROAS of 12. Both are only as good as the revenue attribution and the completeness of the cost figure.
Where revenue comes from
HubSpot attributes deal revenue to campaigns, assets, and interactions. Attribution models assign credit: first touch, last touch, linear, U-shaped, and time decay, with custom attribution available in Enterprise. Different models produce different numbers from the same deals, so name the model in the report title.
Where cost comes from
Ad spend syncs from connected ad accounts; campaign budgets and other costs can be captured as campaign properties or held externally. Labour and tooling costs are usually excluded, which inflates ROI.
Worked example
A paid campaign costs 8,000. Attribution shows 25 closed-won deals worth 120,000 influenced by the campaign; last-touch credit is 48,000. ROI on last-touch revenue equals (48,000 minus 8,000) divided by 8,000, or 500%. Reasoning: state the model, count closed-won only, and note the time lag between spend and close.
Traps
- Counting open pipeline as revenue.
- Using revenue rather than margin and still calling it ROI.
- Adding attributed revenue across overlapping campaigns until it exceeds total revenue.
- Forgetting ad spend or currency conversion.
- Judging a long sales cycle on a single month of spend.