While measuring the value of marketing actions has always been important, in recent years marketers’ obsession with quantifiable metrics has grown exponentially. Despite all of the enthusiasm behind the idea, however, marketing Return on Investment (ROI) remains elusive for a number of reasons. In this significant and informative white paper, I explore the traditional methods of measuring marketing results, the conflict of defining marketing ROI and a variety of methods that have been proposed for measuring it. Throughout my research, one common theme emerged: Despite the hype, ROI for marketing will, most likely, never come to fruition. As marketing author Pat LaPointe says, there is no “single ‘magic metric’ [that] will ever explain the relationship between spending and return.” Download the entire report here.

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