Proving ROI Without Losing Your Soul: Reporting That Actually Matters

Jonathan Eyres
Oct 21
2 min read

Let’s be real—most marketing reports are like bad online dates: way too much small talk, not enough substance, and a lot of metrics no one cares about. They’re bloated, overdesigned, and somehow say everything except what actually matters: “Did this make us money?”

Good ROI reporting doesn’t drown people in data. It makes the story so clear your CFO could understand it on their third cup of coffee. Here’s how to do it without losing your soul (or your audience).

Man in blue plaid shirt squints at a phone, adjusting glasses. Dark background, bookshelf, and vase visible. Frustrated expression.

1. Why Most Reports Are Garbage

Too many numbers, no point. Nobody needs to see your bounce rate trend from 2017.
Activity ≠ impact. A list of everything you did isn’t proof that it worked.
Pretty decks, empty insight. A rainbow chart doesn’t make bad data good.

Your report isn’t a museum exhibit. It’s a decision-making tool. If someone needs a decoder ring to get the point, it’s not a report. It’s homework.

2. What ROI Reporting Should Actually Do

ROI reporting should:

Tie marketing to business outcomes. Not just clicks, but revenue, pipeline, and growth.
Connect the dots. Show cause and effect, not a wall of disconnected metrics.
Be digestible. If your execs can’t skim it in under 5 minutes, it’s too much.

Think less data dump, more story arc.

3. Metrics That Actually Matter

If it doesn’t move the business needle, it doesn’t belong in the ROI report.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
LTV (Customer Lifetime Value)
Conversion Rates (what turned into actual money)
Cost Per Lead (and was it a good lead?)

Vanity metrics—like impressions, reach, or engagement—can live somewhere else. Not here.

4. Tell the ROI Story (Like a Human)

Start with the outcome: “We generated $210k in new revenue this quarter.”
Show the path: “Here’s where the leads came from, what converted, and what it cost us.”
Highlight the win (or the gap): “TikTok crushed it. Email… not so much.”
End with the next move: “We’re reallocating budget where the returns are strongest.”

The report should read like a short story, not a crime scene investigation.

Man in white shirt focused on a laptop, surrounded by floating mathematical equations on a dark background, creating a thoughtful mood.

5. Tools & Tips That Save Your Sanity

Looker Studio: Automate the boring parts.
HubSpot: Clean funnel visibility.
Sheets + Zapier: Quick and dirty automation.
Annotations: Always add a line explaining why something happened. Don’t make people guess.
Tailor for the audience: Execs get the top-line story. Marketing gets the nitty-gritty.

6. The Golden Rule of ROI Reporting

If it doesn’t drive or influence revenue, it doesn’t belong in the report. No one cares how many comments your Facebook ad got if it didn’t make a dime.

People in a modern office discuss data on a large screen, showing graphs and a world map. City skyline visible through windows.

Final Thoughts

Your ROI report shouldn’t feel like a punishment. It should feel like clarity. One glance should tell decision-makers what worked, what didn’t, and what to do next.

So ditch the vanity metrics, skip the slide fluff, and tell a story that would make even your CFO nod in approval. Next Up: We’ll wrap up this series with “Making It Stick: How to Present Data So People Actually Listen.” Check back for more information every week at The Ultimate Guide to Digital Marketing: Strategies, Trends, and Best Practices.