The Scale Up CEO's Guide to understanding Marketing ROI (or losing out)
We're as sick of seeing scale up CEO's being told they can't get a clear, real time picture of Marketing ROI as you are.You can have one.This guide is for Scale-Up CEOs who are done accepting "marketing ROI is too hard to measure" as an answer.
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Why this guide?
The vast majority of scale-up businesses lose between 7 cents and 72 cents for every dollar they spend on marketing.Their Marketing team is working hard so that's not the problem.It's because no one has built the framework to connect marketing activity to revenue outcomes.This guide gives you that framework. And in 2026, it covers the new problem sitting on top of the old one: AI.
| The old problem (still real) | The new problem (getting worse) |
|---|---|
| Only 36% of marketers can accurately measure marketing ROI | 72% of enterprise AI investments are destroying value through waste |
| 83% of marketing leaders say proving ROI is their #1 priority | Only 49% of marketers measure their AI marketing ROI |
| 47% struggle with multi-channel attribution | $644B in AI investment globally in 2025 — mostly unmeasured |
If any of these land, keep reading:
Are you getting customers who want to buy and then losing them to competitors?
Are your marketing team bringing in hundreds of leads, but your sales team don’t like the look of any of them?
Do you keep spending on channels because you’re told they’re critical, but no one can tell you what they achieved in revenue?
Are you investing in AI tools without a clear way to connect that spend to outcomes?
You’re not alone. We’ve seen this play out in every size organisation, in every sector, all over the world. And it’s figureoutable.
You're not alone. We've seen this play out in every size organisation, in every sector, all over the world.Scale up businesses have a unique opportunity to take off and really succeed. Understanding Marketing ROI is one of the key factors that future buyers and investors will look at. We understand how much that matters to you and we don't want your hard work wasted; this is your time to hit your goals.We know it can seem too hard to fix and that you've been told it's impossible.But don't worry. It's figureoutable and infinitely worthwhile. And we can help.
What you'll get from this guide
The 2025–26 ROMI benchmark data — so you know where you sit
The 5 elements you actually need to measure (including AI spend)
The channel ROI picture for 2026 — including what’s moved since 2022
The most common reasons scale-ups are stuck in the red — and how to fix them
A framework your marketing team will finally be held to revenue outcomes with
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What would we know about it?
We've worked in house and as consultants for more than two decades; we know what spells doom and what leads to success.
Calculating your Marketing ROI isn't rocket science. But it is a science that can help your business take off.Understanding Marketing ROI — and building the frameworks, behaviours, and campaigns to get it looking good — is what gets us out of bed in the morning.However hard it's been to understand, we can get you clear on your current ROMI and turn it into a result you're happy about.CMOtoGO works with scale-up CEOs, PE-backed portfolio companies, and Marketing leaders who need the measurement infrastructure their business deserves.Even Nate from Sales will begrudgingly love the results.
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© CMOtoGo 2026. Last updated May 2026