From ROI to ROTE: Capturing Marketing’s Real Impact

Erica Fraser is the founder of Withers & Sloane and a Fractional Head of Marketing. She partners with CEOs, CMOs, and CFOs to translate marketing into measurable business value. In this blog, Erica explores how marketing creates impact both in ways that are immediately measurable and in ways that strengthen long-term business assets.

Marketing is often judged solely on immediate ROI. But if that’s the only metric we use, we risk overlooking the real value marketing creates. Some campaigns produce revenue instantly, while others build long-term business assets that are harder to quantify, but no less important.

Part of my role at Withers & Sloane is working closely with leadership teams to quantify marketing results. This is a part of the work I genuinely love, I’m commercially driven and reflective, and I thrive on translating campaigns into business impact. Some marketing efforts are straightforward to measure, while others are nuanced and complex. To simplify this, I developed a framework that captures both immediate ROI and long-term value, including ROTE (Return on Tangible Equity), a measure of how marketing strengthens your business’s tangible assets like brand, reputation, and market position.

Marketing That Builds Long-Term Value (Not Immediately Visible in ROI)

Not all marketing campaigns generate instant revenue. Some are designed to build influence, trust, and equity, which support sustainable business growth. These efforts may not deliver direct ROI immediately, but they contribute to ROTE and the overall health of the business:

Brand Awareness

🎯 Goal: Increase visibility and recognition

📋 Example: Social campaigns, event sponsorships

💥 Impact: Drives recognition, trust and leads, strengthening brand equity and contributing to ROTE

Thought Leadership/Authority

🎯 Goal: Position your company as an expert

📋 Example: Blogs, articles, SEO-optimised content, whitepapers, speaking engagements

💥 Impact: Builds credibility and market influence. Rarely shows immediate ROI but strengthens long-term tangible assets

Community Engagement/Loyalty

🎯 Goal: Build a loyal audience or customer base

📋 Example: Newsletters, social media engagement, community events

💥 Impact: Fosters retention, referrals, repeat business. ROI is indirect, ROTE is high

Employer Branding/Talent Attraction

🎯 Goal: Attract and retain high-quality employees

📋 Example: Culture campaigns on LinkedIn, recruitment marketing

💥 Impact: Improves team quality, reduces hiring costs, enhances tangible equity

Data & Insights Collection

🎯 Goal: Make smarter, evidence-driven decisions

📋 Example: Surveys, A/B testing, lead magnets

💥 Impact: Insights applied now can deliver exponential returns later

Partnerships & Networking

🎯 Goal: Build strategic relationships and collaborations

📋 Example: Sponsorships, co-hosted webinars, trade shows

💥 Impact: Leads to collaborations or deals that strengthen market position

Marketing That Can Be Tangibly Tracked to ROI

Other marketing efforts are performance-driven and measurable, providing a direct link between spend and revenue. These campaigns allow organisations to see immediate impact and optimise spend in real time:

Paid Advertising

🎯 Goal: Drive immediate leads or sales

📋 Example: Google Ads, Meta/Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads

💥 Impact: Clicks, conversions, cost per acquisition, revenue. Every pound is measurable

E-commerce/D2C Campaigns

🎯 Goal: Convert engagement into sales

📋 Example: Email campaigns, SMS, retargeting ads

💥 Impact: Trackable sales, average order value, conversion rates

Lead Generation & B2B Marketing

🎯 Goal: Generate qualified leads

📋 Example: Webinars, gated content, LinkedIn outreach

💥 Impact: Leads, pipeline contribution, revenue from conversions

Affiliate & Referral Programs

🎯 Goal: Drive sales through partners

📋 Example: Influencer campaigns, referral programs with trackable links

💥 Impact: Clicks, conversions, revenue per partner

Paid Events / Promotions

🎯 Goal: Generate revenue from events

📋 Example: Ticketed webinars, workshops, product launches

💥 Impact: Registrations, attendance, follow-up conversions, post-event revenue

Email & Automation Campaigns

🎯 Goal: Drive immediate conversions

📋 Example: Email sequences, automated workflows

💥 Impact: Opens, clicks, conversions, revenue per email

Why Measuring Both Matters

Marketing isn’t just about transactions, it’s about transformation and measurable business impact. Some campaigns deliver immediate ROI, while others strengthen long-term value, influence, and ROTE. Understanding both is critical: it allows leadership teams to see the full contribution marketing makes, make better investment decisions, and optimise future campaigns.

Marketing professionals and want to show clients the full value of your work? Or are an organsation who want to track exactly what’s driving ROI and ROTE?

Get in touch with us today info@witherssloane.com