ROI
Return on Investment
In one sentenceHow much you gained compared to what you spent, shown as a percentage. The bottom-line test of whether something was worth it.
What it means
ROI answers "did this make money?" It applies to anything: an ad campaign, an event, a hire, a software tool, an AI subscription.
For marketing, use profit (or gross margin), not just revenue, for an honest number. ROAS is the revenue-only cousin used for ads.
How to use it
- Include all costs: ad spend, tools, people's time, agency fees.
- Measure over the right time frame. B2B deals can take months, so early ROI often looks worse than final ROI.
- Count time saved as a return too. If AI saves you 5 hours a week, put a dollar value on those hours.
FormulaROI = (gain − cost) ÷ cost × 100%
Example: spend $2,000, gain $8,000 profit: (8,000 − 2,000) ÷ 2,000 = 300% ROI
Example: spend $2,000, gain $8,000 profit: (8,000 − 2,000) ÷ 2,000 = 300% ROI
How AI helps
AI can build an ROI model for a campaign or tool from your numbers and show what has to be true for it to pay off.
Prompt to try
I am considering [investment] for $[cost]. My average deal is $[value] with [margin]% margin and a close rate of [x]%. Build a simple ROI model: how many deals do I need to break even, and what ROI do I get at 2x and 5x that?
Fill in the [brackets], then paste it into evyAI, ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
Related terms
Still fuzzy? Ask the evyAI agent to explain ROI with examples for your business.
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