By Erin Pennings

The marketing efficiency ratio (MER) measures how much revenue marketing generates for every dollar spent. MER is calculated by dividing total revenue by total marketing spend for a defined period. Unlike ROAS, which focuses on the return of specific ad campaigns, MER gives a blended, executive-level view of overall marketing effectiveness across all channels. A higher MER indicates more efficient marketing performance, although what counts as “good” depends on margins, customer behavior, and business model.

As search, analytics, and attribution evolve, marketing efficiency and MER have become headline metrics for marketers, revenue leaders, and finance teams. MER captures the holistic performance of marketing investments and highlights whether the organization is generating sustainable returns.

This guide explains what MER means, how to calculate it, when to use it, how to improve it, and which complementary metrics matter most.

Want to track and optimize MER with unified data? Start free with HubSpot.

Table of Contents

• What is the marketing efficiency ratio?
• How to Calculate Marketing Efficiency Ratio
• Marketing Efficiency Ratio vs ROAS
• What is a good marketing efficiency ratio?
• How to Improve Your Marketing Efficiency Ratio
• Marketing Efficiency Metrics to Track Alongside MER
• Marketing Efficiency Ratio Pitfalls to Avoid
• Frequently Asked Questions About Marketing Efficiency Ratio

What is the marketing efficiency ratio?

The marketing efficiency ratio (MER) is the total revenue generated divided by the total marketing spend for a specific period, giving a blended view of how efficiently marketing contributes to overall revenue.

What is MER?

MER measures overall marketing effectiveness across all channels and reflects the combined impact of paid, organic, referral, partner, and brand-led activity. Because it compares all revenue to all marketing spend, it reflects how the entire marketing ecosystem is performing — campaigns, organic traffic, referral channels, brand building, partnerships, and everything in between. This makes the marketing efficiency ratio one of the simplest ways to evaluate full-funnel performance.

MER should include all revenue generated during the reporting period — paid, organic, referral, partner, and direct — as long as the revenue definition stays consistent across reporting windows. This ensures MER accurately reflects the full commercial impact of marketing activity.

HubSpot’s Smart CRM enables unified tracking and reporting of MER across channels by connecting revenue, spend, and attribution data in one place.

What does MER measure?

MER measures overall marketing effectiveness, while ROAS (return on ad spend) measures channel-level return on ad spend, making MER especially valuable for cross-functional decisions. By capturing the entire revenue picture, MER cuts through attribution noise and helps executives understand whether marketing investments support sustainable growth. This broader view is particularly helpful for ecommerce brands, omnichannel marketers, revenue leaders, and B2B teams who report blended performance across long sales cycles. For this reason, the marketing efficiency ratio is now used widely in executive dashboards and board-level reporting.

HubSpot’s Marketing Hub strengthens MER analysis by unifying revenue, …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron