Measuring the ROI (return on investment) of your marketing activities was the top marketing challenge, according to the 2015 State of Inbound report. But it’s a vital way for marketers to understand the effectiveness of each particular marketing campaign, piece of content, etc.

Plus, proving ROI often goes hand-in-hand with making an argument to increase budget: No ROI tracking, no demonstrable ROI. No ROI, no budget.

But tracking the ROI of every single marketing activity isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t have two-way communication between your marketing activities and sales reports.

What Can You Do?

When it comes to providing ROI, there’s a strong case to be made for dedicating time and resources to establishing links between marketing activities and sales results. This means using both marketing software and a CRM solution, and then tying them together to close the loop between your marketing and sales efforts. That way, you can directly see how many leads and customers are generated through your marketing activities.

Leading marketers also check their analytics frequently. Finally, when it comes to increasing ROI, inbound marketing is proven to be the best bang for your buck. Keep in mind, even the best CRM software is only as useful as the person utilizing it!