Your Marketing ROI Is Lying to You (Here's the Real Math)

ROI = revenue ÷ spend is kindergarten math. Dale Harrison exposes why LTV:CAC is the only metric that matters ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

August 21, 2025 |Read OnlineYour Marketing ROI Is Lying to You (Here's the Real Math)ROI = revenue ÷ spend is kindergarten math. Dale Harrison exposes why LTV:CAC is the only metric that mattersTyler Morian🚀 Connect on LinkedIn💡 B2B Website InspirationMarketing ROI Has Been Gaslighting YouDale Harrisonjust dropped the math that should tank your current ROI calculations. Two campaigns: $100K spend each. Campaign A drives $250K revenue (150% ROI). Campaign B drives $400K (400% ROI). But Campaign B was a 50%-off sale. When you calculate based on actual margin rather than topline revenue? Campaign B returns zero profit. Zip. Nada.Most marketing teams are optimizing for revenue that isn't profit.Summit Partners researchshows market leaders balance volume and efficiency metrics, not just revenue.Brian Balfour addsthat AI is changing how buyers perceive value and friction, making margin-based optimization even more critical.BIG IDEA:Your ROI calculations might be optimizing for campaigns that destroy profit while starving the ones that actually drive value.WHY IT MATTERS:If you're allocating budget based on revenue ROI, you're potentially scaling campaigns that bleed margin while killing the ones that keep the lights on.Commentsreveal teams optimizing for revenue metrics because finance teams don't see the margin breakdown—they just see growthAI's Zero-Accountability Crisis Is HereShiv Narayananexposed AI's dirty secret: it faces zero consequences for being devastatingly wrong. When an agency gives bad advice, they lose clients. When AI hallucinates case studies or misinterprets data, it just confidently spews more fiction. And we keep taking notes.The amplification problem is brutal. AI can scale bad advice faster than any human consultant.Anyword's researchshows horizontal AI tools lack domain depth for channel-specific optimization, yet marketers keep feeding strategic decisions to them.BIG IDEA:AI's confidence is the most dangerous drug in marketing—it makes fiction feel like fact.WHY IT MATTERS:Every AI recommendation needs human fact-checking baked into your workflow, or you're optimizing for algorithmic hallucinations rather than market reality.Marketers respondingnoted treating AI as a starting point rather than final answerOne commentator highlightedGPT-5's declining quality as proof that human oversight isn't optionalB2B Buyers Have Left the BuildingWynter's researchjust confirmed what you suspected: 58% of B2B buyers build their shortlist from peer recommendations, not your content.Liam Moroneydrives it home—B2B buyers aren't the fictional first-time purchasers your funnel assumes. They're veterans who skip your educational narrative entirely.The math is brutal: 80% of purchases happen within existing consideration sets. Unknown brands fight tooth-and-nail for the remaining scraps while established names close the lion's share.BIG IDEA:Your current customers create your next customer's shortlist more effectively than any demand gen campaign you could run.WHY IT MATTERS:Reallocate budget from trying to educate buyers toward making your current customers evangelical advocates. Your content builds mental availability, but peer recommendations decide who makes the cut.Commentsemphasize that B2B buyers have extensive category experience, making most educational content redundantDiscussions around the researchreveal brand building secures access to 80% of buyers who only consider known entitiesB2B's Fear-Driven Beige WallPeep Laja's surveyfound 94% of B2B marketing leaders admit their messaging isn't distinct. The reason isn't lack of creativity—it's strategic cowardice. 36% stick to "what works" because "breaking out is scary" and copying competitors feels safer than actually competing.Robert Kaminski showshow Airtable won by choosing specific competitors (spreadsheets and databases) instead of trying to differentiate against everyone simultaneously. They gave buyers a mental anchor rather than generic utility claims.BIG IDEA:Safe messaging is dangerous—invisible brands don't lose deals, they never get invited to compete in the first place.WHY IT MATTERS:Category leaders can afford safe messaging. Smaller brands using generic language aren't just forgettable—they're consciously choosing to compete for table scraps while leaders feast.CEOs in the commentsadmit they override marketing teams pushing for differentiation, preferring to copy competitor messagingPositioning discussionsreveal that choosing specific alternatives to compete against dramatically simplifies messaging and customer understandingThe 2026 Sales Job DescriptionJason Lemkin's preditionfor 2026: AI eats email/text outreach, lead qualification, and simple closes. Humans dominate in-person, complex deals, and phone cold calling. The twist? AEs without deep product expertise become obsolete—not because AI replaces them, but because AI-informed buyers expect humans to know more than algorithms.TK Kaderidentifies the four GTM failure points: mismatched budgets, unrealistic targets, wrong team composition, and lack of real strategy. The future belongs to "AI GTM orchestrators" who use AI strategically while maintaining human judgment for complex decisions.BIG IDEA:AI won't replace salespeople—it will make average reps extinct while making exceptional ones unstoppable.WHY IT MATTERS:Your 2025 hiring strategy should prioritize product expertise over relationship skills. The reps who master AI-assisted workflows will close faster and bigger. The rest will watch their pipeline evaporate.Sales leaders highlightthat qualification AI means humans need deeper product knowledge to provide value AI can'tGTM discussions confirmmost teams are under-resourced for their targets, making AI efficiency essential rather than optionalYour Content Strategy for an LLM WorldLashay Lewis arguesthat LLM visibility happens at the bottom of your funnel, not the top. LLM prompts aren't "best CRM tools"—they're "what CRM works for a 15-person B2B SaaS company needing Salesforce integration under $50/month?"Traditional BOFU content won't survive. Generic comparison tables and feature lists get ignored.Shiv Narayanan notestraffic declines aren't performance failures—they're structural shifts toward AI-driven answers that require context over keywords.BIG IDEA:LLM optimization rewards customer obsession over keyword optimization—exactly what content should have been doing all along.WHY IT MATTERS:Audit your content now for customer context and specificity. The companies writing deeply contextual content today will surface when buyers ask AI for specific recommendations.Content strategists emphasizethat traditional comparison content lacks the specificity needed for LLM recommendationsSEO professionals frame traffic dropsas market evolution requiring adaptation, not performance failure🎥Sound BitesParakeet’s AJ Kissh on building human-first voice:Listen hereMarc Hillander on micro-influencer dominance:Watch nowFractional CRO Bindi on starting with “why”:Tune inUntil next week!Update your email preferences or unsubscribehere© 2025 B2B Marketing Brief228 Park Ave S, #29976, New York, New York 10003, United StatesTerms of Service

August 21, 2025 |Read Online

Your Marketing ROI Is Lying to You (Here's the Real Math)ROI = revenue ÷ spend is kindergarten math. Dale Harrison exposes why LTV:CAC is the only metric that matters

Tyler Morian

🚀 Connect on LinkedIn💡 B2B Website InspirationMarketing ROI Has Been Gaslighting YouDale Harrisonjust dropped the math that should tank your current ROI calculations. Two campaigns: $100K spend each. Campaign A drives $250K revenue (150% ROI). Campaign B drives $400K (400% ROI). But Campaign B was a 50%-off sale. When you calculate based on actual margin rather than topline revenue? Campaign B returns zero profit. Zip. Nada.Most marketing teams are optimizing for revenue that isn't profit.Summit Partners researchshows market leaders balance volume and efficiency metrics, not just revenue.Brian Balfour addsthat AI is changing how buyers perceive value and friction, making margin-based optimization even more critical.BIG IDEA:Your ROI calculations might be optimizing for campaigns that destroy profit while starving the ones that actually drive value.WHY IT MATTERS:If you're allocating budget based on revenue ROI, you're potentially scaling campaigns that bleed margin while killing the ones that keep the lights on.Commentsreveal teams optimizing for revenue metrics because finance teams don't see the margin breakdown—they just see growthAI's Zero-Accountability Crisis Is HereShiv Narayananexposed AI's dirty secret: it faces zero consequences for being devastatingly wrong. When an agency gives bad advice, they lose clients. When AI hallucinates case studies or misinterprets data, it just confidently spews more fiction. And we keep taking notes.The amplification problem is brutal. AI can scale bad advice faster than any human consultant.Anyword's researchshows horizontal AI tools lack domain depth for channel-specific optimization, yet marketers keep feeding strategic decisions to them.BIG IDEA:AI's confidence is the most dangerous drug in marketing—it makes fiction feel like fact.WHY IT MATTERS:Every AI recommendation needs human fact-checking baked into your workflow, or you're optimizing for algorithmic hallucinations rather than market reality.Marketers respondingnoted treating AI as a starting point rather than final answerOne commentator highlightedGPT-5's declining quality as proof that human oversight isn't optionalB2B Buyers Have Left the BuildingWynter's researchjust confirmed what you suspected: 58% of B2B buyers build their shortlist from peer recommendations, not your content.Liam Moroneydrives it home—B2B buyers aren't the fictional first-time purchasers your funnel assumes. They're veterans who skip your educational narrative entirely.The math is brutal: 80% of purchases happen within existing consideration sets. Unknown brands fight tooth-and-nail for the remaining scraps while established names close the lion's share.BIG IDEA:Your current customers create your next customer's shortlist more effectively than any demand gen campaign you could run.WHY IT MATTERS:Reallocate budget from trying to educate buyers toward making your current customers evangelical advocates. Your content builds mental availability, but peer recommendations decide who makes the cut.Commentsemphasize that B2B buyers have extensive category experience, making most educational content redundantDiscussions around the researchreveal brand building secures access to 80% of buyers who only consider known entitiesB2B's Fear-Driven Beige WallPeep Laja's surveyfound 94% of B2B marketing leaders admit their messaging isn't distinct. The reason isn't lack of creativity—it's strategic cowardice. 36% stick to "what works" because "breaking out is scary" and copying competitors feels safer than actually competing.Robert Kaminski showshow Airtable won by choosing specific competitors (spreadsheets and databases) instead of trying to differentiate against everyone simultaneously. They gave buyers a mental anchor rather than generic utility claims.BIG IDEA:Safe messaging is dangerous—invisible brands don't lose deals, they never get invited to compete in the first place.WHY IT MATTERS:Category leaders can afford safe messaging. Smaller brands using generic language aren't just forgettable—they're consciously choosing to compete for table scraps while leaders feast.CEOs in the commentsadmit they override marketing teams pushing for differentiation, preferring to copy competitor messagingPositioning discussionsreveal that choosing specific alternatives to compete against dramatically simplifies messaging and customer understandingThe 2026 Sales Job DescriptionJason Lemkin's preditionfor 2026: AI eats email/text outreach, lead qualification, and simple closes. Humans dominate in-person, complex deals, and phone cold calling. The twist? AEs without deep product expertise become obsolete—not because AI replaces them, but because AI-informed buyers expect humans to know more than algorithms.TK Kaderidentifies the four GTM failure points: mismatched budgets, unrealistic targets, wrong team composition, and lack of real strategy. The future belongs to "AI GTM orchestrators" who use AI strategically while maintaining human judgment for complex decisions.BIG IDEA:AI won't replace salespeople—it will make average reps extinct while making exceptional ones unstoppable.WHY IT MATTERS:Your 2025 hiring strategy should prioritize product expertise over relationship skills. The reps who master AI-assisted workflows will close faster and bigger. The rest will watch their pipeline evaporate.Sales leaders highlightthat qualification AI means humans need deeper product knowledge to provide value AI can'tGTM discussions confirmmost teams are under-resourced for their targets, making AI efficiency essential rather than optionalYour Content Strategy for an LLM WorldLashay Lewis arguesthat LLM visibility happens at the bottom of your funnel, not the top. LLM prompts aren't "best CRM tools"—they're "what CRM works for a 15-person B2B SaaS company needing Salesforce integration under $50/month?"Traditional BOFU content won't survive. Generic comparison tables and feature lists get ignored.Shiv Narayanan notestraffic declines aren't performance failures—they're structural shifts toward AI-driven answers that require context over keywords.BIG IDEA:LLM optimization rewards customer obsession over keyword optimization—exactly what content should have been doing all along.WHY IT MATTERS:Audit your content now for customer context and specificity. The companies writing deeply contextual content today will surface when buyers ask AI for specific recommendations.Content strategists emphasizethat traditional comparison content lacks the specificity needed for LLM recommendationsSEO professionals frame traffic dropsas market evolution requiring adaptation, not performance failure🎥Sound BitesParakeet’s AJ Kissh on building human-first voice:Listen hereMarc Hillander on micro-influencer dominance:Watch nowFractional CRO Bindi on starting with “why”:Tune inUntil next week!

🚀 Connect on LinkedIn💡 B2B Website Inspiration

Marketing ROI Has Been Gaslighting You

Dale Harrisonjust dropped the math that should tank your current ROI calculations. Two campaigns: $100K spend each. Campaign A drives $250K revenue (150% ROI). Campaign B drives $400K (400% ROI). But Campaign B was a 50%-off sale. When you calculate based on actual margin rather than topline revenue? Campaign B returns zero profit. Zip. Nada.

Most marketing teams are optimizing for revenue that isn't profit.Summit Partners researchshows market leaders balance volume and efficiency metrics, not just revenue.Brian Balfour addsthat AI is changing how buyers perceive value and friction, making margin-based optimization even more critical.

BIG IDEA:Your ROI calculations might be optimizing for campaigns that destroy profit while starving the ones that actually drive value.

WHY IT MATTERS:If you're allocating budget based on revenue ROI, you're potentially scaling campaigns that bleed margin while killing the ones that keep the lights on.

Commentsreveal teams optimizing for revenue metrics because finance teams don't see the margin breakdown—they just see growth

AI's Zero-Accountability Crisis Is Here

Shiv Narayananexposed AI's dirty secret: it faces zero consequences for being devastatingly wrong. When an agency gives bad advice, they lose clients. When AI hallucinates case studies or misinterprets data, it just confidently spews more fiction. And we keep taking notes.

The amplification problem is brutal. AI can scale bad advice faster than any human consultant.Anyword's researchshows horizontal AI tools lack domain depth for channel-specific optimization, yet marketers keep feeding strategic decisions to them.

BIG IDEA:AI's confidence is the most dangerous drug in marketing—it makes fiction feel like fact.

WHY IT MATTERS:Every AI recommendation needs human fact-checking baked into your workflow, or you're optimizing for algorithmic hallucinations rather than market reality.

Marketers respondingnoted treating AI as a starting point rather than final answerOne commentator highlightedGPT-5's declining quality as proof that human oversight isn't optional

B2B Buyers Have Left the Building

Wynter's researchjust confirmed what you suspected: 58% of B2B buyers build their shortlist from peer recommendations, not your content.Liam Moroneydrives it home—B2B buyers aren't the fictional first-time purchasers your funnel assumes. They're veterans who skip your educational narrative entirely.

The math is brutal: 80% of purchases happen within existing consideration sets. Unknown brands fight tooth-and-nail for the remaining scraps while established names close the lion's share.

BIG IDEA:Your current customers create your next customer's shortlist more effectively than any demand gen campaign you could run.

WHY IT MATTERS:Reallocate budget from trying to educate buyers toward making your current customers evangelical advocates. Your content builds mental availability, but peer recommendations decide who makes the cut.

Commentsemphasize that B2B buyers have extensive category experience, making most educational content redundantDiscussions around the researchreveal brand building secures access to 80% of buyers who only consider known entities

B2B's Fear-Driven Beige Wall

Peep Laja's surveyfound 94% of B2B marketing leaders admit their messaging isn't distinct. The reason isn't lack of creativity—it's strategic cowardice. 36% stick to "what works" because "breaking out is scary" and copying competitors feels safer than actually competing.

Robert Kaminski showshow Airtable won by choosing specific competitors (spreadsheets and databases) instead of trying to differentiate against everyone simultaneously. They gave buyers a mental anchor rather than generic utility claims.

BIG IDEA:Safe messaging is dangerous—invisible brands don't lose deals, they never get invited to compete in the first place.

WHY IT MATTERS:Category leaders can afford safe messaging. Smaller brands using generic language aren't just forgettable—they're consciously choosing to compete for table scraps while leaders feast.

CEOs in the commentsadmit they override marketing teams pushing for differentiation, preferring to copy competitor messagingPositioning discussionsreveal that choosing specific alternatives to compete against dramatically simplifies messaging and customer understanding

The 2026 Sales Job Description

Jason Lemkin's preditionfor 2026: AI eats email/text outreach, lead qualification, and simple closes. Humans dominate in-person, complex deals, and phone cold calling. The twist? AEs without deep product expertise become obsolete—not because AI replaces them, but because AI-informed buyers expect humans to know more than algorithms.

TK Kaderidentifies the four GTM failure points: mismatched budgets, unrealistic targets, wrong team composition, and lack of real strategy. The future belongs to "AI GTM orchestrators" who use AI strategically while maintaining human judgment for complex decisions.

BIG IDEA:AI won't replace salespeople—it will make average reps extinct while making exceptional ones unstoppable.

WHY IT MATTERS:Your 2025 hiring strategy should prioritize product expertise over relationship skills. The reps who master AI-assisted workflows will close faster and bigger. The rest will watch their pipeline evaporate.

Sales leaders highlightthat qualification AI means humans need deeper product knowledge to provide value AI can'tGTM discussions confirmmost teams are under-resourced for their targets, making AI efficiency essential rather than optional

Your Content Strategy for an LLM World

Lashay Lewis arguesthat LLM visibility happens at the bottom of your funnel, not the top. LLM prompts aren't "best CRM tools"—they're "what CRM works for a 15-person B2B SaaS company needing Salesforce integration under $50/month?"

Traditional BOFU content won't survive. Generic comparison tables and feature lists get ignored.Shiv Narayanan notestraffic declines aren't performance failures—they're structural shifts toward AI-driven answers that require context over keywords.

BIG IDEA:LLM optimization rewards customer obsession over keyword optimization—exactly what content should have been doing all along.

WHY IT MATTERS:Audit your content now for customer context and specificity. The companies writing deeply contextual content today will surface when buyers ask AI for specific recommendations.

Content strategists emphasizethat traditional comparison content lacks the specificity needed for LLM recommendationsSEO professionals frame traffic dropsas market evolution requiring adaptation, not performance failure

🎥Sound Bites

Parakeet’s AJ Kissh on building human-first voice:Listen hereMarc Hillander on micro-influencer dominance:Watch nowFractional CRO Bindi on starting with “why”:Tune in

Until next week!