ROI Analysis

TL;DR: Despora calculates ROI as Expected Revenue ÷ Ad Spend — where Expected Revenue is the close-rate-adjusted value of every AI-qualified lead, and Ad Spend includes Google Ads costs plus any custom channel costs you configure. The result is a true ROI ratio: 2.5 means $2.50 back per $1 spent.

The ROI Formula Despora Uses

ROI = Expected Revenue ÷ Ad Spend

Where:

• Expected Revenue = Sum of (salesValue × closeRate) for each approved lead
• Ad Spend = Google Ads spend (from API) + custom channel costs

An ROI of 2.5 means: for every $1 you spent on marketing, you generated $2.50 in expected revenue. An ROI of 0.8 means you're losing money.

Why “Expected Revenue” Instead of Raw Revenue?

Not every qualified lead becomes a paying customer. A plumber might close 60% of qualified leads. So a lead for a $3,000 water heater installation has an expected revenue of $1,800 (60% × $3,000).

This is more accurate than counting raw estimates, and it's configurable per project based on your historical close rates.

Revenue Model Options

Despora supports two revenue models:

• Estimated (default) — Uses expectedRevenue (salesValue × closeRate) for all approved leads. Best for most businesses.
• Sold Only — Only counts leads you manually mark as “sold” with an actual sale value. Best for businesses that track exact revenue per job.

Cost Per Lead (CPL)

CPL = Total Ad Spend ÷ Approved Leads

Key distinction: Despora's CPL uses qualified leads, not all calls.

The Despora CPL looks “worse” — $100 instead of $40 — but it's the real number. The $40 from Google Ads is a fantasy that includes spam, job seekers, and 3-second accidental calls.

Fixed CPL Model

For projects with a fixed cost-per-lead arrangement (e.g., an agency charging $50 per lead), Despora supports a fixed CPL override. When enabled, total spend = approved leads × fixed rate, regardless of Google Ads data.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV = expectedCLV field (close-rate-adjusted lifetime value)

CLV goes beyond the first job. A customer who calls for a $300 drain cleaning may return for a $5,000 bathroom remodel next year. Despora's service catalogue supports avgCLV per service, factoring in repeat business multipliers.

The dashboard shows total CLV across all approved leads — giving you the long-term value of your marketing investment, not just immediate revenue.

Per-Channel ROI Breakdown

Despora breaks down revenue and leads by source channel, letting you calculate ROI per channel:

This table answers the question every business owner asks: “Where should I spend my next marketing dollar?” In this case, organic SEO returns $29.70 for every $1 spent — 4.5× more efficient than Google Ads.

How Ad Spend Is Calculated

Despora pulls ad spend from multiple sources:

• Google Ads API — Daily spend data synced automatically
• Channel Costs — Custom monthly or per-lead costs you configure (SEO retainer, social media management, etc.)
• Per-Lead Channel Costs — For “per_lead” cost types, the cost is multiplied by the number of approved leads from that channel

All sources are summed to give you total marketing spend for any date range.

ROI Trend Analysis

The dashboard charts ROI, CPL, revenue, and spend over time with daily granularity. This lets you:

• See if marketing is getting more or less efficient month over month
• Identify seasonal patterns in lead quality and revenue
• Correlate budget changes with ROI changes
• Use annotations to mark the exact date of campaign changes and see the impact

Period-Over-Period Comparison

Despora automatically calculates the previous period's KPIs for comparison. If you're viewing May 1–31, it calculates April 1–30 and shows the delta:

• ROI: 2.8× → 3.1× (+10.7%)
• CPL: $95 → $82 (−13.7%)
• Revenue: $78,000 → $91,000 (+16.7%)

This period comparison is applied to every KPI — traffic, leads, conversion rate, revenue, spend, ROI, CPL, and CLV.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I don't have Google Ads connected?

ROI still works. If your only spend is an SEO retainer, configure it as a channel cost and Despora will calculate organic ROI against that spend.

Can I exclude certain costs from ROI calculations?

Yes. Channel costs are fully configurable per project with start/end dates. You can add, remove, or adjust costs at any time and ROI will recalculate.

How accurate is the revenue estimation?

Revenue estimates are based on your service catalogue pricing, which you configure with min/max values and average sale amounts. The AI matches the caller's inquiry to the most relevant service and uses those values. For exact numbers, use the “Sold Only” revenue model and enter actual sale values.