What is it?
Channel ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) tracks the marketing efficiency of your Email and Text (SMS) programs directly inside Attentive. ROAS answers a simple question: how much revenue is generated for every dollar spent on messages? Instead of manually calculating ROAS by pulling data from various sources and reporting surfaces in the UI, Attentive automatically calculates these metrics for you.
It tracks two primary metrics:
- Email ROAS: Total Email Revenue ÷ Total Email Billable Spend
- Text ROAS: Total Text Revenue ÷ Total Text Billable Spend
These metrics are expressed as a multiple (e.g., 4.5x), allowing you to quickly understand how many dollars of revenue your marketing channels generate for every dollar spent.
Note on Data Precision: These metrics provide directional insights and trend analysis tools based on billable spend estimates. They are not intended to replace perfectly precise, bottom-line financial accounting.
How do I use it?
You can access Channel ROAS data in two distinct areas of the Attentive platform. The system will automatically hide metrics for any channel your brand does not actively use.
1. The Analytics Dashboard
To get a high-level overview of your current channel health:
- Navigate to the Analytics Dashboard.
- Select the Overview tab.
- Look for the new Email ROAS and Text ROAS metric cards alongside your standard performance metrics.
2. Dedicated Channel ROAS Reports
For deeper deep-dives and historical analysis:
- Navigate to Reports in the left-hand menu.
- Under the Revenue & Costs section, select the Text ROAS or Email ROAS visual report.
- Use the Date Range Picker to isolate performance across custom time frames.
- Review the ROAS Trend Chart (line graph) to observe how efficiency changes over time.
- Click Export to download a CSV or PDF copy of the underlying revenue and billable spend metrics for your leadership teams.
Understanding the Calculations & Exclusions
To keep your data accurate to core channel performance, certain variable or flat platform fees are intentionally left out of the math:
- Email ROAS calculations exclude AI Pro costs.
- Text ROAS calculations exclude AI Journeys (AIJ) revenue and costs, Concierge revenue and costs, and AI Pro costs.
Note: The ROAS ratio is always calculated in USD. The revenue lines themselves display in the company's own (default) currency, and for non-US companies a separate USD version appears next to it labelled "(USD)"
Why should I use it?
- Eliminate Manual Spreadsheets: Stop manually hunting down accounting invoices and cross-referencing them against performance dashboards.
- Executive-Ready KPIs: Instantly pull the exact performance multiples that leadership and stakeholders demand for budget allocation.
- Consistency: Ensure your ROAS math matches Attentive’s internal billing logic, removing discrepancies caused by mismatched manual data pulls.
- Spot Trends Early: Use visual line charts to instantly see if your program's efficiency is climbing or dropping over time, letting you optimize strategies mid-campaign.