Average Revenue per User (ARPU) from Marketing
What is ARPU from Marketing?
ARPU from Marketing calculates the average revenue attributed to users or customers that originated from marketing channels. It isolates the revenue contribution of marketing-sourced customers, reflecting both acquisition effectiveness and customer value.
Formula:
ARPU = Total Revenue from Marketing-Sourced Customers ÷ Number of Marketing-Sourced Customers
ARPU can be measured over a set period (monthly, quarterly, annually) and is especially useful for subscription-based SaaS businesses.
Why It Matters in B2B SaaS
- Connects marketing efforts directly to revenue per customer
- Highlights whether marketing is attracting high-value accounts or only volume
- Informs customer segmentation and targeting strategies
- Helps optimize marketing spend by focusing on channels that deliver better ARPU
- Enables benchmarking against overall company ARPU and sales-sourced ARPU
How to Measure ARPU from Marketing
1.Identify marketing-sourced customers
- Use CRM or marketing automation tools to tag accounts originated via marketing
2.Aggregate revenue for these customers
- Include subscription revenue, upsells, and cross-sells attributed to marketing accounts
3.Calculate average revenue
- Divide total revenue by the number of marketing-sourced customers over the same time frame
4.Segment ARPU by customer cohorts
- Analyze by acquisition channel, customer size, industry, or product line for deeper insights
Best Practices
- Use consistent attribution rules across marketing and sales data
- Exclude non-recurring or one-time revenue for more accurate SaaS subscription ARPU
- Track ARPU trends over time to identify growth or decline in customer value
- Combine with CAC to evaluate LTV:CAC ratio and marketing efficiency
ARPU from Marketing sharpens your view of not just how many customers marketing brings in, but the quality and revenue value of those customers — a critical lever for sustainable growth.