Measuring ROI from a performance marketing agency in Malaysia is similar to elsewhere but should be tailored to your business model, customer lifetime value, local channels and payment behaviours, and the contract you signed. Below is a practical, step-by-step framework you can apply immediately, plus formulas, KPIs, and what to require from the agency.

1. Start with clear business goals (and translate them into KPIs)

• Sales-focused: revenue, orders, ROAS, CPA, profit per order.
• Lead-generation: qualified leads, cost-per-lead (CPL), lead-to-sale conversion rate, revenue per lead.
• App/growth: installs, cost-per-install (CPI), retention (D1/D7/D30), LTV.
• Brand/awareness: impressions, view-through conversions, share of voice (useful but not primary for ROI).

2. Define the ROI metrics and formulas (use the ones that match your objective)

• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) = Revenue attributable to campaign / Ad spend. Example: RM50,000 revenue / RM10,000 ad spend = 5.0x ROAS.
• Marketing ROI (%) = (Revenue attributable – Marketing cost) / Marketing cost × 100. Example: (RM50,000 – RM12,000) / RM12,000 = 316.7%.
• Cost per Acquisition (CPA) = Total campaign cost / Number of conversions.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) = Total marketing + sales spend to acquire customers / #customers acquired.
• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) = Average order value × purchase frequency × gross margin × expected customer lifespan.
• CAC : LTV ratio = LTV / CAC — target depends on business but commonly 3:1 or better for healthy margins.

3. Attribution: pick and enforce a model

• First-touch, last-touch, or data-driven attribution — choose based on complexity.
• For multi-channel performance, use data-driven attribution (recommended) or multi-touch (weighted) to avoid under/over-crediting channels.
• Ensure agency and your analytics use the same attribution windows (click-through and view-through windows).

4. Tracking & data sources (must-haves)

• Shared analytics: give agency access to GA4 (or preferred analytics), Facebook/Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, etc.
• Conversion tracking: server-side or Google Tag Manager + event tracking for purchases, leads, app events.
• Payment/checkout reconciliation: map conversion IDs to actual orders in your CRM or order system to avoid counting failed/chargeback orders.
• UTMs and URL parameters: consistent naming conventions to map campaigns to revenue.
• For Malaysian context: ensure tracking captures local payment methods (e.g., e-wallets, FPX, card) and any offline conversions (phone, walk-ins) routed to CRM.

5. Align time windows and reporting cadence

• Short-term paid search/social: measure weekly and by campaign; evaluate ROAS after at least 2–4 weeks.
• For LTV-driven businesses: evaluate initial CAC and then LTV over 90 days, 6 months, and 12 months.
• Monthly reports + quarterly business reviews for strategy/optimization decisions.

6. Reconcile reported ad-platform conversions vs. real revenue

• Platforms report conversions; reconcile platform-reported revenue with your backend/CRM revenue to find discrepancies (attribution windows, fraud, cancellations).
• Adjust for returns, refunds, and chargebacks in net revenue calculations.

7. Compare against benchmarks (use internally consistent benchmarks)

• Benchmarks vary by vertical; more important is trend and improvement vs. agreed targets.
• Use your historical CAC/ROAS and margin requirements to set acceptable targets (e.g., minimum ROAS to break even given gross margin).

8. Contract & incentives — make ROI measurable and aligned

• Agree on primary KPIs (e.g., CPA ≤ RMX; ROAS ≥ X; CPL ≤ RMY).
• Define reporting format, data access, and audit rights.
• Consider performance-based fee structure: base retainer + bonus for hitting/exceeding targets.
• Define what counts as a conversion (validated sale, net of refunds) and attribution window.

9. Practical KPI list by campaign type

• E‑commerce: ROAS, CPA, AOV, conversion rate, repeat purchase rate, CAC, LTV.
• Lead-gen/B2B: CPL, qualified lead %, lead-to-win %, CAC, revenue per lead.
• App: CPI, retention D1/D7/D30, LTV, ROAS.
• Offline: lead-to-visit conversion, offline revenue attribution, store-level uplift.

10. Example calculation (simple)

• Campaign ad spend: RM20,000
• Platform-reported revenue: RM120,000
• Returns/refunds within window: RM10,000
• Net attributable revenue: RM110,000
• ROAS = RM110,000 / RM20,000 = 5.5x
• Marketing ROI (%) = (110,000 – 20,000) / 20,000 × 100 = 450%

11. What to ask the agency and require in reports

• Raw data exports (UTM-tagged sessions, conversions, time, campaign IDs).
• Reconciled revenue numbers (platform stats vs. backend orders).
• Breakdown by channel, campaign, creative, placement, device, geography (state/city if in Malaysia).
• Tests and learnings (A/B tests, creative, audience, and results).
• Action plan and forecast based on CAC and LTV.

12. Watch for red flags

• Agency unwilling to share raw data access or UTMs.
• Reporting only on clicks/impressions rather than revenue or validated conversions.
• Big differences between platform conversion value and your backend revenue without explanation.
• Promises of unrealistic ROAS without clear plan or previous proof.

13. Local considerations for Malaysia

• Account for local shopping days (e.g., 11.11, 12.12) and local payment behaviours which can spike conversion patterns.
• Mobile-first behaviour and high e-wallet usage — track mobile UX and e-wallet conversions.
• Multi-lingual creatives (Bahasa, English, Chinese if relevant) and targeting may affect KPI performance.

14. Final checklist to operationalize measurement

• Set KPIs and attribution model in writing.
• Grant agency and internal teams appropriate access to analytics and ad accounts.
• Implement consistent UTMs and server-side conversion tracking if possible.
• Reconcile platform revenue to backend orders weekly/monthly.
• Evaluate short-term ROAS and longer-term CAC:LTV across 3–12 months.
• Put performance-based incentives or penalties in contract if needed.

If you want, I can:

• draft a KPI and reporting template you can give the agency, or
• build a spreadsheet mock-up with formulas (ROAS, CPA, CAC:LTV) using example numbers.

Which of those would be most useful?