Measuring the Unmeasurable: A Practical Framework for Quantifying Goodwill in Marketing

Goodwill is one of the most valuable assets a brand can possess — and one of the least rigorously measured.

Many argue that goodwill is “intangible” and therefore unquantifiable. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of measurement. Gravity is invisible. So are electricity, magnetism, and wind. Yet each is measured with extraordinary precision by analysing its effects on observable systems.

Goodwill belongs to the same class of phenomenon.

At Copy Corp Global, we treat goodwill as a latent force whose presence is revealed by consistent changes in performance metrics, customer behaviour, and financial outcomes.

How Goodwill Is Traditionally Measured

Modern brand science typically falls into two camps.

1. Survey & Perception Indices

Frameworks such as:

• Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE)

• YouGov BrandIndex

• BrandAsset Valuator (BAV)

measure brand health through consumer perceptions: trust, esteem, relevance, awareness, and advocacy. These systems provide valuable insight into how people feel, but often stop short of tying those feelings to operational economics.

2. Financial Brand Valuation

On the other side, standards such as ISO 10668 and commercial brand valuation models assess brand value using:

• financial performance,

• the brand’s role in purchase decisions, and

• competitive strength.

These models quantify brand impact in monetary terms but lack the real-time behavioural diagnostics required for ongoing management.

The Bridge: Goodwill as a Measurable Force

Our framework, developed personally by our CEO Jared Mills, unifies both approaches. We do not attempt to observe goodwill directly. We measure the systemic changes it produces across customer behaviour, marketing efficiency, and financial performance.

When goodwill rises, it reliably produces the following pattern:

Customer & Market Effects

• Conversion rate increases

• Repeat purchase rate increases

• Referral activity increases

• Price sensitivity decreases

Marketing Efficiency Effects

• Cost per acquisition (CPA) decreases

• Cost per click (CPC) decreases

• Dependence on promotions declines

Financial Effects

• Customer lifetime value (LTV) increases

• Revenue stability improves

• Margins strengthen

This approach links perception-based models with financial valuation through real operating data.

Quantifying Goodwill

With sufficient historical data, goodwill becomes numerically modelled.

Illustrative Mathematical Example

Baseline:

Metric	Value
CPA	$100
CPC	$2.00
Conversion Rate	2.0%
Repeat Purchase	30%
LTV	$500

After goodwill initiatives:

Metric	Value
CPA	$92
CPC	$1.88
Conversion Rate	2.3%
Repeat Purchase	34%
LTV	$560

Relative change:

• CPA ↓ 8%

• CPC ↓ 6%

• CVR ↑ 15%

• Repeat ↑ 13%

• LTV ↑ 12%

This means the business experienced a 10.8-point increase in goodwill, which produced predictable performance improvements. This formula can be used to calculate goodwill at an institutional level, encompassing multiple factors, or it can be used to measure goodwill on an individual factor.

Over time, organisations build a coefficient:

Each 1-point increase in goodwill yields ~0.74% CPA improvement, ~1.39% CVR improvement, ~1.11% LTV improvement, etc.

Goodwill becomes a predictive business variable.

Protecting the Business from “Goodwill Excuses”

A major governance failure in marketing occurs when poor performance is rationalised with vague claims of “brand building” or “long-term goodwill.” Without measurement, any failure can be reframed as strategic success. This framework eliminates that loophole.

If goodwill is increasing, it must produce measurable system effects:

lower acquisition costs, rising conversion rates, increasing retention, strengthening lifetime value, and improving organic demand.

If those signals are absent — or deteriorating — then goodwill is not increasing, regardless of how persuasive the narrative may be.

This prevents marketing from substituting storytelling for results and protects leadership from post-hoc justifications.

Goodwill becomes an accountable economic force.

Once quantified, goodwill becomes a controllable asset.

Leadership can:

• Forecast acquisition efficiency

• Model long-term ROI of brand investment

• Detect early reputational risk

• Justify marketing spend with financial evidence

• Align marketing with balance-sheet growth

Goodwill is not unmeasurable. It is simply misunderstood.

Like gravity, it cannot be seen — but its influence shapes everything around it. By measuring its effects across perception, behaviour, and financial performance, organisations convert goodwill into a powerful, predictive strategic asset.

At Copy Corp Global, goodwill is not an emotion. It is one of the strongest economic forces in business — and one that can be measured.