Come on, let’s talk ‘ROI’!!!! The most sought after phrase in business and hence a catchphrase even in the extended new market media.
The new medium of connecting and communicating has given an immense possibility to get creative, quirky and even risky with your campaigns. Undeniably, the increasing number of thumbs up and the head counts following you are extremely promising. But unfortunately, the success in this new media marketing is not limited to mere thumbs up and followers. You need to calculate your conversions. But again, conversion may give you a number but will not define your brand. Your brand is an innate self of your organization, a reflection of your thought processes.
Along with innovative ways to build a brand, social media has developed sophisticated ways to measure your returns scrupulously and successfully. Now, the crucial question is can you really gauge the effectiveness of marketing just by your ROI. Surprisingly the answer is No!
Let us delve a bit into this, what does ROI tell you? It tells you, whether your investments are achieving satisfactory returns. It gives a number but the return that you are looking at cannot be limited to a mere number. The emotional connect you build with your customers (both existing and prospective), the awareness of your brand, the perception of your brand in the market matrix are all part of your return. You need to educate your customer about your brand and it’s unique property. You need to tell them your story with passion and originality.
Hence, ROI cannot be a substitution for understanding how your marketing brain works to reach your business objectives. And neither can it replace of your creative thinking nor knack for continuous innovation.
And remember social media is complex, has too many screens and varying variables. Your success starts with a meticulous plan. You need a well-thought strategy which very importantly ropes in the intangible emotions to make an impact. Yes, it needs to be based on your ROI metrics. It is a technique, which you need to arrive at a solution.
And now when you have made your brands smart, sharp, stylish and savvy and adapted the new media with ingenuity and creativity. Walk a step ahead; empathize with your target customers. Dwell on critical decisions like whom to connect, where to connect and how to connect. An intelligent and thoughtful business plan is much above and beyond your beloved business buzz word “ROI”.
