ROI Isn’t Enough: The ‘IT’-Metric You Need To Turn Fickle Friends Into Forever Fans

Of course, you want to drive sales. After all, Return on Investment is as much a tried-and-true staple to your business as an impeccably cut, silk-jersey LBD is to your wardrobe! But – in a climate where your customers are inundated with dozens of purchasing avenues, and where they’re more marketing savvy than ever before, it’s no longer just about the purchase. It’s about the relationships and experiences you build with your audience first. And then it’s about the purchase.

And the naked truth is – ROI just can’t properly track the relationship-building you need to drive the “get-this-brand-into-department-stores” sales that you want. 

ROI is just a bit too…basic. 

Whether you’re focused on growing brand awareness or business growth, customer acquisition or customer retention, the profitability of your brand demands a more qualitative relationship-building approach than ever before. And, that critical activity needs to be measured differently than a cut-and-dry conversion equation. 

The ‘It’-metric you need now? Return on Relationship aka RoR. 

Marketing strategist, speaker, and authors Ted Rubin and Kathryn Rose not only wrote the book on the subject, they’ve trademarked the phrase! In their words, Return on Relationship is “the value accrued by a person or a brand due to nurturing a relationship. ROI (Return on Investment) is simple dollars and cents. RoR is the value (perceived and real) that will accrue over time through loyalty, recommendations, and sharing.”

Link to Book

Cue Marlo Thomas: 🎵customers are peeeoooople…🎵 (I’m not the only one who grew up on Free to Be You and Me, am I?)

Customers are people and people crave genuine connection that feels as comfortable and reliable as the most perfectly hued, stay-all-day-every-day, red lipstick, à la MAC Ruby Woo, or the just-hefty-enough, self-winding, two-toned chronograph watch that never fails to make you feel like you’re truly on top.

When it comes to attracting, capturing, and cultivating customers, there’s nothing more important than compelling and consistent content strategy paired with exquisitely composed copy that educates, entertains, and resonates with your customers.

Today’s most beloved brands understand that providing relevant, contextual customer experiences improve sales and profitability. That’s why they focus just as much on top of the funnel content as they do on bottom of the funnel conversion. The marketing secret these brands know is that while conversions are critical, it’s nearly impossible if you haven’t established a meaningful relationship with your potential customer first. 

So what does it take to build RoR-focused content? The key is to imagine all of the possible interaction points your audience has to potentially know, like, or trust your brand and to engage with them in ways that are more nuanced, purposeful, and genuine.

Whether it’s the words on your brand’s website, the topics on your blog or social media, or the emails and communication sequences you send to your customers, building and executing a strategy that focuses on RoR will create deeper relationships, turning fickle friends into forever fans – ultimately driving greater ROI from loyal customers that love your brand.