The Big Question: What Does ROI Mean to You?

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The ubiquitous Gary Vaynerchuk asked this in response to a persistent question many were asking: what’s the ROI of social media? His question has always perfectly encapsulated both the idea of return-on-investment, and my frustration around it. You know it’s important. It is clear that it is adding value. You know you couldn’t (or shouldn’t) do without it. So, what’s the ROI? In this case, Gary’s point (yep, first-name basis) is that it doesn’t really matter. It’s important. It’s valuable. So do it. The lesson isn’t a tough one. ROI isn’t always an easy thing to calculate. The ROI of an event, a meeting, or lifestyle choices aren’t always line-items on a ledger. What’s the end game? What results were we expecting from our tactics? What’s the ROI of the “The Big Q”? It’s a great format. It garners traffic and creates conversation. It’s something we’re known for. It results in new Slack community members. Ultimately, it’s a value-add, engaging piece of fun content.

Like social media (and our Mothers), it’s a long play. Still, be that as it may, ROI is a weird thing. So, today’s Big Question asks: What does ROI mean to you? How do you define, establish, and measure it? ROI: Not Always a Numbers Game For Ben Froedge, you need to go beyond the numbers: ROI isn’t always measured easily by numbers. But if you’ll spend some time looking at what is going on with a platform Timeshare Owners Email List or investment, you’ll see it. Why did you start using Slack? Is it doing the job you wanted it to do? Can your team or tribe communicate more easily? Is a social media platform selling for you? Or is it possibly letting you build positive relationships with your audience? ROI is when the thing you do moves the needle in the direction you want enough to be worth your investment and more. And while Ben is all about moving the needle in the right direction, Jennifer Hancock focuses on value. More specifically, what has value for her: I do things that don’t pay all the time, because whatever it is—has value to me—even if that value isn’t money. It may be about forwarding a social agenda I have. It may be to go someplace cool.



Perhaps it’s altruistic—helping someone out. Maybe it seemed like fun. All of that is valuable to me. I am a solopreneur, so I do have to guard my time and I do ask myself all the time, “what will I get out of this?” I rarely weigh monetary gain in making those decisions. It’s mostly: do I like doing this or not? Will this be something I enjoy? Or not? Will this make the world a better place if I do it? Or not? That is what ROI means to me. But then—I am a Humanist and am a firm believe that business should be about more than just making money. It should also be about making the world a better place—for individuals and for society. And I consciously choose to consider ALL the things I value (work-life balance, social justice issues, helping people, fun and making a living) into my decision-making matrix. The ROI of Treating People Well What do they say? A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. While there are many interpretations of that (just like calculating ROI), I take it to mean our team is one of our most important resources. We have to support and nurture it to succeed.