If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t be shackled to outdated beliefs, ill-performing tactics, or traditional modes of communication. We need to think and act differently. 2020 has effectively shaken us from our slumber and forced us to reimagine, reinvent, and reinvest in who we are, what we offer as professionals and businesses, and how we interact with those around us.
If I were to ask you for the definition of ROI just six months ago, you probably would have answered simply return on investment, right? And you would have been correct. But today is a different day and I would like to challenge you to think outside of that traditional definition and view ROI in a new light.
To understand the new definition of ROI, we need to first look at how we got here.
An economic shift that rattled most businesses and industries
COVID-19: a virus that quickly spread, creating a global pandemic unlike anything we’ve seen before. Awareness of the virus really took hold at the beginning of the year, but it wasn’t until we saw lockdowns and quarantines in March that we really felt the brunt of the virus and just how serious it was to our lives and economy.
Many businesses were forced to transition their workforce to remote (with many still in this stage), others had to close down completely or layoff staff to accommodate for decreased revenue. The stock market took a hit. Unemployment reached new heights. There was a strange rush on toilet paper. Basically, our world began spinning out of control like one of those gravity rides at the carnival.
The world is changing. We are in the midst of a cautious reawakening and re-emergence. What will the world look like when the dust settles?
- Some businesses are simply on standby, holding on as best they can until things improve.
- Some are cautiously moving forward, choosing to optimize their existing efforts but not rock the boat.
- Others are full steam ahead and experiencing exponential growth.
Assessing your marketing strategies and redefining ROI for today’s economic landscape
Most people who are assessing their marketing strategies ask common questions like “what’s the ROI?” But those questions seem to come from a place of conditioning rather than meaningful consideration. You are conditioned to ask certain questions as a gateway to success. But are those the right questions?
Return on investment is notoriously difficult to assess in marketing, especially content marketing. Why? First, content marketing is a long game. It involves consistent delivery of information in a variety of formats to allow your business to get in front of — and stay in front of — your prospects and customers.
The beauty and beast of it is that it’s very difficult to tie a lead to one particular piece of content, or even a series of content pieces. You know they are watching (hey, nice shirt!), but you don’t know what tipped them over the edge to start that conversation. That is, unless they convert on a piece of content or can recall exactly what it was and tell you! Good luck with that. That’s why attribution is such a huge deal for marketers. We are constantly looking for new, innovative ways to track attribution in hopes of painting the full picture of the journey from awareness to purchase.
When it comes to digital marketing and content marketing, there’s a new ROI in town.
When it comes to digital marketing and content marketing, it’s not enough to just look at the traditional definition of ROI, businesses are now looking at the bigger ROI picture. Here’s what I mean. Businesses today are assessing their marketing initiatives and investments and finding themselves in one of three camps (or a combination of the three!):
- Reducing current marketing expenses & investments
- Optimizing existing marketing investments
- Investing in new marketing strategies and initiatives
Hence, the new, redefined ROI!
Reduce
Reducing or cutting marketing investments is not an easy decision, but there are certainly circumstances where it is the best choice for your business to help you get through difficult times. Whether this means reducing staff, outsourcing activities, cutting specific tactics for the short or long term — whatever the reduction, it’s important to think carefully about how that adjustment will alter your lead flow and progress. Choose wisely.
Optimize
For some businesses, maintaining a status quo is the way to go. Rather than reduce or expand their investments, they are looking at existing strategies and tactics to identify opportunities for optimization. For example, taking a closer look at their social media strategy may uncover opportunities for automation or highlight consistency issues that can be easily addressed. Perhaps looking for ways to optimize videos or graphics. Or updating social media profiles to tell a better story. The point is to take what you’ve got and make the most of it.
Invest
Please hold on to the bar! Some businesses are not slowing down or maintaining, they’re growing — and fast! These companies are looking for new marketing tools and strategies to invest in that will give them a hefty boost, igniting lead flow, and creating exponential growth. This group is comfortable taking a risk to achieve the reward.
Which of these groups do YOU identify with? What’s the next step?
The problem most companies experience when they find themselves in one of the three ROI categories is knowing which way to go. What to cut. What to optimize. What to invest in.
Often, it takes an outside perspective to truly offer an objective opinion that allows you to see the full picture and take that next step. At Active Blogs, we call that a Marketing Second Opinion. We offer Marketing Second Opinion sessions for business professionals, like yourself, to talk through current challenges, strategies, tactics, and goals.
