ROI, return on investment, is the measure by which marketers measure the value of their efforts. If their cash investment returns a profit over and above their initial investment they judge their decision to be a good one. As valuable as ROI is as a measure, it applies to only a very small portion of transactions in the market place. Using it as a measure outside that specific segment creates a distortion for Internet marketers in the way they relate to their prospects and customers. Because they are in the business of making money, most marketers view their transactions strictly from an ROI perspective. ROI becomes their unquestioned default measure for every transaction. The problem arises when they unconsciously assume their customers do so as well. Why? Because there is a larger category of commercial transactions in which ROE - what we call "Return on Experience" - is the dominant concern for the consumer/customer. For example, if your client buys from you a money generating product - say stocks, bonds, or real estate - you expect that the money he/she spends will return a profit. That's both your's and the client's legitimate expectation and measure of success. But what if your prospect is in the market for a pair of shoes, or a fine meal, or tickets for the most recent romantic comedy, or to book their honeymoon in Paris? Do they expect the transaction will return to them the money they've spent and then some? Of course not. These are ROE transactions - qualitative instead of quantitative, internal instead of external. By identifying sales success only through ROI eyes - what we call marketers myopia - marketers are in jeopardy of distorting their marketing message because they do not clearly understand what the consumer wants and expects. For example, when they are planning their Paris honeymoon, or choosing a periodontist for their child, or shopping for the best retirement plan, any ROE type purchase, what are they more likely to find compelling - 40% Off or the promise of the perfect experience they're hoping for? ROI argues for the external, quantitative 40%. But it's the promise of the quality of experience that's persuasive and convincing and that's ROE. Much of online marketing suffers from an ROI blind spot, depreciating anything but the external, quantitative measure. However, many online marketers and many of those who are entering the Internet as marketers bring a different type of product and therefore a different type of promise to the marketplace. They are soft sell marketers. They sell experience - emotional, intellectual, spiritual experience - as the explicit expectation of their marketing transaction. Without clearly understanding the nature of what you are marketing, without unpacking the difference between ROE and ROI, without clearly understanding that you're a soft sell marketer, you're in danger of making the 40% Off offer to a market that isn't moved by that kind of marketing promise - costing you customers and profits. So, if you're a soft sell marketer who prefers a more inclusive, emotionally connected, ROE-based business relationship with your prospects and customers - you're invited to register for a free series of 10 tele-calls previewing our "Bridging Heart and Marketing" Internet conference that takes place February 22, 23, 24 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport. We'll be sharing the soft sell wisdom of world-class Internet marketers. Just click on http://www.bridgingheartandmarketing.com - and join us. Source: www.articletrader.com
Share this:
|
