Forget ROI | Focus on ROR

Forget ROI | Focus on ROR

(for Today)

As businesses we (most) always seek an ROI – Return on Investment.

Our clients expect an ROI on their spend, so that it was a value-add using our services. We expect an ROI from our team members – delivering greater value from their services than what we pay. We expect ROI from our service providers too, so that we can mark-up and on-sell for profits. It’s a basic business capitalist model. No issue.

Yet, ROI is not always sustainable!

Covid has shown us just how quickly things can go from mainstream to topsy-turvy to chaotic – all in the blink of an eye – so, where is your ROI now?

It doesn’t matter at this moment!

What matters is something deeper – that human connection that we all have to each other (including to the entities we interact with). As we quickly transition from office to home, and find new ways to interact; remember at the heart of everything ‘communications’ is the H2H – human2human approach.

Deeper than this though, is how to cultivate and retain an ROR – Return on Relationship.

RoR refers to the cumulative value you get from growing strong relationships with your stakeholders. It is not the benefits you get today; it is the value of these relationships into the future that really matters.

It should be an ongoing business initiative, but for many, it comes to the fore because of a crisis. That being said, it's never too late. 

We always say PR is an awareness tool; not a sales tool. So, are you using PR intelligently and intuitively at this time to continue developing your ROR? Are you building relationships with your stakeholders – not for gain now, but for leverage later? Are you supporting your community through especially-curated messaging to share empathy with them? Are you a pillar of support for them, or at least, a flickering light at the end of the tunnel? Are you finding innovative and realistic ways for stakeholder outreach?

Simply put, are you still communicating, and are you doing so in a way that embraces and supports community values, showing your corporate citizenship (big or small) as caring and civic-minded; or, are you failing in this endeavour?

Your messaging is important – remembering your stakeholders in times of need; and using your communication initiatives to reach out to them, keeping them informed, and offering them support (emotional, physical) during this time. Your business premises may be shut, but your guiding principles and concern for all stakeholders should not be. 

We can’t forget (or ignore) our stakeholders. We need them after the crisis is over, just as they potentially need us. We need to continue building relationships with them. And that is where RoR comes in. And during crisis, you need it more than ever.

You need to find ways to build strong relationships that lead to customer loyalty even after the crisis is over.

So, what are you doing today to extend your ROR?