ROI and KPI Expectations Limit Marketers

Dylan Notturno | Nov. 21, 2022

Return on Investment (ROI) is something that is estimated and determined with any reasonable business decision. After all, without sound reasoning to back up your actions then how can your business expect success? For a marketer, this is a difficult conversation to have with the rest of the team because there are many marketing efforts that do not have immediate ROI nor are as successful in terms of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), but would benefit the growth of the business as a whole. These indicators are extremely insightful and should not be overlooked, but they do not always paint the whole picture of opportunity.

Digital Marketing KPIs and why People Prioritize Them

In Digital Marketing there are multiple KPIs that are tracked, analyzed, and utilized to inform business. Number of users, average engagement time, page views, bounce rate, cost-per-click, conversion rate, customer lifetime value, brand awareness and loyalty… the list goes on. These metrics outline the success of advertising campaigns on social media, the effectiveness of a company’s website, the efficiency of the customer journey laid out for the consumer, the appeal or lack thereof for a good or service, and much more. KPIs provide insights that help determine what’s working and what isn’t.

These are a perfect foundation for analysis. Social media channels automatically collect this information for you and it can be simple to collect analytics for your website, too. So if these are the quantifiable metrics for digital marketing efforts, then shouldn’t the goal be to simply improve each metric over time? Certainly, if you are doing something right, keep doing it. That being said, let’s take a closer look into what that might unfortunately become if you're not mindful:

Social media management involves a large amount of promotion. Creating, editing, and publishing content. Without this content you can’t get your clicks, so naturally you’re more inspired to continue to develop more and more content for your audience. However, as time goes on you recognize a decline in activity and your metrics are seeing declines as well–did something go wrong?

It can be easy to fall into this trap where you repeat the process but don’t recognize the fine balance between prioritizing great KPIs and being so hungry for returns that you continue to generate content. Eventually, you might just be shouting into the void. Your schedule is now quite busy with such a large emphasis on promotion and it is not returning results. If there is something of value to showcase to your audience, that should be the priority, not quantity of posts. As such, while KPIs are very important to record and reflect upon, we must be careful as marketers with how much we prioritize their growth.

The "Hidden" Deliverables that are Necessary for Success

While no deliverable is truly “hidden,” there are many activities that can benefit your marketing efforts that are not reflected with an immediate ROI or are as successful in terms of their KPIs. As in, their results are "hidden" from view. A few examples of this type of work includes:

• Building a library of resources.

• Website restructuring.

• Discussions regarding product, price, place, and promotion.

• Conducting research on your target audience.

These are all examples of longer-term considerations that a business can invest in to bolster success in the future. Developing a library of resources pertinent to your target audience slowly over time is not an objective meant to spark engagement, it exists to create value and information. Website restructuring to enhance the user experience (from a Marketing perspective) by evaluating content, language, color theory, and opportunities will not be recognized every single day. Discussions about your business and how it positions itself in the marketplace will not receive direct response, either. And finally, the fruits of your labor from conducting primary research will take months–perhaps even years–depending on the decisions derived from that information gathering.

For smaller businesses that already struggle with receiving immediate ROIs or acquiring and maintaining strong KPIs, these are areas to start generating momentum.

If your focus is creating value, then it will take time, and that is ok.

Of course there are a few opportunities that can be capitalized on with these examples to increase engagement, drive certain KPIs, and capture some sort of ROI, but that isn’t always the case. Lifting this burden of expectation can help ensure that your priorities are straight. That’s powerful.

Why Society is Instantaneous Results Driven

Whether or not work that is done is consumed every single day, the world operates on a day-to-day schedule. Without results, it’s difficult to extrapolate the effectiveness of someone’s efforts and to ensure that the path that they are on with their work is worthwhile. Our world isn't just results driven, it's instantaneous results driven.

Society measures success with quantifiable data because it’s easy to compare over time. When reporting to a client or to your boss, this data can strengthen your understanding of what is working and what isn’t. This data should not be overlooked or ignored, but work that is qualitatively driven or otherwise takes time to develop should be pursued as well.

Finding the balance is key in justifying doing work that does not result in quick or clear returns. This can be achieved simply by outlining objectives for the short term that will inform the long term pursuits. If your long term goals have substance, regardless if there are any immediate deliverables it should not diminish their importance.

This will not be true for every marketer. However, these measurements do not always make sense for determining the success, validity, or importance of certain ventures. Businesses must balance their expectations with reality and recognize opportunities to take on projects and tasks that do not have immediate benefits but do inform future decisions or result in a better, more complete product or experience.