Real World ROI and your Website

Perhaps the golden question people will ask in any type of relationship, whether business or pleasure, is, “What’s in it for me”. There is a desire to make certain that the amount put into a venture will at least produce an equal amount of return. In other words, what is the Return on Investment, or ROI?

The answer to the question, ultimately, depends on how one defines ‘return’. Though the first response is usually calculated in dollars, ‘real world ROI’ is not necessarily found in the tangible, the physical, or the almighty buck.

DETERMINING THE MEASUREMENT

Recently, when posed with the question, “What do you expect to gain from your website?” the client of a colleague responded, “I just want to get home in time to catch my son’s little-league games”. Another client said, “Just keep me from going bald, that’s all I ask.” meaning that he didn’t want to pull his hair out anymore over support issues.

Since ROI cannot always be determined by the number of dollars that land in the bank account, it is important to find out what really matters to the client. When all is said and done, how will your client measure the success of his online venture?

For some clients, the measuring stick will be a reduction in support calls, for others, it will be a rise in customer satisfaction, and still others will measure their success by the amount of traffic their site generates.

THE GOAL IN SIGHT

With the measuring stick defined, it is now possible to focus on hard numbers. For any desired result, there will be a realistic measurement. If it is a reduction of support calls, you should ask them to determine what that reduction number might be. If it is an increase in site traffic, have them define how much of an increase they would like to see. If it is less time spent in the office, have them define this. The key is in having stated goals and then determining how to reach them.

HITTING THE TARGET

Now that your goals are defined, you can focus your efforts more clearly in areas such as information architecture, design, and marketing as it relates to the stated initiative. Special attention can be given in each area of development to ensure that the client’s ROI will be targeted. Otherwise, the results of your site will be dissatisfaction by your customer, and an ultimately failed project.

CONCLUSION

The most coveted benefit of an online venture for some people is undoubtedly money, but not all clients are on a quest to increase sales through their site, and still more do not have an income-focused site to begin with (for example, churches, non-profits, political sites, etc.). While you may not be commissioned to generate monetary returns, you can still deliver on your client’s satisfaction by helping them define what ROI looks like in their eyes, and then putting a well-defined plan in place to reach that goal.