ROI

[Hope]

I have been a regular participant at many forums over the past 3 years. It amazes me that I have never seen a discussion on ROI. Maybe if we talked more about ROI, we might not have lost so many dotcoms when the bubble burst.

Do any of you ever think about ROI? Do you discuss it with you clients? Do you worry about ROI for your own companies?
I would love to hear what people here think about ROI or if they even think about it.

[ihelpyou]

Yep. Clients that sell an inexpensive product/service seem to be the most likely ones that should be concerned with ROI.

You need to be careful with everything closely integrated with a product that you may ship, handle, package, put together, etc. You can lose your shirt if not on top of things.

I also believe that selling "service" might be easier as there is your time involved and little else. Makes things easier. I actually like to look at "net income". Period. ROI can mean only if a visitor does what you want... filling out a form, joining your newsletter, etc. Not necessarily buying something. Money made after expenses is very important. Of course, your ROI could be tracked all the way to the final sale, even if they do something first, then months later finally buy.

Then you have to look at time spent after the sale on the client, which would affect your bottom line.

[ihelpyou]

ROI is very good when tracking say... an advertising campaign on GoTO, but the advertising should be looked at as a whole.

You could have a bad ROI on GoTo but have a great one at Google. This might not mean you have to drop GoTo as you have to figure what value there is for the "branding" you receive on GoTo.

All of this can be complicated. Nothing is set in stone. You can look at figures differently depending on what you are tracking/looking at, at that particular time.

[Hope]

I agree. One of the problems people have with ROI is they don't understand what kind of Return they are looking for. For the company I work for the ROI is a letter or getting out and doing something or a donation. For an ecommerce site it is a sale. Each site has a different need. The question you need to ask yourself is why are you investing in your site. What is the purpose of your site. Once you figure that out, then you can figure out what kind of a return you are looking for.

[Mel]

Hi Hope
totally agree with you and believe that the most prevalent "sin" on ecommerce web sites is not having a good "Business Plan" when you start your site. A well thought out business plan will often make you more aware of what you are trying to accomplish, how to go about it and yes, ROI.

PS I just posted a question on ROI for PPC engines at that forum. Would welcome your comments there

[Blue]

Being in a service based business, ROI is most definitely an important aspect. If my clients are satisfied with their ROI in my services, there is a direct impact on my own ROI. Word of mouth, client testimonials, and positive response branding are one of the most important considerations in web site promotion for a service based business, and as such, should be considered as a ROI in and of themselves.

[JuniorHarris]

<applaud> Good points Blue!~