What’s the ROI of…?

by Mark Arnold

In a recent Financial Brand article, we asked multiple financial marketing experts, “What’s the ROI of branding?” While it’s a great question and the answers make you think, it got me thinking about return on investment and financial institutions.

Do we have to put ROI on EVERYTHING?! Boards, CEOs and CFOs preach ROI (for good reason). But think about this:

  • What’s the ROI of your employees smiling?
  • What’s the ROI of a great banking experience?
  • What’s the ROI of turning a negative situation into a positive?
  • What’s the ROI of how your call center representatives answer the phone?
  • What’s the ROI of good service?
  • What’s the ROI returning someone’s call on time?
  • What’s the ROI of a good conversation?
  • What’s the ROI of conducting a transaction accurately?
  • What’s the ROI of doing something unexpected for your member or customer?
  • What’s the ROI of your mother?

All the items above are important—and are hard to quantify.

Before the number crunchers and financial gurus start calling me a marketing moron, please note I’m not saying ROI is not important. It is. However, there are many things your credit union or bank does every day that you can’t have a number put to it.

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