What's the ROI on Your Mother?

There isn't a day that goes by when I don't see an online discussion or post somewhere debating the issue of social media ROI. How to define it, measure it, explain it, achieve it, present it, graph it - you name it. Should we measure eyeballs, bounces, trends, engagement, emotions, or all of the above? Must we measure daily, weekly or monthly? Should we be in the hump or long tail of the curve? Who should see what information in what division of the company? Do best practices exist? If so, who has the magic formulas?  

Enter Gary Vaynerchuk. I love Gary and you should as well. He's genuine, brilliant, in your face, and a self-made "tough guy". And when it comes to social media, he's also right 99% of the time. My kind of no-nonsense guy. Of course, it's easy to be like that when you've achieved Gary's level of social media success.

I've never met the man in person, but I follow him online every chance I get. One such occasion was several weeks ago watching a live stream of his LeWeb10 conference keynote in Paris. During the event, he gets a question from an audience member asking about the proper definition of ROI for social media. Gary's answer is quick and snappy: "What's the ROI on your mother?" - You can (and must!) watch this great LeWeb moment 38 minutes into this video.

Soon thereafter, Gary expands on his initial statement: "...the ROI of social media is the ROI one gets from a relationship with the consumer." He follows with the money quote: "...anybody who runs a business who doesn't understand the ROI of having a relationship with the consumer [has] no f**ing idea what business is about..."

Does this mean we should not bother measuring what we do as social media actors? Of course not. But we should perhaps take a step back, chill out, and stop being so anal about metrics. We are losing focus by feeding this ROI frenzy. And starting off with the wrong questions. I know formulas and numbers are reassuring. Especially to the big boys in the C-suites. But in my experience, the most metrics-hungry managers are those who tend to be the most absent from the field. And insecurity breeds the obsession. It's a lot like military commanders.

If you're in a bunker somewhere deep inside your borders, you're going to need a lot of metrics, a lot of data, and boatloads of processed information from the outside world. You're flying blind, and need a lot of reassurance. But if you're a commander out in the field (or a CEO out in the markets), you will need much less of it. Why? Because you're in the middle of the action, next to your enemy and, more importantly, your own people. And it doesn't take a genius or a Harvard PhD to open your ears and eyes.

So if you're an executive heading a social media effort, and you seek some ROI feedback, the first thing to do is get yourself personally involved on the social networks. Then, make the effort to visit your markets and meet customers and partners. Being in the office is really bad. Honestly. On the road and in the field, you might just hear things like this:

"I heard about your new charity initiative on Facebook and I'm impressed. Could I interview you about it?"


"Your community gal personally handled a complicated return for my mom's product. I wanted to thank you for doing that!"


"Wow, I can't even get PR people from companies ten times your size to give me the time of day and you're on Twitter 24/7!"


"Your people got back to me by email within 10 minutes on a Sunday. I'll never shop elsewhere!"


"I learned more about the industry from your Youtube videos than anything else"


"Your product came with a handwritten thank you note. I didn't think companies did this anymore"


"Your competitors don't care what I think. They're just in it for the money. You guys are different."


"Was that really you writing that blog post? That one took balls!"


"Everybody wants to work for your company!"


"Your people sent me to another brand that was better for my needs! From now on, you're the first ones I'll check every time"


"My whole family is now using your products. Even my kids are talking about it to their friends at school!"


"Hey I started a Facebook fan page for your fans in Australia!"


"You guys are like family. If you ever need any support or help..."

And when you hear this and many other similar statements from fans, customers, prospects and partners, then my friends, you have achieved the ultimate ROI. And guess what? Your sales will follow. Trust me. In the meantime, congratulations for running a social enterprise :)