What's The ROI Of Your Mother?

May 23rd,2011

Mom and Me

“What’s the ROI of your mother?”–Gary Vaynerchuk

Think about all your mother invested in you? Can you chart it? Can you say because she said “this”on November 12th 1977 you generated “X”in sales?

No.

Your mom invested in you in the moment. It was all the little things she did that made you who you are today…and it’s really hard to measure.

The ROI Of Social Media

Gary’s point with his comment is that social media is about small,incremental steps. It’s about building relationships over time. It’s also about giving and not always asking.

It’s not about saying one thing and BOOM sales!

This is a hard adjustment for many of us growing up in the broadcasting/advertising age. We’re used to being shouted at. The newer generations have had enough. They are TiVoing commercials and giving up email accounts to communicate directly with one another.

It’s Like The Old Days

Back in the day,people talked to each other. You probably remember your mom or grandmother talking with neighbors at the kitchen table. The younger generation has just scaled that.

We got complacent listening to commercials and not talking to each other in the living room. They got bored. So the “kids”started tweeting,texting and Facebooking as a way to directly communicate with their friends. They’re talking. We aren’t.

The merchants on the old fashioned Main Street,didn’t put up pie charts explaining if they had 10 conversations with Mrs. Smith,they would sell her a rump roast. They connected. Talked. Shared. Helped. And in the end Mrs. Smith was happy with whatever she bought…and came back.

Moving Away From Corporate Speak

ROI was fashioned in the corporate world where actions needed to be justified on a balance sheet. Even in the corporate world,however,you didn’t calculate the ROI of the every interaction. You just built relationships. Over time they may have helped with a project,in your development or even in your promotion. I’ll bet you never tracked every experience.

How Do You Measure Success?

But companies say if we “invest”in this social media stuff,how can we measure it’s success.

It’s not about measuring the success of the individual relationships. It’s about measuring the success of the entire integrated philosophy. Any by the way,you’ll still use traditional methods to do that –increased sales,happy employees and loyal customers.

You just may not be able to directly connect it to a tweet or blog post.

Connecting Is Most Important

Connecting is the most important aspect of social media. This is where you can start to build relationships that in time can lead to increased sales.

If you don’t understand how to do that with the new technology,ask for help.

If you don’t have the time,look at your calendar and see where you aren’t using your time effectively or again ask for help.

The ROI Of My Mother

Gary says he is who he is and where he is because of his mother. I can proudly say the same. Because my mother believed in me when I didn’t,I’m here building a business helping others around the country grow their businesses in a healthy way.

Thanks Mom!

If you want to see the event that sparked the comment from Gary Vaynerchuck,check out the following video. Note:If you aren’t aware of Gary’s presentation style,he does like to swear a lot.