How to protect and improve your ROI

Why do you need to know how to improve ROI?

ROI is a metric to describe how well something is performing that you’re likely to use often if you work in the finance industry. In the context of your business, the ROI refers to the overall profitability you enjoy.  

When your ROI is poor, it’s a good indicator that you need to make some changes. In this way, knowing how to improve ROI is really knowing how to grow your business and make it even more successful.

Just as your clients will be assessing your services to determine if you provide them with a return on their investments in you, you must evaluate your entire business and all your investments in it on the same grounds. 

Six ways to increase ROI in business terms

As we’ve established, increasing ROI in the context of your financial advice business is about growing your brand proactively and taking steps to make long-term goals possible.

From increasing your client base to perfecting your working methods, there are many options.

Here are just six ways to improve your ROI. 

1. Focus on steady, consistent marketing – A slow, steady approach to marketing campaigns, especially digital content marketing, is the best way to engage customers effectively and consistently.

Plan ahead, schedule and stick to the schedule. Let potential customers know they can rely on you.

Consider email marketing campaigns for regular, scheduled contact – they create an average of $42 profit for every dollar invested (AKA, a great ROI). 

2. Automate where possible to free up valuable time – Automating your business in order to save time and reinvest effort in other, more important areas is becoming increasingly common.

Marketing and media campaigns can often be at least partially automated, and transactional tasks can also be taken off plates to free up space for focusing on client relationships and broader business growth. 

3. Demonstrate enthusiasm and excitement – Enthusiasm is infectious and a constant imperative in business. Customers and clients will feel the engagement if you love what you do.

Not only does that mean they’ll be more amenable to your advice, but also that you’ll attract more business through referrals and marketing.

Companies with more engaged staff have a 6 per cent higher net-profit margin than those who aren’t enthusiastic about their positions. 

4. Track your progress with KPIs – The only way to truly understand your company's growth is by actively tracking your progress.

Set specific goals and KPIs in your business plan and check in with them every few months to make any necessary revisions and monitor metrics (from general metrics like gross profit margin and productivity to specific marketing metrics like web traffic).  

5. Pay attention to customer feedback – It stands to reason that the best way to maximize your business’s ROI and enjoy a lot of growth is by making your clients happy.

Customers aren’t always right, but they should always feel heard and respected. By gathering and acting on client feedback, you’ll be able to prove, as a company, that these comments don’t fall on ears that aren’t listening. The improvements you make will boost your reputation.   

6. Be transparent about fees and fee structure – It’s reported that 17 per cent of investors don’t even know that they pay investment fees.

A transparent and honest fee structure you discuss with the client often is the best way to avoid backlash.

In turn, this transparency and openness will increase your ROI because clients will feel happier knowing that their money is being handled in good faith and will be more likely to recommend or refer. 

Protecting your ROI once it’s high

Having built a profitable, thriving business, the work doesn’t stop — you then need to shift gears and consider protecting your improved and considerably increased ROI.

The best way to do this is by focusing not just on lead conversion but on customer retention. And the best way to do that? Excellent customer service every step of the way. 

Going above and beyond to meet client demands and never falling short of expectations is crucial, as is keeping marketing consistent (noted above) and regularly giving customers new content to engage with and get value out of.

The more visible and valuable your company is felt to be by your customers, the more involved and dedicated to the use of your services they’ll feel.  

You can also protect your ROI by running things as efficiently as possible, saving time and money wherever feasible.

Constantly evaluating your company costs and understanding where to spend protects your profits from unnecessary degradation, as you can make savings by eliminating or restructuring areas of your business that are losing money.  

 The more you can save in underperforming areas, the more you can reinvest, either in overhauling the relevant area or in narrowing your field of specialization and transferring the savings into the budget of a higher-performing area. 

Handling your fee structure and financial management strategies effectively and efficiently is also imperative.

Being cost-effective not only protects your ROI directly — it also protects your ROI indirectly by keeping clients onside and reducing client turnover.

Pair this with transparency about why services cost what they do, and you’ll know you’ve covered every base.