The Importance of Return on Attention (ROA) in Marketing

By Rosita Bunce

When you deliver a message, regardless of what it says and its impact, you marketing strategy will only be truly effective if the message is reinforced. With so many places for customers to focus their attention in today's overcrowded marketing environment, Return on Attention (ROA) is the new Return on Investment (ROI), and has become an important focus for organisations.

Businesses should be aiming to achieve measurable Return on Attention when communicating, both with their target markets and with their employees. In the end, no matter how much time and money is spent ensuring messages are received by the right people, if the message is not understood and reinforced, there is very little point to it.

Digital marketing has made life for marketers today much easier -- and also much more difficult. Marketers now have the means to reach out to their target audience on a global scale; however, the dawn of the digital age means potential consumers are now bombarded with information every second of every day.

It's no wonder we have all developed the skill to filter out whatever we perceive to be useless. For this reason, marketers must work extra hard to ensure their messages are not only received, but recognised as useful and, importantly, understood.

So how can we measure the effectiveness of communication and ROA?

Stage 1 — Reaction

Do potential customers react to your marketing messages? Do they open emails, click on links, and follow instructions? In other words, have you attracted their attention enough for them to engage?

Stage 2 — Knowledge Transfer

Does your potential customer understand the message being communicated? Has the information been digested appropriately? It is difficult for marketers to measure this objective. Generally speaking, though, the actions of the consumer should say something about their level of understanding.

Stage 3 — Actions and Results

Has the marketing message generated sales or prompted a higher number of customer enquiries? In short, has it had the effect you were hoping for?

Stage 4 — Enhance the Customer Experience

Talk to your customers and find out what they are thinking. What feedback can they give you about your products and services? Engage your customers in the process and they are not only more likely to stay loyal to you, but they will probably recommend you to family and friends too.

Achieving Maximum ROA

One of the most important ways to maximise Return on Attention is to differentiate the user experience from that of competitors. Consider how you can make your marketing messages more innovative. It is no longer enough to simply connect with your audience; it is now imperative that the experience is interactive. Messages need to be more meaningful than ever before. If actions are required, make it as simple as possible for the customer, taking into consideration how and where they may be receiving the message.

Possibly most importantly, listen to your customers and take notice of what they are saying. Their needs and expectations are fundamental to a lasting relationship and ultimate success. Each contact point, from social media to telephone interaction, will provide a lot of useful information, so take the time to interpret this. The results will speak for themselves.