I believe “ROI” is one of the most overused term in the business world

Most people hear ROI and immediately may think of money out vs. money in. But in reality, I believe true ROI is multidimensional—and often, the most valuable returns can’t be seen on a balance sheet

Let me give you a very common example particularly in pharmaceutical context

We all invest in various medical conferences in terms of putting up stalls, sponsoring scientific session and many other engagement activities. Now, can I directly track incremental sales as ROI from that event? Probably not.

But here’s what can gain:

✅ Identified new potential customers

✅ Received direct feedback from large pool of HCPs

✅ Observed how competitors positioned themselves

✅ Gathered fresh content and ideas for future campaigns

✅ Strengthened brand visibility and trust

None of these fit neatly into an Excel formula—but all of them matter.

👉 So the next time during evaluation of ROI, we should not ask “How much did I earn?”

Ask instead:

“What did I learn?”

“What did I build?”

“What did I unlock for the future?”

Because I believe value isn’t always visible—but impact often is.

#ROI #BrandStrategy #MarketingMindset #PharmaMarketing #BeyondTheNumbers #BrandManagerDiaries