Eighty-eight per cent of marketers believe that a lack of trust is a dealbreaker for consumers, and emotional connection matters more than discounts in today's loyalty marketing.
With brand trust slipping, companies are shifting from measuring immediate financial returns (ROI) to valuing long-term relational returns, trust, loyalty, and advocacy.
Welcome to the age of RoR.
Let’s start with the familiar: ROI, or Return on Investment, is marketing’s old faithful.
It answers the classic question: “If I spend $1, how much do I get back?” It’s neat, measurable, and looks great in a spreadsheet.
We use it to track conversions, clicks, revenue per campaign, cost per lead—all the tangible stuff that justifies budgets and wins boardroom nods.
But here’s the thing: ROI is increasingly short-sighted.
In a world where customer expectations evolve weekly and attention spans are down to seconds, ROI doesn’t tell the whole story. It might tell you how many people clicked, but not how many truly cared. It tells you who bought once, but not who’s coming back next quarter, or bringing a friend.
That’s where RoR (Return on Relationship) enters the conversation.
RoR doesn’t obsess over the click. It asks:
“Did we earn trust?”
“Did we deepen loyalty?”
“Will this relationship pay off again, not just today, but next year?”
While ROI measures the output of a transaction, RoR tracks the value of the connection.
Think of it this way: ROI is the first date, and RoR is the whole relationship.
RoR looks at things like:
RoR isn’t always as instantly measurable as ROI, but it shapes everything about a brand’s long-term success. Why? Because in 2025, trust will scale faster than ads, and loyalty will outperform retargeting.
So the goal isn’t to ditch ROR, it’s to pair it with RoR. Use ROI to track performance. Use RoR to measure resonance.
Because in an era of AI-generated content, 5-second scrolls, and privacy-first customers, what your audience feels may matter more than what they click.
Starbucks is a prime example of a brand prioritising Return on Relationship over simple ROI.
Their Deep Brew AI powers the Starbucks Rewards program to deliver hyper-personalised offers based on individual customer habits and preferences.
This emotional relevance drives more than 30% of all Starbucks transactions, turning casual buyers into loyal repeat customers.
Instead of relying on discount-heavy promotions that can cause fatigue, Starbucks focuses on building trust and emotional connection through meaningful interactions.
This is RoR in action: valuing long-term customer loyalty and lifetime value over short-term transactional gains.
By investing in relationship-driven personalisation in their loyalty and marketing approach, Starbucks shows how brands can move beyond measuring success purely by immediate returns (ROI) and instead foster deeper, more profitable customer bonds.
Tesco’s Clubcard program showcases how brands can strategically blend Return on Relationship (RoR) with traditional Return on Investment (ROI) to drive sustainable growth!
By positioning Clubcard not just as a points system but as a gateway to exclusive experiences, like redeeming points for a £7.50 PizzaExpress meal for only £2.50 worth of points, Tesco improves the perceived value far beyond mere transactional rewards.
Tesco is hitting a home run by blending the best of both worlds:
The emotional loyalty and marketing from an ROI perspective is working well for Tesco, as we see the surge in their loyal customers and overall revenue.
ROI will always be critical; it shows what’s working in the moment, keeps the budget in check, and helps marketers justify their spend.
But RoR brings something ROI can’t: depth, resilience, and future value.
It captures the intangible (but incredibly powerful) currency of trust, loyalty, and connection. When done right, RoR becomes the very engine of sustainable growth, turning customers into advocates and transactions into relationships.
The smartest brands in the room (like Starbucks and Tesco) aren’t choosing between ROI and RoR. They’re leveraging both to build marketing strategies that perform and endure.
So the question isn’t whether RoR replaces ROI.
It’s: how much are you investing in relationships, and how far could they take your brand? Want to know more about the two, and how you can utilise both for a better marketing approach? Contact MWJ now, start your growth journey today!
