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What is ROI in MBA and How Do You Calculate It?

Updated on 28 November, 2022

6.67K+ views
8 min read

A Masters of Business Administration (MBA) may be the most fail-safe educational path, but financing it is no cakewalk. We all know how much of an impact education loan debts can have on a young professional’s life, so it is essential to get a good perspective before you sign up for an MBA.

It does involve quite a bit of money, yes. The average tuition at an acclaimed American business school can go up to $135,000. Naturally, most students are anxious about the Return on Investment (ROI) on an MBA degree, which essentially measures the degree’s profitability and can equip you with better knowledge about your post-graduation financial situation.

An ROI helps you figure out how soon you can earn back the money you spent on an MBA or how soon you can be debt-free. Let’s get some basics right before we can calculate the ROI of an MBA degree.

What is ROI

When it comes to heavy watt degrees like MBAs, aspirants should always have a clear view about how fast or how smoothly they can recover their tuition, especially when there’s a hefty debt involved.

An easy way to do it is to estimate the starting salary and annual hike in salary, which is usually determined by your work experience, post-MBA experience, professional responsibilities. Divide the total tuition of your MBA by your salary hike, and figure out the time you need to clear your debts. Once you’ve paid your loans, your ROI starts kicking in. Learn more about the MBA salary in India.

Also take into account any EMIs, or outstanding debts or recurring medical charges which make a dent in your monthly paycheck; a clear picture of your checks and balances will help you figure out the timeline for your ROI.

It’s not just about money

Interestingly, the idea of return is perceived differently by different applicants. A lot of go-getting aspirants lean towards establishing a great professional and academic network, which is something that can help you throughout your career options after an MBA and is also kind of an investment.

It simply makes navigating the work pool a little easier and is thus a potent factor when it comes to the ROI. The quality of your network matters significantly as it manoeuvres you towards a trajectory or the kind of B-school you apply to, the kind of campus placements you zero in on, or even on the job description which fits you.

Your network of friends, professional acquaintances, batchmates, alumni peers, career counsellors, business gurus or any other kind of associations directly have a toll on the opportunities you end up getting and they strengthen your profile as well as future credibility. 

How can you calculate the ROI?

There are several easy ways to help you figure out the returns on your investment when it comes to your business degree

1. Assess your existing debts

For most people, their undergraduate debts are a significant factor in pursuing an expensive business degree. Taking on another major debt for your MBA without clearing your earlier ones is obviously a risk, especially as it will take you another couple of years to actually start earning.

But every aspirant’s trajectory takes flight differently; you may be able to withstand some minor financial setbacks in your personal life till you finish your degree and get a job. You may find time for a part-time job that pays your immediate bills as you finish your business degree. Nevertheless, you should keep the numbers ready to help you assess your situation better, in a more tangible way.

Your credit score is crucial when it comes to figuring out your interest rates on your loans. But luckily once you complete your degree and land a job, you can repay your loans at speedy intervals, at lower interest rates. 

2. Have a strong, data-driven back-up plan

Analyze your financial situation intently and build a data-based model, if possible; this will not only help you choose a program but also help you zero in on a school, get a perception about your future financial goals and the returns.

Factor in campus placements, the calibre of a course, scholarships, the demand of the said course in the job market, the relevance of your previous work experience, your grades, net tuition costs, living costs, amenities, and everything that actually affects your existing and future funds. This may sound like a lot of work, but it will help you stay on top of your financial situation and directly affect your ROI. 

3. Assess the educational, skill-based advancement an MBA brings

In case you’re still mulling over whether you should go for an MBA at all, remember aside from the sound ROI, a business degree also equips you to navigate the high-powered corporate and financial spectrum, which in so many ways, shapes a nation’s economy.

The advanced knowledge makes you a more competent manager, leading to increased productivity of your workforce. But besides that, an MBA also helps you hone your soft skills. A business degree helps you master the concepts of strategic and effective leadership and teamwork and critical thinking.

4. Starting salaries are a crucial factor

Remember an MBA is the most valued degree for a reason; even if it usually comes with a serious student loan, it also fetches you a great starting salary that helps you recuperate your financial setbacks. It’s a lot more than any other entry-level salary, of course.

As a financial manager, human resource manager or as an IT manager, you can make more than 110,000 in a year; this means you can start using a chunk of that money to pay off your loans. Moreover, there’s a hefty signing bonus involved – the bigger your school, the more signing bonus you’ll score. These factors matter a lot when you’re calculating your ROI.

But remember in every batch there are some aspirants who will earn higher than their batchmates, and even if you’re not in that league, a great thing about an MBA is that you can make the most of the skill you already possess. Check out the highest paying MBA jobs in India.

Are you a good speaker? Then you will do great in group discussion sessions and interviews. This can also lead you towards a consulting role that naturally fetches a higher paycheck. Are you a fan of planned group studying? That makes you a team player and you can convert that passion into a management skill.

5. Keep it realistic

For a good ROI, go for a program that gels with your long-term goal and your existing profile; remember that your business degree can earn you new skill sets and give you access to a great network. Though you still have to work just that hard, you will never be in over your head and will be on top of things if you stick close to your area of expertise. 

But be realistic and pragmatic in other ways too, about your commuting routes, about the city you want to study in, the eco-system you want to cultivate which can benefit your academic and later, your professional life.

Your ROI also depends on how fast you can further your career, especially if you chalk in your projected salary into your calculation. So it is very essential to stay rooted in the details and the realities of your scope of earning and also the hindrances and challenges you will face during this time.

Wrapping Up

If you are keen on upgrading your career with an Executive MBA course, upGrad is offering MBA from Liverpool Business School. The program has been designed to stand at par with the best on-campus Executive MBA programs across the globe.

Learn MBA Courses from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.

And the cherry on top – upGrad’s excellent flexible and interactive learning and evaluation systems allows you to balance your personal and professional life in a hassle-free manner. Check out for more information & let our student counsellor help you with your questions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is ROI in an MBA?

Return on investment (ROI) is a valuable tool in MBA that helps you in evaluating your investment from a sheer cost versus return standpoint. It is the true value of earning your MBA. You need to figure out how you would calculate MBA return if you want to determine the true value of your MBA. You need to take several factors into account. Thus it can equip you with better knowledge and assessment about your post-graduation financial situation. It helps you in figuring out how quickly you can earn back the money you spent.

2. Why is it important for me to calculate the ROI?

A good MBA revitalizes career paths and changes lifestyle. However, it comes at a high financial cost. MBA is a major financial investment and any big investment decision does require proper due diligence. It is important to know the financial risks in-store by calculating the ROI. Especially in an MBA, when dividends are paid in the long run as there is a high raise in salaries after a few years of working. Another big reason to consider is the goldmine of intangible benefits like the value of the network created, personal growth, etc.

3. How can I calculate my ROI?

ROI is calculated by adding the current value of MBA investment minus the cost of Investment. This is then divided by the cost of investment. The value of your investment is the tricky part as an MBA opens doors to tangible and intangible, financial and non-financial benefits. Also, salaries can grow significantly over a period of 10 years and hence that has to be factored in. MBA returns have to factor in many things. You need to include salary, salary growth, annual bonus, your existing debts, and MBA cost. You need to assess the soft skills too. You need to include skills like networking, communication power, business developing knowledge, etc.



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There are millions of ways to adapt growth hacking trends but there is no hard and fast rule that defines which one is the best. Here are some stepping stones that have been explored by some of the most popular growth hackers out there. Ideate With growth as your central theme – be it measurable marketing objectives, competition, business evolution or use of technology in marketing; give yourself a brief to crack. Once you know which verticals to tackle, round up your team and ideate on the best ways and latest technologies that can be used and tested as a growth hack. Experiment Newer the technology the better, as it makes way for a plethora of digital marketing experiments. These experiments will help you learn which growth hacks work and which don’t. They could be related to the best use of latest platforms like Periscope, Snapchat, Instagram etc. or simply building a beautiful website that bridges the gap between you and your customers. 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To achieve this goal, a marketer should know what exactly is brand positioning in marketing, how it works, how to write a well-defined positioning statement, what are the different types and methods to perform powerful brand positioning, etc. This knowledge will give an insight of how marketing experts strategize their efforts. Overall, it will help you understand the dynamics of marketing, inside out. The origin of brand positioning in marketing The concept of positioning in marketing was popularised by Jack Trout, Al Ries and Philip Kotler in ‘Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind’ – a Bible for positioning in marketing. It spelled out the mantra of success in branding through positioning. Winning the Market with Consumer Journeys According to these marketing gurus, customers are bombarded with advertisements on a daily basis and they deal with it by filtering the information and discarding useless information that they cannot connect with. To effectively place the brand name in the minds of the target audience in such a ‘media-blizzard’ as they call it, brand positioning is a key. What does brand positioning mean? Philip Kotler defines brand positioning as “the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market”. In simpler words, brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where or how it should be placed in customers’ minds. Types of brand positioning in marketing There are various brand positioning strategies at your disposal to achieve your brand positioning goal. The most popular ones are: Quality positioning While positioning a product, a company assures a customer of its highest quality. Tropicana Juice – 100% real fruit juice, is an example of quality positioning. Price positioning There are two ways of positioning while using price positioning in marketing. High-value positioning and low value (reasonable pricing positioning). For example Big Bazaar positions itself with an idea that customers will get the best products for cheapest rates – isse sasta aur accha kahin nahi (it can’t get better and cheaper than this) while Taj group of hotels’ venture Vivanta’s positioning efforts clearly states that their service is dedicated to a more aspirational consumer. Words like ‘stylish and sophisticated’ used in their positioning statements give us an instant idea about the quality of their services. Benefit positioning This type of positioning offers an exclusive benefit of using a product/service that no other brand can deliver. For example, Motilal Oswal Financial Services assure solid research and solid (financial) advice. Solution (problem-solving) positioning In this type of brand positioning, a company offers a solution to a problem of the target audience. Like LIC offering the comfort of being secured. It positioned itself as an insurance company that would offer solutions to all your worries related to money management and as a friend that would look after your loved ones in case of a calamity – “Zindagi ke sath bhi, Zindagi ke bad bhi” (With you; for a lifetime, and even after that). Subjective (competitor based) positioning Positioning a product in the minds of the audience with respect to a competitor by implying that no other brand can serve them better. For example, Malayala Manorama, a newspaper in Kerala, sets itself apart by assuring, “Nobody Delivers Kerala Better”. Why Brands Need To Do More: Lessons from Google, Airbnb & Uber How to strategically design your positioning statement A key to robust positioning in marketing lies in writing a strong, well-defined positioning statement. The following steps will definitely help a marketer to write a fitting positioning statement: Identify the target audience A thorough understanding of how segmentation and targeting work in marketing will help identify a target market. A target market is essentially a segment or group of people who are most probable to be your customers. It can be the urban youth, the middle-class segment or even population belonging to a particular geographical region. Read the signals through research Understand what the target market wants to hear, define its needs and wants, the communication method it is most comfortable with and then prepare your plan. Communicate the value that the brand aims to create Deliver a message in a way that it assures the customers that this is all they have been looking for. Make a promise of quality, most reasonable price, benefits that none other can offer or value addition over and above what a rival company is offering based on your assessment of the product/service and a USP (Unique Selling Point) based on which you are selling this product. Design-Thinking in Content Marketing: Some Ideas and Tools Examples of noteworthy positioning statements Amazon for its books segment: “For World Wide Web users who enjoy books, Amazon.com is a retail bookseller that provides instant access to over 1.1 million books. Unlike traditional book retailers, Amazon.com provides a combination of extraordinary convenience, low prices, and comprehensive selection”. Zipcar: “To urban-dwelling, educated techno-savvy consumers, when you use Zipcar car-sharing service instead of owning a car, you save money while reducing your carbon footprint”. Notice how both of these businesses define clearly the target segment, what their company does, how it helps you and what is the value that it promotes, and the range of benefits that it offers. Such well-defined positioning statements, in fact, such remarkable positioning in marketing has multiple benefits. First and foremost, it makes every department of an organisation, market-oriented. It becomes a part of organisational philosophy and value. It creates loyal customers. It helps you stand out in stiff competition. And most importantly, it attracts your target audience in a very powerful way. It helps them remember your brand a certain way, a way you want them to remember it. 5 High Impact Digital Marketing Strategies to Win the Market How to learn about positioning in marketing? You cannot master marketing without a profound knowledge of brand positioning. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that it is a focal point of all marketing efforts. Reading books and online articles won’t take you too far. For a deep insight into how positioning in marketing works, you should undergo formal training and educate yourself thoroughly. If you wish to explore and become an expert in Digital Marketing, check out upGrad & MICA’s Advanced Certificate in Digital Marketing & Communication. Become an expert in social media marketing, content marketing, branding, marketing analysis and PR. This course helps you to not only understand brand positioning but gives you an opportunity to apply learnings from real-time case studies and industry projects to create a robust marketing strategy and scale new heights in your career. Learn Online MBA Courses from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.
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by Maithili Pradhan

07 Feb'18
Do You Really Need an Offline MBA to Become a Great Manager

5.74K+

Do You Really Need an Offline MBA to Become a Great Manager

A Disclaimer: I refer to those professionals who don’t have a Management Degree and are striving to make a transformation in the managerial role in their career. The business ecosystem is changing every day and so are the requirements from the business professionals. Accelerating and augmenting the business to sustain in the market, has been a consistent pertaining need of the hour. The growth of high-end technology has enabled to automate the business processes and reduce the mundane labor of work. Yet, the role of management to develop, plan, strategize and execute the operational business tactics is inevitable for any organisation. Most of the corporate career path, especially non-technical and non-engineering channels of business, leads to this management segment or the managerial role. A leadership role which is alluring and encouraging to seek greater success in the corporate arena. Is the path to the Managerial role a straightforward route? The initial formative years in the corporate world sows the seeds and dreams of a dynamic career. The peers and managers influence and strengthen our dreams. Most of us look up to these managers and wish to achieve the same. But, after the initial phase of sugar and spice, the reality checks-in when the professionals face the real competitive environment for the managerial role. The path to the managerial role comes with a great responsibility and vision. A professional management certification on your sleeves is a perfect incentive and an entry ticket to achieving this managerial designation and can offer an upper hand when compared to others who do not have one. At this juncture, most of the corporate enthusiasts go through a midlife crisis. Confused whether to quit the job, pursue a degree from a reputed B school such as IIM, ISB or International Institutions, or get a management degree from some random management institution. Real Individual Growth, the Catalyst for Success A low CAT score also sometimes forces them to settle for something very less and eventually hits them hard on their pockets. Most of us believe just a paper of certification would suffice to pursue this role, contrary to the reality. A lot of corporate professional’s dwell in this dilemma for a very long time and sometimes miss out the major career turning point of their life. If you are sailing on this boat, we are here to anchor you and show you the right path. Even after more than two decades and tremendous technological advancement and process automation, the implications of managerial role and management skills have not come down. Having said that, there is a steady decline in the fad of the management studies and certifications from B Schools. The lure of being an IIM or any other B school alum has been declining for quite some time. Research studies conducted by ASSOCHAM show that only 20% of students passing from B schools end up in jobs which are aligned with their studies. The campus placement scenarios in these management institutions are extremely grim and have dropped down severely. Most of the students end up in low-salaried jobs and struggle for years to pay their educational loans. So, why take the pain of writing a CAT examination, quitting your job and pursue a management degree which might end up in a path filled with the bumpy road in your career than the present scenario? You might be wondering what could be the other ways where you don’t have to take a break as well as get a management degree? We are here to help you out. Gone are the days when Management studies were a lucrative and luxurious educational stream, mostly pursued by professionals who have a strong and wealthy background and who could afford to take a break whenever they wished to. Today, Management studies with a certification in hand, are vital to growing up in the corporate ladder. Having said that, the online and distance education system of learning and acquiring skill sets has enabled professionals to look at the pros and cons of entering the campuses of B Schools with a different perspective. The corporate programs offered by online educational institutions such as UpGrad, inspire professionals to take up Management Studies and transform their careers without pausing or halting in the middle. This transformational journey is like The Road to El Dorado filled with bumps and potholes. From being a subject matter expert to a managerial role without quitting the job requires an investment of time and conscious efforts to balance the ongoing role and acquire skills for the new role. Some of us might be doyens in our area of expertise and possess in-depth knowledge about the domain. However, we might lack the managerial skills to plan and execute the business improvement ideas. For example, as a developer, you might have a fresh and great idea to augment the features of the product you are developing and make it more conducive for the customer and incur more revenue for the organisation. Nevertheless, you might not be able to forecast, plan, budget and execute the different aspects of the business to implement your idea. This is where the necessity of acquiring managerial knowledge and skills comes handy. The need of proficient business managers is on the rise to tackle the challenges of the dynamic and fluctuating business environment. In the present scenario, most of the business managers are required to look beyond the present and foresee the challenges of the future and be planned and prepared for any type of crisis. The product managers are in a constant battle to grow the business with creativity and speed. These online management courses will help build and hone the necessary skills such as researching and synthesizing information of the business, communication skills and project management along with knowledge and application of diverse management tools. The Certification of Management Studies would empower the students with the knowledge to handle the projects from the business profit and loss perspective and augment it creatively to the best of the business needs. Though these are not a full-time professional degree course, there are impeccable advantages of opting for such online management certifications. These corporate online programs have endured giving a virtual learning experience just like a real-time educational institution. The best feature of these online management certifications is that most of them do not have any entrance exams. So, zero fear of passing or failing at the entrance exams. Above all, these online courses can be pursued with or without taking a break from your career. After all, who would wish to take a break, make a huge investment and live in financial crunches for years? These online courses and certifications do require an extra little time investment in your daily life (of course every course has a time limit). These courses, besides giving in-depth theoretical knowledge about the business concepts also help you understand the practical real-time business scenarios and the challenges of the industry. These courses also impart insights and information about the changing trends of the market through applied projects along with personalized mentorship. The plethora of options for the corporate professionals available in the education world would help them seek the required managerial and leadership skills without any hindrance in the career. An online education which is exclusively skill-based training along with intellectual and innovative awareness and application of the business tools to provide exception management services for the business. Much for the best of the students and professionals, these management programs are certified in collaboration with reputed national and international business schools. Once acquired the degree as well as the essential skills, the corporate professionals can showcase their talent to grow up in the ladder. As these courses are pursued as an on-the-job educational enhancement, it will be a perfect way to apply the management skill in your daily professional life and show your peers and seniors the innate potential and the acquired new skill for the optimum career growth. With the timely execution of the skills in the business and visible impact on the business, the transformational journey from a subject matter expert to the managerial role would take place. The expedition from a subject matter expert to a managerial role not only requires the technical skills and managerial skills but also needs a shift in the mindset. When you are a subject matter expert, you must be a pro at your subject. You need to be a master of your domain. The go-to person for all the product development problems. Why Skill Development is Really Important for Success You need to help the team solve the problems when under the technical crisis and find solutions to the product issues. But, the scenario completely changes when you are looking yourself for a management role. You are not just a problem solver. You need to think and forecast when and how the problem would arise, how many resources would be needed to solve the issues and what is the time-delay which would happen if problems arise. An end to end overview of the project in terms of business vision and mission. As a Manager, the way you approach the business would change drastically. These management degrees will help you visualize the day to day problems of the individual projects from the business perspectives. You will start looking the projects in terms of revenue generation and contribution to the profits of the organisation. As a manager, you would need to have a much profound thought and views about the resources available and the future necessity of the resources, along with the time management, so that the project schedules are met in a timely fashion to the customers as per the schedule. You also need to overview the performance of the individual team members depending on their contribution to the projects. In short, you as a manager must have the potential to show the entrepreneurial skills such as resource management, time management, business operations management besides having the knowledge of the product development. Learn MBA Courses from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career. Do You Have All the Skills Required to Start a Business? This revolution in the mindset does not happen overnight or just by possessing the theoretical knowledge. This change in the way of thinking and execution of the business goals comes after a lot of daily business crisis encounters over a period. The best way to kick off this journey of managerial metamorphosis is to pursue an online management degree along the side of your ongoing corporate career. Sow the right fertile seeds today for a better constructive and thriving professional career.
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by Deepak Singh

01 Mar'18
Get an Edge in your Management Career: UpGrad and IMT Ghaziabad

5.88K+

Get an Edge in your Management Career: UpGrad and IMT Ghaziabad

Across the globe, for quite a few decades now – getting a post-graduation management education has been a tried and tested route for employers to hire high caliber managers. It also gives an edge to aspiring managers for transitioning into higher paying roles. But not everyone who gets a management degree achieves success. In India, tens of thousands of management graduates are churned out by the 100s of colleges, but only 7 percent turn out to be employable, says a study conducted by ASSOCHAM. In fact, only a top few colleges are able to boast of quality education and great career impact. Beyond the top 20 colleges – all metrics related to career impact, whether it is post-college CTC or percentage of class employed after 3 months, fall drastically. This shows, it’s not enough to just get a management education – the college you get it from is very important. For a lot of working professionals, going back to the campus is not the best alternative. Many of them can’t spend 5-15 lakhs on getting an on-campus MBA. Some want to continue their jobs and get promoted and some are not able to get into campus programs of a reputed college. As a result, every year approximately 140,000 people enroll in distance education management programs available in India (MHRD report). Do You Really Need an MBA to Become a Manager? But in most of these distance education programs, the quality of education is substandard. This also is not much of a secret – all recruiters understand this well. To help aspiring managers to actually achieve their career goals without taking a 2-year long break, we joined hands with IMT Ghaziabad to develop a PG Program in Management. IMT Ghaziabad is widely regarded as one of India’s leading B-Schools. The alumni of IMT Ghaziabad can be found in almost every industry in leadership positions. IMT G alumni are serving in senior leadership positions in organisations such as Google, Genpact, Verizon, Ashok Leyland, Citibank, Credit Suisse and Zomato. What are some unique features of PG Program in Management Become a graduate from one of the best B-schools Having a great B-school on your profile benefits you throughout the career. Be it getting shortlisted for interviews or getting promoted faster – there are lots of intangible and tangible benefits. You will also have access to campus facilities and be a part of IMT alumni network. UpGrad learning experience: Tailor made for busy working professionals This program requires only 6-8 hours of time per week. In a typical week, students go through lectures and assignments by taking out 3 hours from Monday to Friday. All the live lectures are scheduled over non-work hours for their convenience. And all deadlines are on Sunday midnight – so that you have the entire weekend to complete everything. Learn from top professors and top industry professionals One very unique feature of the program is that the lectures are not only taken by professors from IMT Ghaziabad – but we also have lots of industry leaders teaching you in the program. These industry leaders have decades of experience and work in leadership positions in top companies and access to multiple networking sessions during and after the program. Learn by doing; go beyond learning through lecture notes We believe learning doesn’t happen by going through lecture videos or Hangouts – learning happens when you apply the lectures taught you to real-life problems. This program will have 13 case studies based on actual problems faced by companies. It will also have live projects where you will be running digital marketing campaigns on Facebook and Google Ad platforms. Get mentored 1:1 by industry leaders In this program, you will get 5 sessions with an industry professional with years of experience. You will get to choose this mentor from a pool of mentors. In these 1:1 sessions, your mentor will help you develop a better resume, conduct mock interviews and help you understand what kind of roles should you apply to. Get career opportunities Through our network of over 200 industry partners, we share career opportunities with our students. Additionally, students get to be part of IMT Ghaziabad official alumni group – where a lot of top opportunities are shared. Transition into your dream role faster Unlike most management programs that take 2 years, we have designed this program to be only 10-months long. A short MBA program helps the students achieve their career goals faster and are ideal for experienced professionals. Many top MBA schools like the Indian School of Business, INSEAD France, and HEC Paris also offer short duration management degrees. No need to take a lot of leaves for the end exam In a usual distance management degree, students have to take end semester exams. Most students end up taking a 10-15 day leave to give these exams – which is a big pain point. To solve for this – we have a lot of smaller components throughout the program where you will be graded. These include case studies, assignments, live projects and so on. This means, you just need to turn in your assignments on time and there is no end term exam. Real Individual Growth, the Catalyst for Success We are excited to train the next generation of leaders for the country. Check out the PG Program in Management now if you wish to race ahead of the curve in leadership roles! Learn MBA Courses from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.
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by Apeksha Minz

20 Mar'18
4 Customer Retention Strategies You Never Tried

5.36K+

4 Customer Retention Strategies You Never Tried

We live in a world of constant competition. When it comes to the business, brands are working rigorously to make sure that consumers don’t buy from their competitors. In such situations, the best option is to work on your customer retention strategies. Customer retention, in a nutshell, refers to the process of keeping and nurturing your existing customers. It involves building trust among existing consumers and earning their continued patronage. According to Invesp, the probability of any business selling to existing customers is 60-70%.  The study further shows that existing customers are 50% more likely to try out your brand’s new products. They are also likely to spend 31% more compared to new prospects. These statistics explain why you should concentrate more on customer retention rather than focus only on getting more customers. And due to all these benefits, customer retention is one of the key factors that drive the success of any business. So for optimum results, your brand should have proper strategies in place for retaining your existing customers. Here are a few tried and tested strategies you can use to excel at customer retention: #1. Add Value to Your Products Providing something extra to customers so that they don’t buy from your competitors is a good way to retain customers. It is not only limited to providing benefits and features, you can also provide unique experiences to your consumers that no one else provides. You can alternatively provide unique benefits and experiences to certain groups of customers rather than providing them to everyone. This way, you can also reap huge benefits by offering a sense of exclusivity to certain customers. An example of a company that adds value to its products and provides unique experiences to its customers is Apple. Apple has always been known for making products that are easy to use. In its recent development, the iPhone X is one of the first mobile devices to have facial recognition technology. This allows you to you scan your face so that it can only be unlocked by you. Not only this, Apple perfected the face ID technology significantly so that their product is one-of-a-kind. They have yet again managed to set themselves apart to continue retaining their loyal customers. Brand Positioning: A Focal Point of All Marketing Efforts #2. Delight Your Customers As a business owner, there’s no doubt that you can offer your product at a fair price and deliver it to your customers in a timely manner. However, this does not give them an unforgettable and meaningful experience. Nor does it ensure that you’ll gain their loyalty. In order to retain customers, your brand should think of effective ways to consistently provide memorable experiences to customers. There may even be times when you go above and beyond to ensure that their experience is unique and pleasant. To delight and surprise your customers you can: Ask customers to take part in surveys to show that you care about their opinions.   Bring them onboard for product testing so they have a unique pre-launch experience.   Celebrate their birthdays by sending out exclusive gifts or discount offers. This way, your customers will know that you truly care about them and not just about their business with you. It will help them understand that you’re serious about delivering a one-of-a-kind experience to them. And this will enforce their trust in your brand. Foundr magazine recently published a guide anyone can use to start and scale an online store. In 2012, the people of Bethel, Alaska were delighted to hear the news of a Taco Bell opening there. But they later discovered that the opening of the Taco Bell in their remote town was merely a hoax. Not long after, the news reached Taco Bell. The company understood the amount of excitement that was built around the potential Taco Bell opening. This is when the company thought of surprising the citizens of Bethel. Taco Bell soon executed an event named “Operation Alaska.” During the event, the company sent out a helicopter carrying a Taco Bell truck to the town of Bethel. This truck was filled with enough food ingredients to make 10,000 Doritos Tacos for the people of the small town. Taco Bell did this to surprise the people of the town and appreciate the brand’s loyal fans. Although they were unable to open up a physical store in Bethel, the company went out of their way to address their customers’ demands. Learn How To Use Audience Targeting In Marketing! #3. Provide Great Customer Service It doesn’t matter how good your product or service may be if you can’t deliver good customer service. If your customer service is not up to the mark, you will have a hard time retaining the customers who choose to do business with you.  Brands should understand that the quality of service they provide is the main factor that differentiates them from competitors who sell the same products as they do.  That’s why it is of the utmost importance that your company has effective customer service strategies in place if you wish to boost customer loyalty. This would also include everything from setting up a proper after-sales protocol to providing a good user experience to your site visitors. They need to know how to build, launch and grow a profitable online store. Just think about it – will visitors return if your web pages load slowly, or if it takes several minutes for them to find the information they need? It will not only frustrate them but also increase their sensitivity towards price. And this could significantly affect your brand’s revenue in the long run. By focusing on personalized customer service solutions, brands can easily retain the majority of their customers. Here’s an example of great customer service being provided by Amazon. Here we see that the customer has reported that the product order is yet to be delivered. The customer support agent Jeff informed the customer that the product has been delivered to Australia. He apologized for the inconvenience and created a replacement order for the customer. Jeff also went on to provide an expedited delivery of the replacement order. This way, he not only answered all the customer’s questions but gave her a personalized solution to the issue. Segmentation in Marketing: Get Started with Effective Strategies #4. Boost Your Content Marketing Strategy By understanding the customer’s perspective, you’ll realize that consumers are more comfortable buying products and services that they think they’re familiar with. So when it comes to purchasing decisions, they choose products and services they’ve heard of from some other source. This source could be anything – from friends and family to news articles. That’s what makes content marketing so effective for businesses. Content marketing involves publishing content in a way that not only reaches out to the masses but also influences them. It helps consumers learn more about your product or service in a way that’s not overly promotional. Additionally, it also provides useful information to existing customers on how to further benefit from your product or service. There are a few steps you can take to optimize your existing content marketing strategy. Here are some ideas you should implement: Combine Content Marketing with Influencer Marketing – Work with influencers who have a voice in a relevant niche. You could have them create content in which they talk about your products or services in front of their audience, which can help you win over an engaged audience. You could also have them vouch for your products or services in testimonials, expert roundup posts, or interviews. And since the recommendation is coming from someone they trust, this audience is highly likely to be smitten about what you’re selling. This will give you an easier time winning their trust and loyalty, which is vital for retaining them.   Keep Track of Where Your Content Stands – It’s also crucial that you ensure your content remains consistently visible and valuable. The goal here is to ensure that you continue to attract and engage a highly relevant audience and win over their loyalty. Additionally, strategies such as updating content can have a significant impact on your content visibility and customer retention efforts. The strategy involves picking out older pieces of content and updating them with new information, new ideas, or new images that can continue to engage your audience. Winning the Market with Consumer Journeys Conclusion It’s important to understand that your current customer base is the best asset your business has. These people are the ones who are already aware of your brand as well as its products and services. Focusing your energy and time on making these people happy will help you generate substantial revenue. Do you know any more strategies that can help in customer retention? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below. Learn MBA Courses from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.
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by Shane Barker

27 Mar'18
The Ultimate Sales and Marketing Resource Guide

5.46K+

The Ultimate Sales and Marketing Resource Guide

The present marketing world is evolving every minute. In a perfect world, sales and marketing work in collaboration. However, the reality is otherwise. The old-school approach of recruiting people with just sales knowledge or marketing experience is dying. The digital ecosphere has bridged the gap between the marketing and sales professionals. Today, no business organisation requires or recruits human resources who possess a very narrow knowledge and skill set. Today, every front-end professional who interacts with the consumers must hold knowledge about the end to end cycle of the business. We all have the habit of bookmarking interesting and informative articles to be read in our leisure time, and that time never comes. The thought of acquiring all the knowledge of sales and marketing is in itself quite overwhelming. Even though the industry requirements are changing, most professionals are unable to stay updated with their skills and knowledge. Here we are sharing the ultimate sales and marketing resource guide for all the professionals who are into marketing and sales. This is an attempt to share the basic requirements of the industry and also the list of the resource from where one can gain the knowledge and skill set of Sales and Marketing Management. While on hand, the marketing team would bring the latest ideas and strategies for advertising the product to generate leads. On the other hand, the sales team would be handling calls and answering consumer queries to convert them into loyal customers. But, this would happen separately and the information given to the consumers would be different. The biggest challenge which most businesses face is the gap between the sales and marketing team because of a lack of communication between each other. The efforts to convert the traffic to customers would be all in vain. In short, the business would run at a loss if both these segments work individually. Today sales and marketing team should know about the workflow and functioning style of each other and work in cohesion to drive revenue. Here are some of the mandatory knowledge which every sales and marketing professional must own. Foundational Skills of a Marketing and Sales Professional Hard Skills Storytelling Thought Process No marketing and sales professional should throw a direct pitch for purchase to the consumer. With the widespread use of technology, today’s consumers make better-informed choices and purchase decisions. Every marketing and sales professional should sell their products or services in the form of a persuasive tale to the consumers. These professionals must have a storytelling thought process to capture the attention of the audience at the first instinct. A journalistic mind along with a creative feature writer’s attitude and ability in dealing with consumers is one of the more essential hard skills of the industry. Digital Media Skills The digital world is evolving and challenging the traditional frameworks of marketing and sales. It is evident that digital media is the way forward and every professional must own digital media skills to flourish in this industry. The digital media is dramatically impacting the buyer-seller relationship and the brands. An effective and active digital media presence is the new path to enjoy the tangible results of sales and marketing. Design Skills Today, every professional is mandated to be a tech-savvy to grow in this field. The advancement of technology has automated the marketing and sales process. Hence, all professionals must devour the knowledge of process modelling, project management, web and graphic designing along with content curation. Possessing a technical know-how is a must to climb up the ladder of professional growth. Data Analytics Skills The technology has enabled to capture massive data about every step a consumer takes towards the brand. The knowledge to interpret these data into viable inferences and frame effective strategies is quite essential to gain and retain the target audience. The intellect to understand and appreciate the enormous data of the consumer and brand relationship involves exceptional analytic skills. Domain Expertise Yes, knowing the hard-core skills of sales and marketing are vital. Beyond that, professionals are also expected to possess domain expertise within the industry. The in-depth knowledge of the product and the technology and also the consumer’s requirements are inevitable to bridge the gap between the business and its evolving needs of the audience. Having domain expertise always would give an upper hand over other competitors. Importance of Digital Marketing in Logical Business Decision-Making Soft Skills Creativity Marketing and sales professionals are required to think and act creatively in every step to attract new consumers. The innovative designs, gratifying content writing, amusing and appealing concepts and exceptional skill to think outside the box are a must. Besides selling a product pitch, this would enable us to offer the customers incredible brand experience. Creativity is not just required but rewarded as well. Communication Verbal and non-verbal communication is a must. Most professionals overlook this skill. But to stay consistent and grow up in a career, strong communication skills play a significant role. The golden rule of every marketer or sales personnel has to appeal to the clients in a persuasive manner and help them solve their problems through the business products and services. Whether it is writing a marketing ad copy or drafting a sales pitch and presenting to the clients, a great orator and communicator could make or break the game of the business. Collaborative Skills No business segment works individually. Every team must collaborate with each other and work in tandem. The present-day recruiters and hiring managers look for individuals who are collaborative in nature and work well with multiple people at the same time. The emotional and empathetic connect within the organisation as well as with the customers are a necessity to shine as a true professional in this field. Negotiation Skills The most vital tactical skill is negotiating skills. The art of convincing and negotiating a client comes with experience. From negotiating to acquire a project with a client, to convincing on the timelines, budget, priorities, and expectations, every step needs incomparable negotiating skills. The capability to drive the hardest bargain is one of the biggest challenges as well as the notable skill to grow in glory for all the professionals. Leadership Skills A professional who goes beyond seeking one’s own growth. Taking risks, driving change, building trust, owning the failures and sharing success with everyone is the real traits of a great leader. Leadership skills are vital to make vital decisions and empower the ownership of the business to the professionals. Today, every marketer or salesperson has the opportunity to showcase their leadership skills in every aspect of their working environment. Every great leader is a mentor for the next generation. How Does a Digital Marketer’s Salary Grow? Business Models of Marketing and Sales Renowned frameworks which are adopted by the marketers and sales professionals if the industry. Pragmatic Marketing Framework: The Pragmatic Marketing Framework gives the end to end picture of the business operations for both the product and marketing and sales team. Go-to-Market Strategy: A model that shows the collaborative interplay of the sales and marketing team. The Startup Pyramid – Growth Frameworks: This framework is completely driven and help to determine how to grow when to expand and which metrics to be tracked in a specific stage of the business. Technology Marketing Framework: Think beyond the 4Ps of marketing. Today 14Ps govern the marketing framework. The 2016 TOPO Sales Framework: Decode the elements present in high-growth sales infrastructure. Agile Sales Framework: The Ultimate Sales framework to Empower the marketing and sales professionals with decisions and results. The CLEAR Culture & Framework of Sales: This framework will help to convert the audience into potential consumers and lead to conversions quickly. Sales Enablement Metric: This metric will help to empower the organisation’s sales delivery strategy. Books Gain in-depth knowledge by inculcating a habit of reading books. Most Popular books to read on marketing & sales industry: Building a Story Brand: Donald Miller Marketing: A Love Story, How to Matter to Your Customers – Bernadette Jiwa Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Digital Distraction – Derek Thomson  What Customers Crave – Nicholas Webb Digital Marketing for Dummies – Ryan Deiss and Russ Hennesberry  Blue Ocean – W. Chan Kim  Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill  PRE-SUASION: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade – Robert Cialdini The Sales Acceleration Formula – Mark Roberge Predictable Revenue – Aaron Ross and Marylou Tyler Thinkertoys – Michael Michalko The Psychology of Selling – Brian Tracy The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation – Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson Influence: Science and Practice – Robert B. Cialdini Cracking the Sales Management Code: The Secrets to Measuring and Managing Sales Performance – Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana 7L: The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals – Michael J. Maher Digital Marketing on a Zero Budget Online Courses Popular Niche Courses for Marketing and Sales Professionals. PG Program in Management – upGrad PG Certification in Digital Marketing & Communication – upGrad Executive Program in Strategic Digital Marketing – upGrad Terminologies Do research on these industry jargons and get familiarised to stay confident. Sound Bite Value Proposition Service Level Agreement  Smarketing  GPCTBA/C&I – Goals, Plans, Challenges, Timeline, Budget, Authority, Negative Consequences, Positive Implications. Churn Rate ABC – Always Be Closing. BANT –  Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline Buyer Persona  Lifetime Value Qualified Lead  Social Selling  Adoption process – the buying process Discovery Call Net Promoter Score  Customer Acquisition Cost  AIDA – Attention/Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action Cold Calling  Profit Margin Conversion Rate  Marketing and Sales Management Tools To automate and remove the repetitive, mundane tasks of the marketing and sales process. Buffer – Manage all the digital media accounts in a single dashboard. Canva – Unleash the creative potential of the professionals and build a brand for life. Google Analytics – Free data analytics solutions to measure and optimise the growth of your business. Hotjar – One stop solution for website optimisation. Simply Measured – Offers enterprise-level analytics and management data for the digital initiatives. IFTTT (If This Then That) – Single platform to merge all the cross-channel marketing and sales efforts. HubSpot CRM – A perfect tool to manage and enhance customer relationships. Adobe Spark – Create visually appealing stories and marketing designs with minimal efforts. LinkedIn Sales Solutions – Find leads and close deals through the LinkedIn sales navigator. InsideSales.com – Incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) to convert leads to loyal consumers. ToutApp – Simple and sophisticated tool to transform the sales team into a revenue-generating machine. SalesForce – Smarter and faster client relationship management infrastructure. Calendly – Aids in scheduling and managing the appointments without the interaction of emails. LeadMine – Look, capture and reach qualified business leads with corporate contact information. Saleshandy – A suite of powerful tools for marketing and sales activities such as email tracking, mail merging, document tracking, auto-follow-up etc. Yesware – Sell smarter with high-level actionable insights of consumers and make focused decisions and strategies to gain real-time results. 10 Influencer Marketing Strategies You Should Know [Gifographic] Influencers and Experts to follow on Twitter In times of crisis, lookup to these Industry Doyens for Inspiration and to stay focused. Donald Miller – @donaldmiller Tabitha Naylor – @tabithanaylor Ann Handley – @annhandley Matt Heinz – @HeinzMarketing Avinash Kaushik – @avinash Scott Galloway – @profgalloway Danny Sullivan – @dannysullivan Larry Kim – @larrykim Vala Afshar – @ValaAfshar Trish Bertuzzi – @BridgeGroupInc Alice Heiman – @aliceheiman Gerhard Gschwandtner- @gerhard20 Jim Keenan – @keenan Peter Ostrow – @PeterOstrow Jill Rowley – @Jill_Rowley I hope this ultimate guide and comprehensive resource list would help you kick-start your career in sales and marketing and aid you to become a qualified professional and a significant player in your domain. Learning never stops. So, make it a part of your personality and always have an open mind to learn and adopt new ideas and knowledge. Learn MBA Courses from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.
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by Anshuman Agrahari

02 Apr'18