Is this a question you can answer? If so, I applaud you. You’ve figured out the formula to give a monetary value to your relationship without pissing anybody off.
Social media ROI has been a question on the books from the start. To date, I haven’t seen a single person or business who’s put an exact number to their social media efforts be successful in a social media space.
What dollar value do you associate with being present for the first goal your son has ever scored in a soccer game? What price do you pay to watch your daughter at her first dance recital? What dollar sign do you assign to any one of those times that you must pass up? Please, tell me. I’d like to hear how you price out your life.
When I was working in a call centre, fundraising for my alma mater, my job was to call university alumna and fill them in on the happenings of their faculty. Nursing turned out to be one of the least favourite faculties for any of us to call. The nurses were bitter, they were overworked. Mostly, the era of nurses we called felt like nothing more than a number to the university.
Tell those nurses that their education was valuable. Tell them that for every second, minute, hour, year–whatever statistic you come up with. Tell them how much value it added to your institution. I bet it’ll make them feel like a million bucks. Educate them on their ROI.
Next, jump on the phone with your best friend. Let him or her know just how much being friends with them has added to your life. Don’t do it in terms of verbiage. Put a dollar value to it. “Mary, being friends with you over the years has meant so much to me. I feel like you’ve added at least another $50,000.00 to my life.” Will it matter what value you put on the relationship?
Think about the Mastercard commercials:
Eddie buying his first tuxedo: $500
Eddie renting his first limousine:$250
Eddie’s corsage for his girlfriend: $75
The look on Eddie’s first girlfriend’s face when he picks her up for the prom: priceless
There’s no way to value that moment. For everything else, there’s Mastercard.
There’s no way to put a value to the relationships you build with your friends, community and customers. So why are you trying so hard to do it? If an advertising campaign can capture the fact that there are some moments and some relationships you just can’t buy, why can’t you?
Outing My Inner Geek by Wendy Peters 