Real connections are the new currency of our time. Because digital oversaturation is creating a longing for authenticity, personal, credible and sustainable relationships are becoming increasingly important. Anyone who plans events, builds brands or designs their communication today is therefore increasingly focusing on one success factor: the quality of relationships.

This is precisely what the “Return on Relationship” (RoR) describes. Unlike the classic “return on investment” (ROI), RoR does not measure short-term performance, but rather the long-term value of trust, loyalty and relevance. This makes it a key lever for effective live communication. A lever that is becoming increasingly important, as a recent study by the consulting firm “Bain & Company” shows. Companies with strong customer loyalty achieve up to 67% more turnover per existing customer. They can also increase their profits by up to 95% with just a 5% higher customer retention rate. What's more, acquiring new customers is around five times more expensive than retaining existing customers. So it's no wonder that RoR is rapidly gaining in importance as a KPI in live communication.

So if more and more companies are measuring their success not just by leads or sales, but by the quality of their relationships and building trust and loyalty is becoming the real goal, it is worth taking a look at what lies behind this concept. How can companies increase their RoR in a targeted manner - and how can the success of RoR be measured? 

WHAT DISTINGUISHES THE ROR FROM THE CLASSIC ROI?

Return on Relationship (RoR) describes the added value that companies gain from building and maintaining long-term relationships. Be it with customers, partners, employees or other stakeholders. In contrast to return on investment (ROI), which measures whether a measure has paid off in purely financial terms, RoR is about emotional attachment, trust and loyalty. In other words, values that are not always immediately quantifiable, but are crucial to the company's success in the long term.

The term was invented by Ted Rubin, one of the most influential thought leaders in the field of social marketing. He put it in a nutshell: “Relationships are the new currency.” Customers who feel connected to a brand remain loyal to it for longer, recommend it more often and are often willing to spend more on its products. In B2B marketing, and especially with long decision cycles and complex offers, RoR has therefore long been considered a strategic KPI. Because while short-term conversions are quickly exhausted, sustainable relationships create stability - and this is exactly what matters in volatile markets. 

WHY ROR IS SO IMPORTANT IN EVENT MARKETING

Events play a major role in building these relationships. They are emotional touchpoints. They bring people together, create experiences and enable personal encounters - and this is precisely where the relationship value is created. Especially in times of digital communication and a growing flood of information, the importance of genuine, trusting connections is increasing. The return on relationship is therefore a key success principle in event marketing. The fact that RoR is also becoming increasingly important internationally is demonstrated by the fact that more and more efforts are being made to develop standards for RoR and establish it as a new measure of success for events. 

ROR AND KI-SUPPORTED APPROACHES IN EVENTS

Artificial intelligence (AI) is also playing an increasingly important role when it comes to improving RoR. Modern event systems use AI to personalize and efficiently manage attendee relationships. Interactions are recorded and analyzed, allowing companies to respond more individually to guests without losing the personal touch. In addition, AI-supported systems drastically reduce response times and increase service quality. This in turn contributes to the RoR: a guest who experiences that their issue is resolved in minutes develops a stronger sense of loyalty. 

The insights generated in this way can in turn be used to strengthen relationships in a targeted manner. In this way, AI tools act as “relationship accelerators”. They support human teams in establishing greater proximity and relevance with participants. The result is an increased RoR: AI makes it possible to maintain individual relationships with countless guests at the same time. 

HOW COMPANIES CAN MAKE ROR MEASURABLE

At first glance, return on relationship sounds soft and difficult to grasp. But in data-driven times, relationship qualities can be mapped precisely. Companies that want to use RoR strategically need the right indicators above all. The most important KPIs in the context of RoR are:

• _Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The stronger the relationship, the longer and more profitable the customer loyalty. Studies show that loyal customers buy more often, pay more and are less likely to churn.
• 
  _Retention rate: The customer retention rate measures the percentage of customers who continuously use a company's product or service over a certain period of time.
•  
  _Net Promoter Score (NPS): The value indicates how likely it is that customers will recommend a company to others. It is therefore a direct reflection of trust and satisfaction.
• 
  _Engagement rates: Does my audience comment on, like and share my content? And how active is my community outside of traditional transactions? These metrics also provide information about the RoR.

In the event context in particular, other metrics are gaining in importance, such as:

_The quality of leads after events 
_The proportion of returning participants in event series
_The depth of interaction on networking platforms
_The referral rate or the number of follow-up conversations generated

Many companies are also starting to develop a relationship score - a value that translates qualitative aspects such as frequency of dialog, personal support or community activity into a key figure. This development is still in its infancy, but it shows that RoR is measurable.

CONCLUSION: RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE REAL ROI

Events create what algorithms cannot: real closeness between people. Especially in a digitalized world full of automation and AI, this closeness is becoming a decisive success factor. The return on relationship is thus gaining strategic importance - as a supplement to the classic ROI and as a compass for sustainable growth. At VOK DAMS, we see events not only as performance drivers, but also as platforms for strong relationships. Because only those who create real connections build trust, strengthen brand loyalty and secure their long-term success. For us, the return on relationship is therefore a key to successful events.

Do you want events with real RoR? Then get in touch with our event experts at info@vokdams.de.

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