I am setting behind a conference table negotiating a marketing contract with a client. The table is meant for a dozen people, but on this day it feels oversized because there are only two in the room: the owner and myself. I am making my case why he should sign a contract to do business with my company and he is fidgeting in his chair. I ask him why he is uncomfortable. He says it has to do with ROI – a return on his investment in marketing. "There’s no guarantee that any of this will work,” he says back to me. "I’ve spent money on marketing before and there was no return for the money we spent.”

This is a scenario that is played out in boardrooms every business day. ROI should be an expectation of any marketing. But your Return on Investment is not the only ROI you should consider when making a marketing decision. There are some other ROIs that you need to be concerned about if you don’t market your products and services. Here are a few to think about.

Risk Obstructing Income

Marketing can be risky – there are no guarantees your target market will buy anything from you. However, there is another side to the marketing equation. If you decide not to market your products and services, you are taking a bigger risk. That risk is that somehow – without the aid of marketing – customers will find out what you are selling and buy it from you. This is akin to setting up an oceanside clam market and thinking that you have a jewelry store because clams can produce pearls. Customers simply will not understand what you are doing unless you tell people that you are harvesting pearls and making jewelry from them. Marketing starts with making people aware of your products and services. If you choose not to market yourself, you risk being an obstruction to income that could come to your business, but will now go elsewhere. The goal of marketing is to lead customers to a sale. That cannot happen without taking a risk on marketing to do its work.

Remain in Oasis Introspection

Businesses can feel like an oasis – you know, a little green spot by a pond in the midst of a very large desert. Business owners typically have done something right to grow their business to a certain level. Oftentimes, that involves knocking on a lot of doors and creating an effective network. There is a temptation to think that the business can continue on a growth cycle using the same model. However, there comes a time when the potential for growth will outpace the number of people you can meet in a day. You need a new model and that will involve a strategic marketing plan. However, when faced with the new model, many business owners have a tendency to sit in the oasis and ponder the possibilities – which is just a stalling technique. A new model will require them to think outside of the oasis, and the oasis is a very comfortable place because it is the only model they have ever used.

Marketing done right will propel you to new opportunities. Sitting back and letting the business come to you is not a sustainable marketing plan. Smart businesses are looking for ways to reach more and sell more – the opposite of oasis thinking.

Restricting Outside Innovation

To think differently typically means you need someone from the outside to give you a fresh perspective. Technology used in marketing has changed drastically in recent years. It will continue to evolve. To resist either outside thinking or new technology runs counter to effective marketing. Much of marketing is getting people to look (or re-look) at your products and services. You may need a new package or a different approach. Yet, there is often push back against the kind of innovative thinking that would deliver something new. If you are going to be effective in marketing, you have to throw off the restrictions on innovation.

Let me leave you with a couple more ROIs that you should employ while making marketing work for your business. Rebuff Oppressive Inclinations, especially those that are Rewarding Our Indecision. In other words, don’t put marketing off. It should be driving you forward towards sales. And don’t be afraid to set goals and measure your effectiveness in marketing. That’s what true ROI is all about. That’s how I sold that owner sitting with me in the big conference room. Is marketing risky? Yes, but it is also rewarding. You don’t get one without the other.