Navigating to Insights ROI

With fellow panelists Bridget Nelson, Head of Brand Performance at MassMutual and Insights Leader Kate Norman, Cusner has approached the topic from the perspective of translating insights into ROI through a process of exploring how an organization defines insights ROI, what promises and pitfalls might appear in its development, and ways to know an organization has arrived at its full insights ROI potential. 

A starting point to the discussions is an affirmation that insight ROI exists in the reality of business processes and positions. Cusner says insights ROI not only exists, it’s also inevitable.

“I think it exists in two ways,” Cusner says. “One is: Those are questions that whether I like it or not are being thrown my way by leadership, by finance when I'm trying to build a budget for the following year. They always want to put an ROI or some sort of outcome tied to my investments. And it's a little bit of how I think about our business. I think of myself in a more consultative position.”

Then, even if it is somewhat elusive conceptually, as it's not necessarily conducive to firm dollar assignment, insights ROI shows up across organizations and through their cross-functional partners.

“If my cross-functional partners are happy and citing our work and using it as a foundation to the work they are doing, that's the win that I'm looking for,” Cusner says. “If it lays the foundation for the work that we're doing as a broader organization and it arms my team with the insights they need to make the right decisions, that's all the ROI I need.”

Discussion with leadership about insights ROI can be complicated but unavoidable when budget season comes around, he adds. In part, it can be about justifying the existence of insights operations, but it also can be about expanding the scope of influence using the budget and the learning agenda that supports it.

See the video for more on Seth Adler’s conversation with Jordan Cusner on insights ROI and using it to demonstrate the value of insights.