How should you structure an ROI calculation when the customer has limited data?

How should you structure an ROI calculation when the customer has limited data?

• A. Ignore ROI and focus only on qualitative benefits.
• B. Use a complex model with many unknowns.
• C. Use a simple, transparent model with reasonable assumptions, document inputs and sensitivities, and present best-case, base-case, and worst-case scenarios.
• D. Only rely on the customer's existing ROI data.

Answer: (C)

When data is limited, you want a simple, transparent ROI model that makes clear what you’re assuming and how those assumptions affect the outcome. Use reasonable inputs, document each assumption and the sources or rationale behind it, and run sensitivity analysis to show how results shift with changes in the key variables. Present multiple scenarios—best-case, base-case, and worst-case—to provide a range of possible outcomes and highlight which factors drive the ROI. This approach keeps the analysis honest, understandable, and decision-ready, and it helps stakeholders gauge risk and confidence without pretending numbers are more precise than the data supports. Ignoring ROI and focusing only on qualitative benefits misses a tangible financial picture. Relying only on the customer’s existing ROI data can be misleading if it doesn’t fit the new context, and a complex model filled with uncertain inputs can mislead just as easily as it can inform.

When data is limited, you want a simple, transparent ROI model that makes clear what you’re assuming and how those assumptions affect the outcome. Use reasonable inputs, document each assumption and the sources or rationale behind it, and run sensitivity analysis to show how results shift with changes in the key variables. Present multiple scenarios—best-case, base-case, and worst-case—to provide a range of possible outcomes and highlight which factors drive the ROI. This approach keeps the analysis honest, understandable, and decision-ready, and it helps stakeholders gauge risk and confidence without pretending numbers are more precise than the data supports. Ignoring ROI and focusing only on qualitative benefits misses a tangible financial picture. Relying only on the customer’s existing ROI data can be misleading if it doesn’t fit the new context, and a complex model filled with uncertain inputs can mislead just as easily as it can inform.