TL;DR
ROI tells you how much you earn for every dollar spent. For social proof tools like ShowTrust, the ROI calculation hinges on how much each percentage point of conversion improvement is worth.
Key Points
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Formula: ROI = ((Revenue from investment − Cost of investment) ÷ Cost of investment) × 100.
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A positive ROI means the investment generated more value than it cost; negative ROI means the opposite.
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Social proof ROI is typically high because the setup cost is low and the compounding conversion benefits persist indefinitely.
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ROI should be calculated over a realistic time horizon — social proof tools often deliver increasing returns as review volume grows.
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Combining ROI with [[customer-lifetime-value|LTV]] analysis reveals the true long-term value of conversion improvements driven by trust.
Calculating ROI for Social Proof
Demonstrating ShowTrust ROI to Stakeholders
Related Terms
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total cost of acquiring a new customer, calculated by dividing all marketing, advertising, and sales expenses over a given period by the number of new customers gained in that same period. It is one of the most fundamental unit economics metrics for evaluating the efficiency and scalability of a business.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), also known as LTV, is the total net revenue a business can expect to earn from a single customer account over the entire duration of their relationship. It factors in purchase frequency, average order value, gross margins, and retention duration, making it a fundamental input for acquisition budget decisions, pricing strategy, and customer success investment.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a desired goal — such as signing up, purchasing, or submitting a form — out of the total number of visitors in a given period. It is one of the most direct measures of how effectively a website or campaign turns interest into action.
A/B Testing
A/B Testing is a controlled experiment that compares two variants — A (the control) and B (the challenger) — of a web page, email, or individual element to determine which performs better on a specific metric. By randomly splitting traffic between the two versions and measuring outcomes, A/B testing replaces guesswork with statistical evidence.
Trust Score
A Trust Score is a composite metric or rating that aggregates multiple trust signals — including review volume, average star rating, recency of reviews, response rates, verified badges, and third-party certifications — into a single number or tier that represents the overall perceived trustworthiness of a business to prospective customers.
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