In today's world of mixed format content, changing societal norms, and virtually uninterrupted customer interaction through channels such as social media; measuring financial value for dynamic marketing efforts is difficult, sometimes impossible.

Even harder to quantify is impression, but it exists. And when it comes to social, the numbers may never add up.

Data measurement software promises cold hard stats for online marketing success or failure. I argue marketing automation platforms work best for traditional ecommerce.

How many tailored and special promotions do we send to how many people to get an average result?

For organizations with a longer-term sales pipeline, what these tools fail to measure are human feelings. Even a customer relationship management (CRM) system doesn't provide actual insight into a potential consumer's impression.

Most consumer brands offering products or services now recognize the importance of experience in user journeys. User experience should be a fundamental building block of an organization's outreach efforts, no matter the vertical.

So, does the cost of a product user experience team count as a marketing expense? Is having a website which familiarizes visitors with a brand over time really a measurable expenditure? How does someone determine investment return when a client spends seven figures on a project mostly impacting users who methodically follow a brand year over year?

Imperceptible building of impression, crafted over time, is something many marketing professionals don't acknowledge today. They claim everything can be quantified and analyzed, while business leadership living in the real world know this is not true.

For my entire career I've been highlighting to clients the importance of ROI in marketing: return on impression.

Have you ever been to a company website and thought it was awful? Have you ever visited a retail store and it was run-down or disorganized? Have you ever experienced such horrible service or food quality it stopped you from returning to a restaurant?

What these encounters have in common is impression, something often overlooked by data-driven marketers, especially in today's digital world. Often these impressions are formed over time and are not expressed along the decision pathway.

This week, stock prices for decking company Trex jumped 25% after third quarter sales rose 32% over last year. CEO James E. Cline credits an advertising campaign launched two years ago for the increase. At the root of Trex's recent success is the impression placed upon consumers by efforts (a.k.a. cost) initiated over two years ago. For data driven marketers, maybe this connection would never be made.

I am not advocating for dismissal of marketing ROI when the valuation of data is reliable. Tracking opens, analytics, and efforts to direct sales are possible.

But, I'd like to remind everyone that some things never change. Customer response to your organization is not a fad, partnered with catchy jargon. It's rooted in making a good impression and staying consistent through experience, therefor building a story and a brand.

In 2016 I was introduced to an excellent example: The Hustle. This daily tech and business email newsletter is something I actually look forward to getting in my inbox. Seriously, you should sign up - especially if you're in the martech industry.

The Hustle uses plenty of data-driven methods to acquire news users, promoters and sales leads. What they also do so well is create a great impression with their users. The writing is witty, the content is reliable, and over time they made me a loyal fan.

It boils down to this: when evaluating marketing ROI, remember the impression your organization makes. While not completely quantifiable, this needs to be considered in your planning and budget. Sooner or later, consumer impression affects the bottom line.