Business case guide FAQ > Business case benefits > Do soft benefits belong in a business case?
Search the glossary for business case terms often ill-defined, confused, or prone to misinformation:
The short answer:
- Yes, they belong in the business case as part of the overall argument for an initiative.
- No, they don't belong in the ROI model. They are not what venture capitalists call "spreadsheet reasons."
Much mush is written on this subject. A couple of key points:
- If you work hard enough you can quantify soft benefits. For example, the concept of customer experience feeds into profits via increased customer retention rates. Most companies know (or should) the lifetime value of a customer.
- Spreadsheet reasons should decide whether to invest or not. If you are choosing between two alternatives with roughly equal value (measured in NPV), then, you can include softer benefits to sway the decision.
