How to Build Your Case for DAM ROI
If you’ve researched the benefits of implementing a digital asset management (DAM) system, you’ll know how big a difference it can make to your firm. Without help managing your digital assets, you’re fighting a losing battle, drowning in an ever-increasing volume of assets without being able to reap their potential. DAM systems store your assets in an easily searchable repository, enable them to be easily shared and amended, and manage them throughout their lifecycle. Not only does DAM make your marketing team more efficient, but it also gives your firm the chance to react more quickly to business opportunities and to ensure everything produced is on brand and the very best it can be.
Unfortunately, stakeholders and budget owners don’t always see it so clearly. With so many other pieces of marketing software on offer, DAM can be seen as more of a nice to have rather than an essential piece of technology. DAM needs to be justified along with other software as a service (SaaS) products like customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning systems. This is why it is so important to be able to build a strong case for DAM ROI; it empowers you to justify the investment, win over the decision makers and get the DAM solution your firm needs.
The Importance of ROI for DAM
Return on investment (ROI) is a widely used business metric and is often helpful in the justification of a DAM system. As the metric is well known it produces a figure that is easily comparable to other pieces of marketing technology. It gives budget holders insight in the form of a direct measurement of the return the business can expect relative to the cost. The measure of performance can be used to assess both the initial investment and ongoing success of the system. As ROI is relatively easy to interpret it gives stakeholders and decision makers a quick way to determine the profitability of an investment.
In theory, ROI is a simple metric to measure. The simple percentage or ratio produced is calculated by subtracting the cost from the gain and dividing by the cost. However, it is the detail that goes into evaluating the gain of DAM that will make a huge difference to the output. The value to the business is more than just the obvious dollar to dollar saving; it is the huge amount of time that is saved. For ROI to be able to support your case for DAM, you need to understand all of the ways that it saves time, and therefore money. From the cost of producing assets to the amount of time spent looking for them, every aspect needs to be taken into account if you are to prove DAM’s value.
How to Determine ROI for DAM
As with any investment, DAM systems need to be able to prove that they will gain a positive return. This is where you need to be able to accurately measure the potential ROI of DAM. As we’ve touched on, there are lots of aspects to consider to determine ROI. You need to try to estimate how much time your marketing team, as well as other departments, spend working with images and how much of that is wasted time managing them, searching for them, and repurposing them. You will know that DAM systems give firms greater marketing productivity and process efficiencies, but you need to try to translate this into tangible value.
Once you consider all the potential variables that go into DAM ROI, doing the sums can seem a bit overwhelming. You need to come out with a comparable figure but also to have trust in the value you produce. Using an ROI calculator takes away the uncertainties and ensures you understand the process and how you’ve reached the end figure. We’ve put together some key resources that will help you effectively measure ROI and understand what it means for you and your business:
- Our ROI calculator looks at four key high-level elements of calculating your return on investment and gives you an ROI range and an estimated time savings percentage. If you’re new to looking at DAM this is a great place to start getting an idea of what DAM can save your firm.
- Our Guide to Understanding DAM ROI gives you a break down of all the metrics you need to consider to get a true and individual ROI value for your firm. If you’re looking to really get to grips with your ROI this is the guide for you.
By spending time working out the ROI for DAM, not only will you produce a realistic calculation that you can have confidence in, but you’ll be able to further demonstrate the value of DAM to your organization.
Your Case for DAM ROI
You’ll need a strong case for the ROI of DAM to be able to justify the investment. The calculation is vital as it’s a metric that businesses expect to see with any potential investment. However, equally as vital is the business case that supports it. You will need to make an educated guess as to the future benefits of DAM as well as giving the dollar to dollar calculation. Explain how DAM will reduce costs, enhance brand equity and help you avoid potential legal disputes. Everything that brings value to the business will help strengthen your case. By covering all of the criteria that make DAM such a valuable business tool, you’ll be able to build a strong case for the investment.
