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How to Measure the Impact of DAM on Your ROI

A digital asset management system is a valuable investment for any organization looking to improve its tech-oriented marketing and sales efforts. But how do you know whether or not the investment is worth it? And more importantly, how do you justify the expense to your boss or board of directors?

In this article, we’ll discuss how to measure and calculate DAM ROI. By understanding the comprehensive value of a digital asset management system, you’ll have a better chance of convincing major stakeholders in your company to get on board. We even provide a step-by-step guide on how to create a winning business case for DAM!

How Can DAM Impact ROI?

Streamline Processes

Consider the tasks that eat up precious time for your marketing team each year. How much time is spent gathering assets? How many hours are wasted getting access or rights to the latest versions of documents? A digital asset management system has the ability to automate these processes across different channels. Easy sharing capability and user-friendly UX saves your team countless hours (and headaches).

Reduce Campaign Costs

With a quality DAM system, you can centralize your digital content brand assets and eliminate the need for multiple licenses on videos, digital media, and intellectual property across different software platforms. You can also avoid costly printing mistakes by storing digital proofs of your creative collateral.

Accelerate Time To Market

By automating processes and having all your assets in one centralized place, your marketing and sales teams function at maximum efficiency. Removing barriers means companies can get products and campaigns to customers faster.

Brand Consistency

How many times has one of your marketing reps accidentally used an outdated version of a logo image or file? A DAM solution helps ensure that all team members are using the most current versions of digital assets, so your branding will be consistent across all channels.

How to Calculate DAM ROI

Realistically, key decision makers in your company may not understand the day-to-day of marketing and creatives, so they’ll want to see the numbers.

There are two main methods for calculating digital asset management ROI:

The Cost Savings Method

This method calculates the ROI of DAM by looking at the cost savings generated by the system. To calculate ROI using this method, gather data on:

  1. The cost of storing and managing digital assets without a digital asset management system. This may include the cost of storing digital assets on physical media, the cost of manually cataloging and searching for digital assets, and the cost of lost or damaged digital assets.
  2. The number of full-time employees required to store and manage digital assets without a digital asset management system. This includes the salary and benefits costs for these employees.
  3. The cost of storing and managing digital assets with a digital asset management system.
  4. Money spent on the digital asset management system itself.

With this data, you can calculate digital asset management ROI using the following formula:

(Cost of storing and managing digital assets without a digital asset management system) – (Cost of storing and managing digital assets with a digital asset management system) / (Cost of digital asset management system) = Digital Asset Management ROI

The Incremental Revenue Method

This method calculates DAM ROI by looking at the incremental revenue generated by the system. To use this method, gather the following data points:

  1. The revenue generated by campaigns that used digital assets managed by a digital asset management system. Be sure to include all digital assets in this calculation, including those that were created or acquired after the digital asset management system was implemented.
  2. The revenue generated by campaigns that did not use digital assets managed by a digital asset management system.
  3. The cost of the digital asset management system.

Next, you can calculate DAM ROI using the following formula:

ROI = (Revenue from campaigns using digital asset management system – Cost of digital asset management system) – (Revenue from campaigns not using digital asset management system) / (Cost of digital asset management system)

Being able to put a number on DAM ROI for your company is critical for creating a business case. Don’t have time to work through these formulas?

Measure DAM ROI and build your business case faster by using OpenAsset’s ROI Calculator!

How to Create a Business Case for Digital Asset Management

Step #1

The first step in creating a DAM business case is determining what your organization’s goals are. What does your company want to achieve with digital asset management? Common goals include:

  • Central location for all digital files and information
  • Foster better collaboration and communication between departments
  • Accelerating time to market and closing deals faster
  • Increasing brand consistency across channels

Step #2

With your organization’s goals in mind, it’s time to start collecting data. It’s best to gather both quantitative and qualitative data to create a strong business case. For example:

  • How many hours are spent each week searching for digital assets?
  • How many digital assets are reused each week?
  • How often are digital assets misplaced or lost on your website and at what additional costs?
  • What is the average cost of creating a digital asset?

Qualitative data can be collected by surveying everyone involved in your DAM process, from the creative team to the marketing department to the sales team. The objective here is to clearly articulate the biggest pain points in your current digital asset management process.

Step #3

Show off your projected DAM ROI and explain how and why a cloud-based digital asset management solution is the answer to all of your problems! Learn more about building a DAM business case.

Final Thoughts

Because many main benefits of DAM like inspiring new ideas, fostering collaboration, and increasing the value of your tech solutions are hard to quantify, measuring digital asset management ROI can feel like a daunting challenge.

Let us take the mystery out of calculating DAM ROI so you can highlight how the DAM model can meet your unique needs and why it is a sound business investment. In this fast-changing industry, DAM is a flexible tool that offers real-time solutions. With the numbers on your side, you can turn your colleagues from DAM doubters to advocates.

Get started with our ROI Calculator today!