Can I show an ROI for implementing brand management technology?

With any technology investment, the first question often asked is “What’s my ROI?”. This is no different for integrating or adding technology to our marketing operations. Marketing technology is essential to maintaining efficiency and consistency in today’s market, but it can come with a substantial financial investment, as well as internal resources to implement and manage the technology. 

As marketers we understand the value and need for software to help manage our brand, assets, and to implement campaigns and materials. However, those outside the department have a harder time understanding the need versus seeing it as a “nice to have”. 

Here’s a few examples of how you can show the ROI of brand management technology to your executive team. 

Establish a baseline 

• How many requests for assets (logos, files, collateral, etc.) does your team receive in a week or   
   month

• How much time does it take to fulfill those requests? 

• Map out your current process and how long it takes your team to create standard pieces of
  collateral (posters, flyers, brochures, event tags, etc.).

• Do you have a single source to gather data on what marketing is doing/has done to impact the
  company’s revenue? Can it be shared with others easily? 

• Has your organization been audited for compliance and meeting regulatory requirements? 
   Were there any fines/fees assessed? How much? 

• How are you currently training employees in and out of the marketing department on your brand? 

• What are your most time consuming activities?  

Put a cost or value to each, in both $ and time

• One way to do this is using averaged salaries or hourly rates of employees involved

Consider the soft dollars

• What is the value of brand recognition?

• Are you sending mixed messages through brand inconsistency? 

• Is everyone in the organization a brand ambassador?  

With the information at hand, it should become pretty clear how much value brand management technology provides. Not only does it improve consistency and efficiencies, it should also help you build your brand and drive more revenue to the company. As an added bonus, this should be the last time you should have to go through the process of calculating the ROI manually, as your software should be able to do it for you, often in real-time.