Measuring the return on investment for your digital signage network will be difficult. There are many types of business models that a network owner can use and not all of them yield results that are easily quantifiable. For example, if a network owner simply sold ad spots on his signs, the ROI would be easy to calculate. The cost of hardware, software, installation, content creation, and ongoing technical support would be balanced by the revenue generated by ad sales. But, it's usually not that easy.

Most signage models don't lend themselves to concrete numbers (at least, not completely). For example, the ROI of a network that is used primarily to inform (for example, give directions, greet customers, etc.) is nearly impossible to measure. In this article, we'll explore measuring digital signage ROI in more detail. We'll also take a closer look at the factors which are easy to quantify and a few that are not.

Measuring Network ROI

Just because determining the ROI of your signage network isn't easy, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do so. Yes, some factors will be impossible to quantify. But, many things have firm numbers attached to them (for example, installation). Focus on the things that can be measured to figure out whether the investment is paying for itself. This is even more important if your signage network has been deployed to replace another means of communication (for example, in-store posters or written literature).

Digital signs are a powerful tool for communicating with your audience. They can deliver content and advertising that is specifically designed to elicit a response. But, the investment for deploying a network can be substantial. You must be able to justify the initial investment and ongoing costs. The only way to do so is to measure the ROI.

Factors That Impact ROI

Fortunately, there are a number of responses to your signage content that can be quantified and calculated. These can include in-store sales, coupon usage, sign-ups for a store newsletter, and sales of advertising spots to other businesses. Some of these are harder to measure than others, of course. For example, selling advertising spots on your network is a simple matter of knowing how much revenue those sales generate. However, the value of newsletter sign-ups is harder to determine. You'll need to track the number of people who signed up and how much they purchased as a result of the promotions in the newsletter. Difficult, but possible.

Valuating Uncertain Factors

If you're using digital signs to distribute information, determining your network's true ROI becomes much harder. For example, consider signs that are deployed through a shopping mall. They may provide directions to stores, a map of the mall, or information regarding certain stores near the signs. How do you calculate the ROI of those things? Unfortunately, it's not possible. There's no way to track the resulting behavior and translate it into a quantifiable value.

Doing What You Can

Ultimately, whether you own a business in which you're deploying digital signs or you've been given the responsibility to do so for a large corporation, you'll need to justify the cost. A large network can cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending upon the scope of the network. The initial investment will include the cost of the screens, routers, hardware, content players, and software. Plus, don't forget the ongoing expense of having someone (perhaps you) overseeing the network and content distribution.

Remember, your signage network has an ROI. It's just difficult to calculate. Focus on factors that are quantifiable and forget the rest (for now). By doing so, you'll help justify, whether to yourself or senior management, the reasons for deploying digital signs.