Digital signage has big benefits for those looking to share  information, communicate better and make the walls in their office,  restaurant or store become seriously useful. We’ve seen the benefit  first-hand, from schools where students can perform better in lessons due to information delivered in corridors, to agencies who help their teams stay on the pulse of the company.

Yet in ‘offline’ or OOH marketing we still want to see a win on the  return on investment. Whether it’s to impress stakeholders or seek  better budgets, return on objective (ROO) and return on investment (ROI)  are both essential to tracking success.

While ROI measures direct sales (which can be difficult to track from  offline channels), ROO allows you to measure who takes a desired action  or behavior. ROO is objective rather than sales based, so you can  target any organizational goal and adapt accordingly based on the  results. 

Where ROI allows you to measure financial return, ROO allows you to improve your marketing methods. 

In this article we show you how to measure the effectiveness of your  digital signage campaign, when you can’t easily measure sales ROI, using  ROO. 

Return on investment is the measurement most are familiar with. It  relates to sales made directly before and after digital signage. Some  examples of measuring ROI in digital signage include:

Products sold - product sales figures before digital signage compared to after. Also the variation in products sold.

Frequency of sales and return custom - how many  sales were made per customer before digital signage and after. Whether  this leads to repeat sales from customers or a higher transactional  value.

You can also flip the ROI measurement by looking at cost savings (rather than additional revenue).

Staff time - the saving in staff time required for  servicing customers, answering questions and so on, that is being  fulfilled by digital signage.

Advertising and printed material costs - reduction  in the cost of flyers, leaflets, schedules and printed billboard or  poster campaigns, that all now come under the cost of digital signage. 

Return on objective examples in digital signage

Before you gain insight into the ROO of your campaigns, you need to  know your objectives and how to measure them. In digital signage in  particular, there are a wealth of options outside of the standard  examples discussed above.

If you use digital signage for wayfinding, you may decide your  objective is to help visitors get to where they need to be faster. This  is the objective, then the measurement may be quantitative visitor  feedback delivered at the end of each visit by email or iPad survey (how  easy did you find your visit today?). 

In education, the objective may be to increase the conversations  students are having online around a specific department. To implement,  you include social media dashboards outside every room, tailored for  that class. You then measure volume of social conversations before and  after.

At a tradeshow your objective may be to increase the perceived value  of the show for key sponsors. Your strategy is to implement digital  signage displays which allow key sponsors to receive extra coverage or  to share their social media handles, competitions or news. The  measurement is a survey on sponsor satisfaction levels at the end of  each show. 

For a company that wants to showcase its creative work in its lobby  for example, it might be measuring the level of awareness of the types  of projects that the company does, or even whether visitors’ perceptions  about the company have been changed because of something they saw when  they came in for a meeting.

Here are a few ways you can measure different elements of ROO within  digital signage. As you’ll see, many cross over depending on which area  and digital signage content practice you’re using. Just remember -  you’re looking for a measurement of improvement to your organization.

Volume of positive online discussion from students on social media

Engagement with departmental social media channels

Enhanced student knowledge - Merchant Taylors’ use digital signage to improve student knowledge of world events prior to economics and finance lessons.

More engaged students through digital rather than print methods of communication

Faster response times to emergency situations or drills

Higher levels of staff or student satisfaction reported

Easier customer navigation of products or floors

Increased social media engagement and reach

Increased customer awareness of specific campaigns and initiatives

Higher staff awareness in health and safety information

Higher positive staff feedback on feeling connected to the company

Higher staff awareness of specific campaigns, initiatives or opportunities

Better communication between teams and individual staff members

Higher regularity of meetings, sprints and project tracking

Increased or more efficient use of meeting spaces, cafes or breakout areas

More successful recruitment of potential employees visiting the building

Higher levels of satisfaction reported in post event or campaign surveys

Better engagement with social media channels throughout the event

Faster response times to issues reported on social media

Increased sponsor satisfaction and faster re-book

Higher engagement with restaurant and onsite catering options through digital menu boards

More efficient use of meeting rooms and open spaces

Better navigation and wayfinding experienced by event delegates

Improved wayfinding, reduction in staff time spent on directing guests

Improved use of meeting rooms and conference facilities

Better engagement with online channels and social media

Higher visitor awareness of local events, campaigns and special offers

Improved staff satisfaction through better internal communications

Measuring return on objective takes a bit more work, as you can’t  only compare sales figures year-on-year. This is why it’s usually  qualitative; surveying employees, customers or partners. 

If you use Net Promoter Scores to gauge customer customer  relationships, measuring any changes to that in the light of a new or  changed digital signage exercise, could also give a good insight into  its effectiveness.

Some objectives can be measured in data, for example the positive  sentiment across social media following a new campaign. The key is to  ensure you have a baseline; to see how much your social media traction  has improved, you’ll need to know what it was to begin with. 

You could also implement a specific web landing page or offer code to  tell you exactly who actioned your digital signage request. With this  method, ensure you ringfence that particular offer or URL to ensure it  can’t be found or used on any other medium. 

ROO in digital signage - find out what works

We like to believe that there are three parts to digital signage. The  first is implementation - deciding on hardware, seeking approval and  getting setup. The second is deciding on strategy, what purpose you want  to use digital signage for and how you will measure it (where ROO comes  into play). Once you’re setup and know your strategy, you’ll create a  content plan, handpicking the content that will support your strategy  and help achieve your objectives. 

Without each of those key areas, you’re going to miss out a big chunk  of what makes digital signage so great. Actionable insights into your  audience and real business returns and results. 

At ScreenCloud we’re determined to help everyone create better  digital signage displays. To find out more or setup a free trial visit https://screen.cloud. 

How to measure return on objectives for your educational digital signage displays or internal communications including how to calculate and examples.

We discuss how to measure the effectiveness of your digital signage displays when you can't easily measure sales ROI.

How to Measure Return on Objectives in Digital Signage

How to Measure Return on Objectives in Digital Signage

How to Measure Return on Objectives in Digital Signage

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