Putting DAM at the Center of the Digital Ecosystem

This article from Douglas Eldridge, Marketing Manager at censhare, originally appeared in the censhare We Care to Share Blog and we think our reader will find this information useful.

The word ‘silo’ has become increasingly negative as companies realize that cordoned off departments are costly. The good news is, that unlike in the past, when getting rid of corporate silos would have been next to impossible, a new digital mentality is allowing companies to defragment. While a combination of open minds and technology offers the possibility of more cohesive work environments, the right technology and the right digital strategy still have to align.

So, where does technology end and strategy begin? With a digital asset management system (DAM). A company is no better than its content, its content is no better than its content strategy, and its content strategy is only as sound as the technology which is implementing that strategy. Bear with me as I explain…

Content = Corporate Fuel

Don’t believe that content is vital to your organization? If you’re in marketing, it’s second nature, but for those of you who aren’t, take a look at your own desktop, both physical and virtual. How many reference guides, policy documents or process records do you need access to? How many information resources do you refer to every day? And you’re just one person - now imagine the entire marketing department, the entire product team, or accounting or legal - how many pieces of content do you reckon are vital to different individuals in the daily running of your company?

Let’s take a closer look at the sales and marketing departments and how important it is for them to have access to the latest information when they need it. Disregard, for now, marketing’s need to distribute content to a wide audience over an array of channels and instead think about the sales person pulling up sales collateral during a meeting with a prospect. If that salesperson is pulling that document from a single source of truth, he or she can confidently share the latest and greatest collateral that corporate comes up with.

Therefore, doesn’t it make sense to have a system which enables companies to store and organize content not only as a matter of necessity, but also for it to form the core of their digital ecosystem?

It’s not enough to simply store and manage assets. Better engagement with products, both before checkout and after a transaction, leads to higher sales numbers and greater customer (and management) satisfaction. A DAM solution as the foundational piece of a broader digital platform,  makes the internal storage of assets more efficient by enabling the categorization of assets for different markets or languages and avoiding redundancy. And, there’s the fact that a DAM allows marketers to execute a multichannel distribution strategy with accuracy and speed.

DAM, PIM, and the Beginning of Digital Potential

While a  true DAM offers many of these tangible benefits on its own, the convergence of digital asset management technology with other tools, such as a product information management (PIM) system, is what makes a digital engine spring into life. A single piston does not power a car on its own, it requires a ballet of well-oiled, collaborative parts, moving cohesively to make it go. A digital ecosystem is no different. The meeting of DAM and PIM allows not only for easy access to product information but also for this data to be updated in real time. PIM, which often acts as a quality assurance solution, when united with a DAM, offers accurate, content rich, easy-to-find product data. Marketers can then engage customers with transparent info about offerings and compelling sales pitches through accessible demos, how-to guides and high resolution images.

Combining systems like DAM and PIM, which is just one convergence example, also helps to slim line and focus your  internal workflows . Teams can  onboard new products quickly into the system and offer more paths for visitors without creating time consuming bottlenecks or using incorrect or outdated data. 

DAM, AI Is Here to Stay 

Other cases where a DAM can strengthen a digital strategy concern  geolocation technology and artificial intelligence . Why use a system to manage all of your digital assets without exploring a way to share these videos, images and other media based on a user’s location or preferences? Customers' expectations of personalized content gives companies greater incentive to use the ‘Big Data’ that most have already accumulated. But, there’s a big difference between using such data and using it correctly, which increasingly  requires specialized technology .

Whether it’s using geolocation to show different product images to different people on your website, pushing offers to mobile phones when they walk into a store, or leveraging AI to suggest personalized products based on past customer interactions, it all begins with content.

Holistic Strategies

Simply put, a DAM is a great start but it should really form the foundation of a much broader digital ecosystem. Processes, information and external tools can be integrated as part of a bigger strategy to improve both internal efficiency and customer engagement. When your tech stack is able to move cohesively then the real potential of your DAM can be realized.

Before your DAM search can move up a gear, you need to know where to begin. Your new DAM isn’t going to drive your digital foundation tomorrow, so take your time to find the right solution for your company. 

To learn more about improving your digital asset management and increasing the efficiency of your processes, check out our free guide: Future-Proofing Your Digital Asset Management and Creative Production.