Jan Jaap Kolleman's Blog

In our industry sector, it’s fascinating to watch the acceleration of M&A activity and consolidation now underway. It’s good for the industry. It’s good for buyers. And, said with all humility, it’s good for SDL, too. 

All ships rise when applications are highly valued in the marketplace and purchased to fill an acquiring company’s technology portfolio. It represents a rapidly growing recognition that fully integrated, enterprise platforms are mission critical to a company’s success.

In my last post, I talked a lot about Web Engagement Management (WEM) and its importance to every company’s success. WEM is not only the way to engage with your customers in the future.  It’s the way to engage with them today.

I’m very pleased (and maybe a little bit proud) to say that CMSWire recently selected SDL as the #1 Web Engagement Management provider.  I truly appreciate the efforts of my team for making this top ranking a reality.

For the last year, the Web Content Management (WCM) category has faced the perceived threat of becoming a commodity. Social Media and the proliferation of mobile devices have fundamentally changed the way we all engage with our customers. Organizations can no longer simply create and manage content in a vacuum and then publish it blindly to a global audience.

Managing Social Content

Twitter, Facebook, Google Wave, LinkedIn, FriendFeed – the list of sources of social content is never-ending. It wasn’t long ago, when organizations didn’t take social content seriously, let alone tried to manage it efficiently and productively.

Not anymore. Having realized the impact of social media on their businesses, some organizations have chosen to manage their social content in the same way they manage their business content. Some do it with the same enterprise web content management system (WCMS) they use for managing their corporate websites, intranets and extranets. Others use separate applications.  The bottom line is social content must be effectively managed... lest there be consequences.

How would you define multichannel marketing? I define it as the use of multiple media pathways to reach and influence a target audience. Traditionally, multichannel marketing includes some combination of the following pathways, aka channels:

• Online (Website & Email)
• Direct Mail
• Telemarketing
• Broadcast Media (TV, Radio, etc.)

Like an apothecary mixing a potion, the Marketer will select the right mix of channels to achieve the desired results. The savvy Marketer will select the channels based upon campaign objectives, business type (B2B or B2C), the product or service being offered, and the characteristics of the market segments and audiences being targeted.

Today, multichannel marketing can certainly include any of the above, however the channels to choose from have not only increased in numbers, they have evolved. What has emerged are two very distinct species; one surviving, the other thriving:

• Offline Marketing
• Online Marketing

The  Ascension of the Online Marketing

It wasn’t that long ago that the typical corporate website functioned a lot like a digital brochure. Not anymore.

For many organizations the website has become the center of the marketing universe and a primary driver of corporate revenue (directly and indirectly). The website has evolved from a “channel” into a “platform” for online marketing... a hub for emerging channels that exist almost entirely within the online realm:

• Email Campaigns
• SEM & SEO (Search Engine Marketing & Optimization)
• Directory Listings (free and paid inclusion)
• Banner Ad Campaigns
• Whitepaper Syndication
• RSS Feeds & SMS
• Mobile
• Blogs
• Social Media & Networks

New Tools for a New Era

The evolution of web content management is being driven primarily by the evolution of online marketing. As a result, next generation web content management (WCM) systems are entering the market.

Next generation web content management systems are essentially becoming online marketing platforms. In addition to managing online content, they will also support multichannel marketing. Moreover, they will align with business drivers and include functionalities geared toward achieving marketing objectives, such as increasing conversion rates and building brand loyalty.

A best-in-class enterprise web content management system will include:

• Brand management tools
• Interactive marketing tools
• Email campaign tools

Rethinking Multichannel Marketing

The term “Multichannel Marketing” does not necessarily need to be redefined. Rather, it’s our collective perception of what multichannel marketing consists of that warrants redefinition. No longer does a campaign require both online and offline media to be considered “multichannel” - successful multichannel marketing campaigns are now being conducted 100% online.

Continuing on our "crystal ball" conversations about the present and future of content management, let's take a look at how the content management landscape is changing with the not-subsiding merger and acquisition/market consolidation activities and the rise of mid-market and smaller vendors. That's not to mention commercial and free open source CMSs and the (at times) cloud-friendly SaaS Online Content Management options.

In today's economic environment business and marketing professionals are having a difficult time justifying technology spending- and that includes the purchase of a brand new web content management system.

The justification for this major investment might seem hard to make, but delaying the purchase or piecing together an in-house solution can cost you more in the long run and severely impact your brand. Here are four rock solid points to help you make the business case for an investment in an enterprise web content management system (WCMS).