How to Create a
Successful (and Powerful) Omnichannel Experience
Technology has influenced customer behavior—a lot.
It’s also changed our expectations.
We expect more from companies than ever before.
But whether you shop online or offline, most people expect their digital experience to be just as good or better than their physical experience.
It’s not just physical products.
The same applies to information and content.
Buyers expect a personalized and rich customer experience consistent across devices. Consider how Netflix and Amazon have tailored our personalized experiences when using their services.
The more personalized and richer the experience, the happier they are, as these stats demonstrate:
80% of customers are more likely to purchase a product or service from a brand that provides personalized experiences.
98% of citizens in the Western world switch between 2-3 devices every day.
83% of B2B leaders believe that omnichannel selling is a more successful way to prospect and secure new business than traditional sales approaches.
This impacts the sales process, too.
Buyers like the traditional face-to-face approach like in a physical store.
Still, they also want you to be available in all other digital channels - and there are a lot of channels or customer touchpoints.
These touchpoints lead to several channels that expand when customer success increases, thus offering a better holistic experience.
Using several channels means using a multichannel or omnichannel strategy.
But which is best for customers?
This guide looks at the difference between multichannel and omnichannel, the biggest content management challenges, how DAM supports the omnichannel experience and lists the four types of software on the market today. We’ll also introduce you to Digizuite DAM and what makes Digizuite different.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Multichannel or omnichannel:
What’s the difference?
Many people believe they are the same.
But it's important to note that multichannel and omnichannel are two different things:
A multichannel strategy makes content available in offline and online channels, but buyer interactions with each channel are very siloed. They’re disjointed and can lead to a poor customer experience.
An omnichannel strategy takes a multichannel strategy one step further. The content is still available across the different channels; however, the transitions are seamless as buyers move across devices, online and offline platforms. The three combined lead to omnichannel success.
However, knowing what’s best is one thing; ensuring it is implemented successfully is another.
Especially relating to content.
Think of a modern-day buying process in 2022:
There are a lot of touchpoints, much content, and many channels to deliver content. Successful content lies at the heart of the omnichannel reality that buyers demand.
To accommodate this, enterprise companies must create omnichannel content, which in our view, must fulfill three criteria: It must be personalized, consistent, and rich.
Personalized content is just that, personalized. Generic content is a thing of the past, and content must appeal in a customized, but preferably, individual way.
Consistent content - As customers increasingly jump between channels and touchpoints, content consistency is essential for organizations to consider in their pursuit of becoming omnichannel companies.
Rich content engages buyers beyond what the crowded world of content offers, and research shows that rich, immersive content creates stronger connections to buyers across marketing and sales interactions.
However, reaching omnichannel success is not easy.
It’s no surprise that very few companies are successful with omnichannel.
WHY GO OMNICHANNEL?
Companies that invest in omnichannel strategies grow quicker and retain more customers. Consumers are already engaging in omnichannel shopping behavior and enterprises are finally investing in the right technology to meet their expectations.
Here’s why enterprise companies are expanding into the omnichannel:
Omnichannel shoppers spend 10% more online and 4% more in-store
Purchase frequency is 250% higher on omnichannel vs single-channel
Omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value
Omnichannel strategies retain 89% of their customers
Organizations that don’t sell their products in multiple channels miss out on up to 30% of sales
As companies grow, they produce more volume, more activity - and together with more channels, the complexity of managing their strategy increases exponentially.
Managing digital assets and content complexity
Setting up an omnichannel strategy places a considerable strain on large enterprise companies.
When they start this digital journey, they will experience success and growth.
The more they grow, the more channels they'll need to exploit.
Many companies have their content stored in different places – some are in the cloud, on someone's hard drive, or on a file server.
At this point, the content is not an asset but merely a digital file with little realized value.
The ideal state is where you have all the content in one place.
And then, users can manage, update, use, and distribute the content from there.
However, there's a gap between where companies are today and where they should be.
This gap creates numerous content management challenges.
Prolonged time-to-market:
Material in silos make collaboration, recycling, and self-service more difficult, delaying significant launches.
Human-made errors:
With no single source of truth about your company's assets and content, you're exposed to risks of human-made errors when creating or publishing content.
Lack of brand consistency:
Risk of losing control of brand management, as subsidiaries can expose content to audiences not governed by a central content hub.
The difficulty of geographically expanding:
Companies looking to expand geographically will need to find original content manually.
Noncompliant content usage:
Enterprises with no overview of what content is used, risk receiving fines for content infringement.
Poor customer experiences:
Without personalized, consistent, or rich content, companies won't deliver strong customer experiences and will be unable to stand out or differentiate away from the competition.
Risk of bottlenecking during M&A:
As companies grow, the systems from the merged or acquired companies are rarely joined properly. Over time the problem multiplies, and the manual content-reconciliation processes become unmanageable.
Mitigating or completely removing these challenges requires that organizations unify all content to create a single source of truth through a digital asset management platform.
Research shows the cost of not doing acting on asset management is costly, as it impacts the way a brand is seen, its customer experience, operational efficiency, and productivity:
90% of consumer brands meet bottlenecks in their handling of digital content,
30% spend 2.5 hours per workday searching for information,
67% of content-creating companies want to deliver it much more efficiently but cannot.
And according to IDC, companies with over 1,000 employees can be impacted by as much as $2.5 million per year because they have challenges managing and distributing assets.
Companies must strive to get more out of their content assets.
They must ensure that their asset management is seamlessly organized into their existing workflows to utilize their content better. By doing so, they’ll be much more successful in managing digital assets at scale.
Using DAM as the heart of your content supply chain
That brings us to Digital Asset Management, or DAM.
Imagine the DAM as the conductor of an orchestra. Every section of an orchestra, whether the violins, the cellos, or the flutes, is fine producing music on its own. But to make beautiful music together as one, they require a conductor.
That's what a DAM does. Just as the conductor is the heart of an orchestra, so is the DAM, the nature of your omnichannel ecosystem.
Companies create digital assets here in the content creation phase. But they are just digital files at this point.
DAM takes the raw files created through the content creation process and adds greater context through data governance and tagging.
It manages workflows from different departments, pulls in information from systems such as your PIM or CMS system, and maintains the one master file in a commonplace that all can access.
It's then pushed out to the endpoints, where users realize the maximum value. Any bottlenecks or breakdowns in the process chain are significantly reduced.
A DAM platform can help you access more channels, deliver personalized and rich content, ensure faster time to market, and that your teams use a lot less time creating, managing, and repurposing the content.
In the end, the improvement in productivity and customer experience means higher revenue growth for your company.
But not all DAM platforms are created equal.
4 types of digital asset management software
There are four different options when it comes to digital asset management software.
Use a Simple media library
This is like using a file server to keep all your media files. A simple media library is an inexpensive file storage solution for smaller companies that don't need DAM capabilities. These include advanced search and smart tagging, enterprise sharing features, sophisticated data governance, advanced workflows, or repurposing tools.
A PIM system with light DAM capabilities
This works for product-heavy enterprises with low volume content to a few channels. They only need mediocre DAM capabilities and don't see omnichannel as strategically important.
Integrated suites with all-inclusive multichannel marketing hubs
These are relevant for companies that don't handle many vendors at one time.
The challenge with these types of solutions is that they're less flexible, require coding or configuration, and they're more challenging to use in terms of integrating with other applications and systems that a company already has.
Suite solutions also have limited integration API capabilities. So when you try to exploit other channels within the ecosystem, your supply chain can become stalled because you need to work on integrating the systems.
This negatively affects Time-To-Market (TTM) and the customer experience.
Best-of-breed solution
Best-of-breed means that a solution is the best in its class for doing what it's meant to do.
That's the difference between an integrated suite and the best-of-breed.
DAM-native solutions come with advanced capabilities for companies who have omnichannel ambitions. They need to create, manage, and distribute large volumes of cutting-edge content across various channels, handled by many users or vendors. They need to integrate not only with internal platforms but also with external platforms.
At Digizuite, a best-of-breed solution, we primarily work with large enterprises. We see that all tend to choose the best-of-breed solutions, even knowing that they have to use a little more time to report across the different platforms.
Enterprise companies all seem to want the best tool, which usually ends up being the best-of-breed solution or an integrated suite.
We see a substantial shift away from integrated suites through market and customer feedback. Still, we see that analysts are also recommended best-of-breed platforms.
This brings us to the Digizuite platform.
Our platform is built for enterprise companies who want to propel their growth through omnichannel engagement.
4 Ways Digizuite powers omnichannel experiences
For enterprise brands, digital asset management processes are no longer a nice to have.
It is the only way to navigate, manage and deliver the variety and quantity of assets required to complete projects on time.
We’re not just talking hundreds of assets. We’re talking about millions!
And this is where Digizuite shines.
Here’s four key capabilities – metadata, integration, workflows, automation - that empower you to achieve omnichannel experience at scale.
1. Metadata
Digital assets, such as videos, images and infographics, are at the heart of every DAM platform. To much of the global population, they are just files.
But speak to anyone in DAM, and they’ll tell you that these files have data in it.
And it’s this data – metadata – that ensures your colleagues can find, message and distribute the right assets to the right audience.
Metadata turns files into valuable assets. It’s also what turns DAM from being an image library or shared drive into an asset management system.
Metadata allows you to tag, group, and sort assets making it easier to find, manage, approve and distribute your assets. This can be through administrative (ownership, governance), descriptive (what we see in the image), or structural (type, format, size).
All things that clearly add value to an asset.
Once you have the metadata in place, you can then use it to distribute content via workflows.
2. Workflows
Workflows ensure that all assets are created, approved, and distributed.
Workflows get assets into the DAM and ensure that the correct metadata is applied to enrich it. Some assets require more people to get approved, while other assets have a simpler process.
The value is realized when metadata works as a condition for triggering different approval systems in the workflow.
For example, you can set up an asset approval workflow where:
An asset is created by a creator or agency,
The asset is uploaded into the DAM platform,
You get a notification that you have to approve something in Digizuite DAM.
Finally, you see it, approve it and then it moves to the next asset.
Digizuite comes out-of-the-box with 34 workflows. Four are immediately enabled– asset approval, publishing to channels, usage approval and end-of-life. Use these as they are, easily modify them or build your own workflows to fit the way your organization works.
Your digital assets have metadata and you are using workflows. The next step to delivering omnichannel experiences at scale is by using integrations.
3. Integrations
Delivering rich content and creating an amazing customer experience doesn’t happen from a single system. We’re talking multiple systems – from InDesign and Photoshop to the website CMS, Social Media publishing platform, or Email Service Provider.
And let’s not forget MDM, PIM or ERP - essential sources of information on product and fulfilment data.
Adding just another DAM to this list of Martech isn’t the answer.
To truly benefit from DAM, it needs to be able to secure reliable integration to systems both up and downstream in the content supply chain.
In fact, strong integration capabilities are key in securing data quality.
Most DAM systems contain high-quality data at one point in time.
And while that’s important, the DAM is rarely the system of record for all Enterprise data – meaning that if anything is changed or added in the ‘core’ system, a DAM should be able to pull this information automatically to maintain data reliability and integrity.
Digizuite integrates with more then 25 platforms and has native-like integrations with Sitecore, Optimizely and Adobe Cloud Connector. It also integrates with inriver, Office 365, YouTube and Hootsuite.
With the right integration capabilities, changes or additions of information should inform both metadata and workflows to ensure everything is reflected and that notifications are given to the right people, at the right time – in the right system.
How? Through automation.
4. Automation
Information is updated. Workflows are triggered. Notifications are sent to the right people.
All of this is automated.
Automation is the logic behind the DAM and what removes the need for repetitive tasks and eliminating human errors.
It is used to set conditional formatting for metadata and workflows and for publishing into channels. An automated “if this, then that” logic across all assets.
If business, assets, or workflows change, automation rules are easily configured to reflect the new reality.
Any workflow can be automated.
Here’s how automation works for assets that expire in 14 days.
If an asset has expired, it’s automatically archived so there is no risk in it being used in a marketing campaign.
Here’s the thing:
To most of the global population, assets are just files.
But with Digizuite DAM and four distinct and important DAM capabilities, assets are rich, informative, and valuable, and they are all closely connected to the content supply chain.
Let’s see how this works in practice.
When DAM feature interoperability becomes invaluable
Scenario 1:
Art Director
You’re working on developing 3 visual assets to promote a product on LinkedIn.
You’re working in Adobe InDesign, you’ve already completed two assets and sent them for approval through your company’s DAM system. You receive a notification that the third asset, has been rejected and needs more work.
Using a DAM, you can easily retrieve the file, read the approval note and make the necessary changes.
Instead of spending 40% of your time searching for assets in different systems and receiving feedback through one, two, or even more emails, you can actually spend time on what you’re great at. Visual design.
The integrated and automated workflow notification pings you as the asset creator and creates a seamless experience for you as a creator.
Scenario 2:
portfolio manager
You’re working on a new product ready for launch and need assets developed for promotion and product pages.
Before meeting with the creative team, you update your PIM and ERP system with information about the product (colour, sizing, measurements, ID) and availability (quantity, location, shipment details).
In the DAM, you then upload raw files of the product that a photographer just finished ensuring that your colleagues know how it looks when assets need to be developed.
In the DAM, a workflow starts to support the upload.
As the three systems (DAM, PIM and ERP) are closely integrated, the information that was just entered is immediately visible and ready to use for metadata tagging across the new assets.
Besides the criteria you select yourself for the product, your integrated AI system adds descriptive features about the product to help people find the image using standard terms.
This makes uploading easy and reduces the risks of errors, and you feel comfortable that asset production can now start. And any changes that are made in the PIM when the products start selling are reflected in the DAM.
Scenario 3:
marketing manager
You’re working on a new marketing campaign and have a lot of tasks to complete before deadline day.
The creative team has been working on assets that need to go out across many channels.
(Yes, it’s an omnichannel campaign).
Two outstanding tasks are the LinkedIn post and the product brochure.
The LinkedIn post is fairly straightforward, but the brochure needs involvement from legal to ensure all claims are right.
In the DAM, you apply ‘channel use’ as metadata to the final versions.
This metadata triggers two different approval processes:
The LinkedIn post easily gets approved. With just one push of a button, it’s saved and ready to get published through your Social Media publisher, which is already connected to the DAM.
The brochure takes a little longer but is approved as well. This needs to go through the CMS to the landing page you’ve developed. As with the LinkedIn post, the asset can be released to the CMS with the click of a button.
At the same time, you notify your colleagues worldwide that the master assets are now ready for translation. Best of all, they won’t have trouble finding the final version.
Unlocking business value from the DAM platform
When you combine the platform, the capabilities, the people, and knowledge, Digizuite can deliver value for your business through four key factors:
Proven ROI
In a recent DAM report, Forrester found that customers who used Digizuite experienced 185% ROI in three years. In addition, the increased efficiency of content distribution increased the productivity of content creators, reduced costs through platform consolidation, and a host of other cost savings and benefits.
Fast and wide adoption rates
A DAM platform is only valuable if people use it and like using it. Through our platform's intuitive user interface, extensive automation capabilities, and strong use cases, we consistently see people use our system once it goes live.
Grow revenue
One way to do that is to add more customer-facing channels and launch new products faster.
Many of our customers report that they're happy with Digizuite because the system can work with all content types and customer touchpoints. The system is flexible enough to be configured for their unique needs.
Build your ideal omnichannel ecosystem
You aren't bound to any rules or limitations because Digizuite is genuinely open to building your perfect ecosystem.
Gartner and Forrester have also profiled the Digizuite DAM as a preferred enterprise DAM solution.
And finally, Digizuite only works with B2B large enterprises and mainly in manufacturing, retail, fintech, services & real estate.
Conclusion
Enterprise companies struggling to keep up with the demand for content can benefit from a well-defined content supply chain in many ways. Even more so with a Digizuite DAM in the centre of it.
With Digizuite DAM, you can:
Increase the efficiency and productivity of teams
Reduce risks associated with false claims or human errors
Streamline the overall brand and customer experience
And more importantly, free up time from your marketing employees so they won’t drown in administrative work but can focus on what matters. It’s also proven to create value outside the marketing department.
Want to learn more about how Digizuite can enable your omnichannel experiences?
Book a demo today, and a Digizuite expert will walk you through the platform and discuss your omnichannel needs.
