A “cookie cutter” approach doesn’t work anymore when it comes to providing salespeople with the support they need to successfully land customers. The trend today is towards customizing marketing materials to address specific customer needs and problems, and to better reflect cultural differences in other parts of the world.
As sales teams look to the marketing department to help give them a competitive edge with the materials they present to prospects, many marketers are looking to marketing asset management (MAM) systems to help them deliver. MAM systems help marketers manage the increasing volume and range of marketing assets they produce, and protect their companies’ brands as they go global. These same systems can create ready-to-use portals that enable sales personnel to interact more successfully with their prospects.
MAM systems can provide for customization of materials and messages in several ways. They allow salespeople to pull any number and kind (i.e. brochures, photos, videos) of marketing assets together and prepare kits optimized for each specific customer. They also allow distributors or franchisees to localize and personalize materials for distinct regions, while maintaining brand integrity.
Some MAM systems capture data on all materials that are dispatched to prospects and customers. This enables sales teams to provide useful feedback to marketing on which assets are most effective and valuable to the success of their jobs.
Major corporations are spearheading the adoption of leading-edge, full-featured MAM systems that address the needs both of salespeople and the challenges of marketers. A study conducted by Aberdeen Group of 136 companies that had deployed MAM solutions revealed that these companies had a 25% year-over-year increase in annual revenue compared to a 2% increase in other companies. The study also found that there was an 18% average year-over-year improvement in brand consistency compared to 2% improvement in other companies.
What daily challenges might mean a MAM system is in order?
* The MarComm admin can no longer handle the volume of requests by salespeople for materials in a timely manner.
* The field marketing rep says it takes too long to get information distributed to the field.
* Channel partners, distributors, dealers, agents and even company employees misuse the brand.
* The vice president of marketing is pressed to develop campaigns that generate new customers, yet the marketing staff and budget are already overburdened.
* The vice president of sales recognizes the problem but has a full plate. He wants the problem solved without having to get involved.
One example of a major company that has adopted a MAM solution is a global manufacturer of highly engineered products for diverse industrial, medical, environmental, transportation and process applications. The operation has over 7,000 marketing and sales assets managed within their MAM system, almost 6,000 users per month, and 36 brand-specific partitions.
The MAM system allows them to develop customized sales kits, search for desired items, download files, place their orders online, and have orders routed directly to the fulfillment house or be sent by email to the prospect.
Previously, the company was handling such requests on a largely manual basis. Salespeople needed to search through an online list of items, download order forms and fax orders one by one to marketing, which then filled each order as it was received.
Now, the company easily can collect a wide range of data from the field. In addition, salespeople and distributors are alerted when prospects access the sales materials sent in emails. Marketing can determine which materials are being used most often, which are coming up for reordering, and which items should be produced in greater or lesser quantities in the future. This helps salespeople send customers the most effective materials in the future. And, it helps marketing with budgeting.
The system can also provide automated reports each month on the volume of items ordered—which brands and products are most in demand, and the geographic breakdown of orders. These reports keep company executives abreast of activities in the field and reinforce the importance of marketing in the sales process.
Scott Richardson ([email protected]) is president/CEO of Longwood Software.
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