When Worlds Collide: Why Marketing & Technology Should be Involved in the CMS Selection Process

When Worlds Collide:Why Marketing & Technology Should be

Involved in the CMS Selection Process

Presented By: Hosted By:

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Introductions:

Steven SniderDirector of Technology, Hileman Group @HilemanGroup

Kyle ChandlerDirector of Marketing Services, Hileman Group @ProjectChandler

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Agenda:• Introductions

• Defining Your CMS Selection Process

• A World Ruled by:

• Marketing

• Technology

• World Domination: Collaboration of Both

• Use Case: VeloSano

• Key Takeaways

Defining Your CMS Selection Process

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Making the right decision on a software vendor is tough.

Choosing the right vendor can ultimately determine your career success. Choose the right partner and possibly a promotion; the wrong partner and possibly a demotion or worse… This is why a defined approach to vendor selection is the key to success – especially one that takes a holistic view.


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• For your short list, do not focus on price right out of the blocks, start with the core functionality requirements your organization needs to succeed.

• Consult non-biased third parties like Gartner, G2 Crowd or SiriusDecisions to gather key data points on the top software vendors in the space.

• Check to see if the software can integrate with your current environment, systems and other software vendors (i.e. other business systems like ERP, CRM, etc.).

• Focus on the software’s core features first, evaluate add-ons later.

First things first. Start your selection process by building a short list.1


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• Reach out to each vendor to request very targeted demos. Be sure to define your industry and how you go to market to ensure that the demos will be tailored to your specific business needs.

• In the demos, be objective and stern, seeing every aspect of the functionality that you need to see. In fact, providing this list up front will help the vendor make sure the right people are in the room for the demo.

• Talk about scale, if it is key to your company.

• As you work through the demos, the leading vendors will quickly rise to the top. Prioritize your list and, for your top vendors, request references. When checking references, ask them about:

• Their experience in the software, is it as nice as it sounds• Any unexpected issues when implementing• Any hidden fees

• The final step in the demo process is a trial run. A lot of software vendors offer free trials or demo accounts.

2 Alright, you have your short list. Next step, demos.


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• Now that you have ultimately selected your top vendor(s), it’s time to start talking price. Most SaaS platforms will position their pricing based on some tiered model, with a key lever that moves price up or down (e.g. number of domains licenses, feature set, bandwidth, etc.). However, these costs are normally negotiable, especially when they are licensed on an annual basis.

• Leverage the other vendors on your short list to drive the price point down, if necessary.

• Add-ons are key here. Include only the ones you plan to use right off the bat. You can always add more down the road when the team is ready to enable them.

3 So, you have your short list, you have completed your demos. It’s time for pricing.

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Defining Your CMS Selection ProcessNow that we have covered the general selection process of 1) short lists 2) demos 3) pricing and negotiation, let’s dive into who will actually run this process. Traditionally, this could be run by Marketing OR Technology with the “or” being a defining part of the statement.

MarkTina

Meet Mark:His primary goal in a website software is to

generate leads and facilitate his team’s efficiency.

Meet Tina:Her primary goal in a website

software is security, redundancy and to ensure her team can

implement the solution.

A World Ruled By:Marketing

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A World Ruled By: Marketing

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Mark

Marketing Mark’s Goals

1. Ease of use for editing website content.2. Must be mobile-friendly.3. Built-in approval process to ensure

quality control when publishing updates.4. WYSIWYG editor.5. Ability to edit META data for SEO.6. Easily redirect pages and schedule pages

to go live for marketing campaigns.

A World Ruled By: Marketing

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Based on Mark’s goals, if he was running the selection process, his short list may look very different than Tina’s. With his focus on ease-of-use on the back-end and generating leads, his short list may look like this:

Although these platforms would achieve his core goals, they would not address the full landscape of the issues at hand. He would still need to find vendors to support his:

• Email marketing needs• Ecommerce/payment processing• Landing page and marketing suite (conversion rate optimization, A/B testing, etc.)• Lead management• Custom-built design, to avoid looking like all other sites on platform

A World Ruled By:Technology

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Tina

Technology Tina’s Goals

1. Hosting environment (will it work in our current technology stack).

2. Ability to build custom controls.3. Security and support.4. What kind of roles and permissions are

required?5. Does it provide scalability/multi-site

support, if required?6. What are the bandwidth capabilities?

A World Ruled By: Technology

A World Ruled By: Technology

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Based on Tina’s goals, if she was running the selection process, her short list may look very different than Mark’s. With her focus on scalability, security and the ability to customize the solution, her short list may look like this:

Although these platforms would achieve her core goals, they would not address the full landscape of the issues at hand. She would still need the following:

• Ease of use, due to security and structure requirements• Customized “out of the box” functionality to work• New functionality, added after the fact, to fit the current platform and software• Ability to upgrade paths of new versions

Custom ApplicationHome Grown

World Domination:Collaboration of Both

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World Domination: Collaboration of Both

Common Marketing Terms

Redirect strategyAlt text

Domain authorityH tags

Meta tagsXML sitemapLanding page

In order to have a successful selection process, make sure both parties are on the same page and speak a similar language. Bring complicated terms or processes down to a more general conversation to help both sides understand the importance of each team’s goals.

Common Technology Terms

Web partDatabase (SQL, MySQL, etc.)DNS (Domain Name Server)

IP addressAPI

PluginsDynamic integrations

Alignment between Marketing and Technology

How to Ask The Right Question

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World Domination: Collaboration of BothAlignment between Marketing and Technology

• Establish a single point of view, understanding each party’s concerns and goals and cooperating on a common solution.

• Communicate in clear manner, all terms should be defined and understood.

• Initiate collaboration early in the process to make sure both parties understand details of project.

• Have an open mind!

• Believe in the other party’s needs, challenges and priorities; take them seriously!

• Leverage each party’s expertise:• Development’s technical implementation expertise• Marketing’s knowledge on content and customer

experience

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MarkTina

Scenario:You are pushing a new website live in place of

a current website.

What is the goal of each team using their

own language?

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Image source and copyright: Scott Brinker

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MarkTina

• Secure and supported platform• Easy to update and maintain by

marketing and sales teams• Will allow custom development

without risking ability to update• WYSIWYG editor• Allows for both marketing and

technology teams to achieve their specific goals

Win-Win Scenario

Use Case: VeloSano

Use Case: VeloSano

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Use Case: VeloSano

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Convio/Blackbaud integration

• Non-profit software VeloSano uses to track riders, teams, and funds raised

• By using their API, our developers were able to integrate unique features into the site to a create a more engaging experience for users:• Funds raised tracker on the

header• Top fundraising individuals• Top fundraising teams• Featured riders• Featured “Big Wheeler” riders

Use Case: VeloSano

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Google Maps integration

• What Marketing was envisioning:

• An area of the site where users could interact with the routes and help them decide what route to ride:• Where does it go?• What’s the grade?• Where are the rest stops?

• A place to direct family and friends so they could find/pick areas to cheer their loved ones on.

• A place to download and print cue sheets.

Use Case: VeloSano

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Google Maps integration

• How Technology helped:

• Technology team was able to export the route data from Ride with GPS; this data contained the latitudes and longitudes of the routes.

• Using the latitudes and longitudes, the technology team was able to plot points (draw the route line) on a map that was created using the Google Maps API.

• Once the route line was created on the map, the team then marked rest stops, mile markers, and animated a character to move along the route as users highlighted sections from the cue sheet.

Use Case: VeloSano

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Social integrations

Use Case: VeloSano

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Importance of editing at any time:

• VeloSano is a cycling event and, over the event weekend, most of our team is on-site. It’s important that we’re able to make updates to the site anywhere, anytime.

• Our team used smartphones during the event kickoff to push a video live and update the homepage.• While the ride was taking place, we were able to put homepage updates on a timer and were secure knowing

the changes would be made when the team was not able to get to a phone or laptop.

Fluctuating traffic:

• Since VeloSano is an event, we see different amounts of traffic during different parts of the year. We have to make sure the site can handle a steady stream of visits, as well as large influxes.

Key Takeaways

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Key Takeaways:1. The most important item for success is collaboration and

communication.

2. When working through your selection process, keep in mind how you want to differentiate yourself from your competitors – what platform can help you achieve that “stand out” feature.

3. Keep an open mind. Put yourself in each other’s shoes to understand where the other is coming from.

4. Make sure to evaluate the core functionality first, then consider add-ons to support additional requirements.

5. Collaborate and communicate (yes, we know we repeated this one ).

Making the right decision on a software vendor is hard. Completing this checklist is

easy.

CMS Selection Checklist: http://bit.ly/CSM-Selection-

Checklist