By Josh Van Dyk
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March 25, 2020
When it comes to buying a digital asset management (DAM) system, digital marketing expert Joshua Van Dyk says it’s best to be prepared. For instance, almost every DAM vendor will provide you with a demo of their system, and most people think that is a good place to start. This lets users identify if the system will ultimately have a look and feel they are comfortable with using. However, before you spend hours seeing a basic overview of several systems, Van Dyk recommends creating a list of specific user journeys that you are looking to see in the demo. Work with the different departments who will be using the DAM to document how they will be using the system and specific features and workflows that would create efficiencies for that user. One of the largest areas of ROI is eliminating low value manual activities and using your DAM system to automate these for your staff. Have a one, three, & five-year plans for how you intend to roll out the different functionalities within the system you choose. “If you are solely focused on only solving todays problems, you will likely choose a system that you will have to replace in 2 years” Joshua Van Dyk says. The last thing you want to do is choose a system that doesn’t give you room to grow into it and you find yourself starting the procurement process over again in a couple of years. This is very time consuming, horrible inefficient, hurts ROI and can really crush your user adoption. So, have a “North Star” that you are looking to achieve over the next 5 years. Clients should also be aware of the tools they are already using in their tech stack, whether those tools can be integrated in a DAM system, and what tools they’re missing. When existing tools can work seamlessly with a DAM system, clients simply see better user adoption and results. Joshua Van Dyk says, this also helps create a single source of truth and enables maximum collaboration within your company. Lastly, Van Dyk recommends that clients be ready for the turnaround time. A good DAM system will take a while to implement and integrate with your other tools, but it will be tailored to suit. Be sure to a lot enough time in your business case for this. For more information please reach out: https://www.joshvandyk.com/contact