Buyer’s Guide: You’re interested in Digital Asset Management, Now What?

If you work in Marketing, chances are you’ve found yourself wasting time searching for digital assets. Whether it’s a request for an email banner, a sales flyer, or an image from a previous campaign, we’ve all spent a portion of our workday searching for assets. Chances also are, you’ve heard that there are some options out there to help solve these issues.

Digital Asset Management tools were created on the idea that marketers like you and me have better things to do than search for files. Really think about that for a moment – if you billed each hour of your day to a particular task, imagine how much time you’d currently have to bill for ‘admin’ items like trying to track down something on your company shared drive. Those hours, while seemingly small, add up to a lot of wasted time, and ultimately wasted money.

Digital Asset Management tools empower marketers to take back their time. Doesn’t that sound nice? More time to focus on generating revenue for your organization, more time to focus on reaching those 6 month goals you set for yourself, or more time so you can actually close your laptop at the end of the work day.

Ready to dive in and empower your team? Here’s our guide on how to spread the message and sell a DAM tool within your organization.

Step 1: Make the Case for a Digital Asset Management System

You’ll need to put together some sort of use case for why a DAM is worth your investment. You may not have hard data around how much time your colleagues spend searching for files, so focus your message on the idea that a DAM tool will increase efficiency across the organization. It may also be helpful to have some research to present as back up.

Once you’ve done your homework, identify the key stakeholders within your organization that will be affected (and largely benefit!) from a DAM purchase. This could include a variety of department heads including a Chief Marketing Officer, Creative Director, VP of Sales, or VP of Client Services. Each department will require something a little a different from a DAM, so have your selling points ready.

One helpful way to showcase your need for a DAM is to facilitate conversations with stakeholders to discuss how they currently access and organize digital files. Ask them questions such as:

• What kind of digital assets do you and your team use most frequently?
• Where are these assets stored?
• Do you and your team have a process to ensure that these files aren’t outdated/unapproved?
• If you’re unable to find the digital assets that you’re looking for, what do you do?
• Are there things you wish you could improve about the way your digital assets are organized and shared?

These questions and conversations will be a helpful way to determine each team’s current ways of working, and how a DAM can help address any current challenges.

Steps 2 & 3: Create Requirements and Schedule Demos

Once you have approval from the necessary stakeholders, the next step is to put together your requirements. You’ve spoken with the key teams that will be using the system, so it’s important you have a running list of all the ways in which these team members hope to use a DAM.

As you’re evaluating the many DAMs on the market, keep this list in mind. Some items to consider could be:

• Does this DAM offer the amount of storage that my organization requires? Is the storage included or will I have to pay more?
• Is the DAM easy to use and navigate? Do I feel like all the necessary teams will understand how to upload, organize, and share digital assets from the DAM?
• Can the DAM securely store internal documents? If we have sensitive files on our DAM, will they be protected?
• Does this DAM allow me to create different types of users based on their needs? (ie. Contributors vs. Viewers)

Once your research is done, it’s time to schedule demos or take advantage of free trials for different solutions so you’re able to weigh the options. Free trials are ideal because you can upload some sample assets, test out what it feels like to share these files with team members. Is it intuitive and easy to use? Or clunky and difficult to navigate?

As a marketer, you’ll quickly know which DAM feels best for your team. Once you’ve made your decision and gotten final approval from your stakeholders, go for it!

Looking for tips on how to get started with your DAM? Click here