- If we don’t think you need a DAM system we’ll tell you.
- There are lots of different DAM solutions to suit different use cases - If we’re not right for you, we’ll tell you straight up.
1. Everyone knows each other
If everyone in your business still knows each other’s name, that is, if you’re a small company located on a single site, then it’s more than likely that you don’t need DAM software just yet. Product manager John can stroll down the corridor to ask Debbie in marketing if she has the images from last year’s Christmas ad campaign.
2. Brand Schmand
If your ‘brand’ and ‘branding’ aren’t regular conversations in your business, chances are you that you don’t have a formal brand identity with all the associated assets and guidelines. Once you do, a DAM solution can act as a multiplier to the value of your brand by demonstrating best practice and promoting correct usage of your best and most recent brand assets. If you don’t have a formal brand identity, you’re probably not ready for a DAM.3. Social is a work outing
If a team night out is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘social’, it’s likely your company is not that active on social media. If it is, you’ll likely be creating lots of different images and videos to engage with your customers and build your social following. A Digital Asset Management system will help you easily store and share all these assets. Users will be able to quickly resize or crop assets to suit each channel. You can even set presets. Your social media managers will love you!4. Hidden assets
If your company is the main user of your assets then you might not need a DAM. However, if you are getting regular external requests for your logo or images from the media, your resellers and other partners, a DAM can save you a lot of time by providing the functionality for people to help themselves. You can also configure your DAM to control what different user groups can see and download. For example, the media might just need your logo and best brand images. Whereas your resellers might need every single product image.5. Photos by Kimberly in Accounts
Image credit: Evan Kirby via Unsplash
If keen amateur photographer Kimberly is still taking your photos, images probably aren’t a large part of your business. If however you are regularly investing in stock images or using a professional photographer then you might want to protect your investment. Stock images are likely to have restrictive rights and usage periods. Any good DAM will ensure users read and adhere to these terms. You can also automatically expire assets when your license runs out. With your own professional images you can control usage by adding watermarks or gating high resolution versions behind an approval system.
6. You’re on your own
As we said in the introduction, Digital Asset Management requires a significant amount of your time. That’s not to say you need a whole DAM team but we would hope you at least have an Admin whose role allows them to spend a good part of their day looking after your DAM and users. Before launching you also need a DAM champion who can help you secure buy-in from Senior Management and make sure other stakeholders within the organisation are committed to;- Helping ensure your specification is thorough and an accurate reflection of your needs
- Giving you all the data, assets and intelligence you need to set-up and configure your system
- Communicating the benefits of your DAM to others and encouraging use
7. DAM what?
If you don’t know what DAM means (and if you’ve been paying attention to this article hopefully you do by now!) then the chances are you’re not ready. We encourage our customers to really research the market and examine their own business and needs. If you do this right, DAM should present itself to you as an incredibly useful tool that is essential for your business.
So, hopefully we’ve now made good on our first promise, to tell you whether we feel that your company can benefit from having a DAM or not. As for promise number two, to help you find the right DAM software for you, please get in touch when the time is right, we’d be delighted to try and help.
