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Sitecore OMS: Learning the Tool can Drive Real Market Performance

May 19th, 2011

Marketing, Technology, Web Content Management

An interesting and pointed post over at The Real Story Group commented on Sitecore’s OMS tool the other day. While I certainly agree with the premise of the article, “Watch What WCM Customers Do, Not What Vendors Say,” as a customer and implementation partner of Sitecore, I thought I’d share my opinion based on the the real-world implementations and uses that we’re currently seeing in the market.  

While no tool may be perfect, especially in its first iteration, the OMS (Online Marketing Suite) is usable and worth the effort out of the box.  As one of the first implementation shops to undergo the OMS certification process offered by Sitecore, having a full understanding of both its strengths and weaknesses was helpful when explaining its virtues and faults to current and prospective clients.  In the end, it seemed to be a logical and obvious extension to most implementation efforts and many clients are in full agreement.

Like many others who respond to this type of comment, it’s only fair to be up-front about the marketing sophistication and analytics maturity required to implement a best-of-breed tool set.  Dedication and some level of understanding and training are needed to begin to have a full dialogue with a user base via a technology – no exceptions to that can be found in the wild.  Sitecore’s OMS is not an exception, but what it does offer is a terraced learning curve for those with different expectations and needs from a tool of this nature.  

Instead of requiring everyone to have a full and detailed training session, someone who wants and understands basic analytics can dig in without having to understand or implement persona based dynamic content (or something of relevant complexity).  This differentiation is a key and often unmentioned component of what Sitecore“got right” with their initial rollout; it’s also what let Sitecore take it to the next level with its most recent release.

Most of the market is trying to make sense of this newly realized dialogue with customers.  Customer experience management, while not a new concept, is the nirvana of the true business case for realizing online business.  Don’t buy into the hype, but don’t shirk the possibilities of the current market place.  It comes down to doing your homework.