As your media company grows, you’ll likely begin to sell a wider range of advertising products and packages, and your customer base will increase. This is cause for celebration—but not without a few strings attached. For example, if you’re still relying on a manual order management process to serve your customers, you’re setting your organization up for potential problems caused by clunky workflows and human error. At best, you’ll have to explain a few service delays or mistakes. At worst, you’ll lose business and risk harming your brand’s reputation.
In this article, we’ll explain why medium-sized and large publishing companies should invest in a modern, automated order management system (OMS) to help improve customer experience and retention. We’ll also share 5 tips for choosing the right solution for more than 100 users, and 5 ways Lineup Systems’ Adpoint OMS can benefit you.
What is an OMS and why do you need one?
OMS software enables media organizations to create and process orders, as well as track advertising inventory, sales, and order fulfillment in a centralized database. In addition to streamlining these business functions, an OMS allows you to integrate your inventory and data related to orders with your publishing company’s other software systems.
As a larger media organization, your advertisers will have different expectations of your level of service than they would of a small, mom-and-pop publisher. Therefore, all of your technology needs to support you in delivering a superior customer experience that offers quality, speed, and flexibility to your buyers.
Using an OMS can have a powerful impact on your success. High-performing companies are 208% more likely to use an OMS than their less accomplished counterparts, according to research by analyst firm IHL Group.
5 tips for choosing the best OMS for over 100 users
To stay ahead of the pack in the media industry, you need to move quickly and respond to trends—and so should your technology. Investing in digital transformation is a smart strategy, and 56% of CEOs report that it has caused their companies’ revenue to grow. With that in mind, here are 5 tips to consider when selecting an OMS for more than 100 users:
- Ensure all of your stakeholders are on the same page: Start by gathering all of the teams who will play a role in implementing and using your new OMS. This will give you an opportunity to ask for their feedback and capture the criteria the system will need to meet in order to be successfully adopted within your organization.
- Seek out sophistication: Your new OMS should be user-friendly, fast, and have proper functionality for today’s data-driven media landscape. The software should allow you to set different levels of access for various teams, depending on their roles and the information they need. Your staff should also be able to use the system from various locations in a range of time zones from any device.
- Confirm integration capabilities: When high-ticket deals are on the table, the last thing you want is to be tied up by cumbersome tech. It’s critical that your OMS can seamlessly communicate with the other software solutions your publishing company uses, like your enterprise resource planning software.
- Find a vendor with enterprise experience: The bigger your business is, chances are the more complex your needs will be. Working with a vendor that has a proven track record of serving larger teams will help you avoid bumps along the road to implementation, and ensure you receive the level of customer support you require during the onboarding process and beyond.
- Consider your growth path: The best OMS for your media organization is one that can support you as you continue to expand, whether that includes opening new offices in different countries or launching a publication for a new audience. Before you choose a technology solution, think about how your order volumes may change as your business evolves.
5 ways a large team can benefit from Adpoint OMS
There are myriad OMS solutions on the market to choose from. That’s why it’s important to do your homework to find software that can meet your media organization’s demand for orders, and help you serve your customers’ diverse needs. Here are a few of the advantages of Adpoint, the industry’s premier cloud-based omnichannel OMS:
- Automation: Say goodbye to struggling with a manual order management process. To play in the big leagues, you need to free up precious sales time for your staff. Adpoint’s end-to-end functionality enables you to automate your administrative order lifecycle from booking to billing.
- Flexibility: With a system like Adpoint, a more sophisticated order management process doesn’t need to equate to a heavier workload. The solution enables you to configure your product catalog and pricing structures however you choose, to keep pace with your company’s growth.
- Sales support: Adpoint gives your sales team the backup they need to meet rising targets by facilitating fast, easy conversion of quotes into orders, as well as the ability to review and book inventory up to the minute. You’ll never lose a sale again due to system delays.
- Fast approvals: Eliminate gaps and stalls in your approval process with Adpoint, which notifies the right people at the right time for specific package approvals. The software will keep your order moving forward once approval has been received, so you’ll be able to monitor approval status and keep your customers happy.
- Robust reporting: Track the performance of your order management process with a complete suite of 360 Analytics reports. This will help you evaluate whether you’re doing well or whether you need to tighten up your timelines.
Discover Adpoint OMS
Nearly 5,000 media organizations worldwide are leveraging Adpoint to streamline and optimize their ad bookings in one centralized location. Find out how Adpoint can help your publishing company drive revenue today and for years to come.
