Choosing a CMS

Building a case for a new CMS

Moving to a new content management system (CMS) is a major investment, both in time and money. Here’s how to formally justify the costs from the outset so you can get the technology you need.

3 minute read

Business people using technology in meeting
AI Summary

First, identify the problems that a new CMS would solve. Talk to stakeholders across your organization about what they need in a CMS. Getting a new CMS will help improve your company’s productivity. Investing in a new CMS will lead to significant savings on technology spend. Sitecore’s Total Economic Impact study, performed by Forrester, shows significant savings and return on investment from consolidating web content management systems, email, and mobile web/app software.

Chapter 1

Define the problem

A business case is essentially a sales pitch. Think of who will be receiving your business case and what you can say to them to get them on board. You need to convince them that investing in a new CMS is worth your company’s while, and that the one you select will be the best option for your organization.

First, identify the problems that a new CMS would solve. Here’s a list of potential challenges:

  • Lacking a 360-degree view of customers: Your current CMS doesn’t integrate well with other technology, like your CRM, experience platform, or commerce solution.
  • Inefficient website management: Your current CMS can’t manage more than one website and doesn’t support multiple languages.
  • Productivity: Your current CMS is not easy for non-technical team members to use.
  • Missed opportunities: Your current CMS is not flexible enough for your developers to quickly react to market developments.

Talk to stakeholders across your organization about what they need in a CMS. Their input can give you valuable ideas that will help you make your case, and also secure the buy-in you’ll need to get your proposal approved.

Also, learn the difference between a CMS and a digital experience platform (DXP) to make sure the solution you’re advocating for has the right set of tools.

Chapter 2

The three pillars of ROI for a new CMS

The next step is to explain how incorporating a new CMS will solve problems and benefit your company. In your opportunity statement, you’ll want to talk about the return on investment in terms of the following three key advantages.

Bigger business impact

A new CMS will contribute to revenue, conversion, and loyalty. Your company will be able to shift to a more customer-centric digital strategy and keep up with the competition, which will help you retain customers.

With a CMS that supports personalization, your company can build stronger relationships with customers and show them relevant content, increasing conversion rates and building loyalty.

A new CMS will allow you to aggregate your customer data from your CRM, experience platform, or commerce solution and improve the customer experience, generating more sales.

Be sure to clarify that the alternative — doing nothing — increases the risk of losing your audience to competitors, who are almost certainly investing in their content operations.

Increased operational efficiency

Getting a new CMS will help improve your company’s productivity. The ability to seamlessly distribute content across channels will reduce time to market and errors, as well as streamline processes.

With a more intuitive CMS, non-technical employees will not need to rely on IT as much, reducing the resources and time required to publish content. More agile content operations will allow your company to move from concept to testing to production much faster.

Increased technology savings

Investing in a new CMS will lead to significant savings on technology spend. An extensible CMS that delivers a cross-channel experience will make it easier to add capabilities down the road, reducing future integration costs and development requirements.

Consolidating multiple web content management systems will further reduce technology costs and enable you to manage everything in one place, leading to substantial near-term savings. The right CMS will reduce the need for IT support during normal operations while speeding time to market.

Chapter 3

Sitecore’s ROI

Total Economic Impact, or TEI, is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that can enhance a company’s technology decision-making processes. You can use it to demonstrate the tangible value of IT initiatives to both senior management and other key business stakeholders.        

Sitecore’s Total Economic Impact study, performed by Forrester, shows significant savings and return on investment from consolidating web content management systems, email, and mobile web/app software.

Check out the video for proven benefits in productivity gains and savings with Sitecore.

Chapter 4

Getting buy-in from senior management

Framing your proposal as a way for your company to move forward with its digital transformation is a great way to capture the attention of senior stakeholders. Show them how investing in a new CMS will help the company reach its financial targets.

Remember to be concise when talking to decision-makers. Get down to the essentials: this is an opportunity to build stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships using tailored, personalized digital experiences. A great customer experience can create enthusiastic customer advocates, who usually become your most powerful marketing tool.