2. WordPress or Drupal vs Sitecore, Kentico or Adobe?
CMS or CEM? Choosing the right content platform for
your business or organization is a more complicated
and important decision now than ever before.
Your Content Management System (CMS) will not only be a major part of
all your web operations, but today it will also be a major part of all of your
business operations including—marketing, sales, support, recruiting, and
other core functions that are essential to your enterprise.
Customer Experience Management (CEM) is a strategy that focuses the
operations and processes of a business around the needs of the individual
customer. Companies are focusing on the importance of the experience,
knowing that building great consumer experiences is a key component
to comprehensively managing a customer’s cross-channel exposure,
interaction and transaction with a company, product, brand or service.
Whenrunninganintegratorthatarchitectsandbuildsentirelyon“enterprise”
and similar platforms, proprietary stack content management platforms are
often the winning bet. Although the proprietary platforms can be expensive,
when considering what they can do, the cost can make sense for enterprises
handling a multitude of content and customer types.
Choose the Right Platform
© 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.1

3. © 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.
The CMS, that trusty tool for managing websites, has
changed completely over the last few years. Many
platforms are no longer web CMS in the traditional
sense—they are CEM platforms with robust features.
1. Integrated email, marketing automation, commerce and analytics
With CEM platforms, marketers can orchestratemulti-step marketing
workflowsbetweendigitaldestinations(thewebsite,themobileapp),
commerce and email. A sample workflow would look like this: sign
up for a free download, get a response via email, track that response
back through repeated interactions with the website, manage
commerce transactions on platform, score sessions based on
actions, review engagement data by named user if they are identified,
or by session if anonymous. In short, the CEM moves marketers
far beyond “a database for content” and into understanding and
influencing individual user experiences.
2. Targeted content based on session analytics
CEM platforms allow us to personalize content based on user
origin, activity onsite,repeatedvisitsandotheranonymousbehavior.
We can only do this because the platform allows us (without a lot of
custom hacking) to respond to session data on a discrete level. For
example, if a user comes from x geography, searches y phrase and
visits z pages, the next time they come back, I show them an xyz
related content set.
3. Built for multichannel and integration
The new CEM platforms are built for structured content reuse,
customized author experiences, metadata, and taxonomy. While
mostCMSplatformshandlestructuredcontenttypeswell, enterprise
CEM platforms make content reuse as easy and modular as it can
be, making building content APIs and content syndication easier
and reducing steps involved in getting single-sourced content out
to various publication destinations, including dozens or hundreds of
enterprise-managed domains and apps.
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4. The most sophisticated CMS platforms currently leading the
field are all moving toward embracing sophisticated content
analytics, user behavior analysis, site personalization, dynamic
content optimization, and multiple points of contact beyond the
website into native mobile applications, email, and integration
with social networks. The platform that used to run your website is
really a platform to manage your customers’ experiences with your
organization across multiple mediums.
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5. © 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.
CEM or CMS?
With so many marketing technology vendors, integration matters. APIs make
it far more straightforward to integrate with martech, but also along other
data sources, including DAM, CRM, ERP or LMS systems. When you want to
align content among many systems, CEM platforms provide all the handles
and levers.
Some clients really do need a traditional CMS. For those who need to do more
than simply manage content, a CEM is a better choice. CMS and CEM are
ultimately very different things.
If a client simply needs a true database for content (input/output of content,
managementofpublishingworkflow,multilingual,corecontentmanagement),
WordPress is plenty enterprise-ready and scales well, as does Drupal and
other open CMS platforms. WordPress offers tons of enterprise infrastructure
andsupport(WPEngine,VIP)togoasbigasneededpushingcontenttomassive
audiences, but these are true CMS approaches to publishing.
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6. © 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.
Enterprise CEM
Enterprise CEM offers a different kind of platform for marketers who
need a unified way to organize deep, discrete data and customer
interactions across channels. CEM platforms are being used far
beyond marketing, too, with more parts of the enterprise using
corporate CEM as the interaction point for their digital presence.
HR, support, operations, partner relations and intranets and are all
aligning towards delivery of content experiences via CEM platforms.
How they do that is another story for another day, but it does involve
a lot of orchestration.
In terms of coding, it doesn’t make sense to custom hack even a
simple CMS implementation anymore. The era of custom, go-it-alone,
roll-your-own CMS ended in 2005. Now there are endless open and
proprietary platforms, frameworks and toolsets that offer massive
efficiency gains.
When looking for true CEM platforms, terminology can be confusing.
Customer experience management can be called CEM, CX or CXM.
It’s can also be called digital experience management, DXM or DX.
So, how to choose? The consensus across most agency and
integrators is that it depends on what the enterprise needs
to accomplish. Decide whether you’re shopping for a content
management system or a customer experience management
system and go from there.
When assessing a new system for your organization, [A] finds that
the most successful processes include setting up a fully-functional
individualprojectwithallrelevantdepartmentalstakeholdersincluded.
This is a time-consuming process, and you need a project where you
can aggregate all research into a centralized work environment. So
let’s get started!
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7. Evaluating Platforms
Plot all variables on a comparison matrix with columns for each
of the CMS/CEM systems being evaluated.
Variables can include:
• Organizational business requirements
• Key features subdivided by business function (marketing, sales,
operations, HR, etc.)
• Integrations
• Work effort, both internally and from vendors
• Estimated budgets for licensing, implementation, training, deployment,
and infrastructure.
Budget several weeks for the matrix creation. Once complete, the next step
is to score the systems by a numerical ratings system.
© 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.6

8. © 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.
Assign each of the criteria a minimally acceptable rating on a
scale of 1 to 5. Then rank each criterion for each system on that
same scale of 1 to 5.
Calculate an overall numerical ranking for each of the systems being
reviewed. Next weed down platform choices to the top two or three. [A] has
seen clients start with up to seven potential systems under consideration.
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9. When you have eliminated down to two finalist platforms, it is
now time to choose a winner, the CMS/CEM you will build on
and live with for years to come. How do you choose?
This part of the process comes down to running live tests between the
systems,talkingtoreferenceclients,andperformingbroadbasedinternal
user demos and related surveys. The goal is to tip the numerical score for
the system that will provide the most realistic value to your organization.
The word “realistic” denotes the important part of this step. Too often, the
CMS/CEM vendor does a great job at selling the benefits of a platform that
has too many features for your organization.
At this stage it is pertinent and incredibly important for decision makers to
ask what features they really need and will use. Ultimately, you don’t want
to purchase a CMS/CEM with a bunch of features that you let sit after being
“certain” that the feature was a deciding feature.
© 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.
Make the easy decisions first as to which platforms to eliminate based on
the scores you assign them.
Ifyou’restillpresentedwithtwoormoreoptions,considerdoingastrengths,
weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreatsanalysis(SWOT).Bylookingatthese
features holistically, often you can clarify doubts about that third system
needingtobeeliminated.Ideally,worktonarrowdowntotwofinalistsystems.
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10. © 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.
The best way to gain perspective is to look outside of your task
force or selection committee and get input from business users.
Run objective proof of concept tests, and solicit feedback from organizations
that have already deployed the system within their own environments and
have lived with them for a while.
CMS/CEM systems can have many touch points inside the organization. It
may help to do short demos focused on specific authoring environments
with those stakeholders.
Ask stakeholders to grade the interfaces and record any questions or
concerns they share. This will provide some additional score data to
potentially weigh the final decision along with the other showdown factors.
Based on your showdown activities—your proof of concepts, reference
evaluations, and initial surveys—assign a new set of numerical grades
following the same structure of a minimally acceptable rank, and then add
the actual rank for each criterion and take a look at the totals.
By now, a winner may have emerged. If so,
congratulations!
However, often two platforms will score at or near a tie and
each have advocates. This is when you need a tiebreaker.
Learning from the experience of others often brings clarity to a
difficult decision.
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11. Breaking a Tie
In the same way that you have created a comparison matrix with
critical criteria to evaluate and benchmark across systems, you
will expand your scorecard with input scores for each reference.
This will include factors represented in your questions along with a score.
These factors can include:
• Admin User Satisfaction
• Relevance of CMS/CEM Based Analytics
• Ability to Administer Multiple Domains in a Load-Balanced Environment
• Other critical factors that are represented by your questions
• Impartial References
© 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.10

12. Finding truly impartial references can be a bit challenging. You
can always ask the CMS/CEM vendors for references and these
will certainly be helpful, but they won’t be impartial.
Naturally, the vendors are going to provide references that have had the
most positive experiences. It’s possible to pick up strong opinions on user
forums via LinkedIn and Quora, or via vendor websites. Those are all valid
places to find references, but with valuable time at stake for everyone
involved, you’ll want to find the best possible, most objective match to
your organization’s needs.
Put together a list of references using:
• Vendor Referrals - Ask for clients that match your organization’s
structure, size of implementation, and those that represent key
integration factors.
• Vendor User Forums - This can be via the user community for a vendor,
or on third-party websites like LinkedIn and Quora.
• Online Research - Search web pages for tell-tale signs of a particular
CMS/CEM being used by looking for artifacts in the code base, or, check
out BuiltWith.com, and create a list of companies using the platform
you’re referencing. Include them in your candidate pool if they visibly
match your profit.
© 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.11

13. A member of the selection committee should call the references to
coordinate meetings. [A] usually sets these up as web teleconferences and
asks for 30 to 45 minutes of time from stakeholders. Representatives from
marketing and IT should both participate. We never provide a direct cash
incentive, but sometimes we offer to make a donation to a charity in the
name of the contributing company. Often, companies are glad to share
experiences, and if time provides, will take the meeting.
The following is helpful:
• Offer to sign an NDA and have one ready.
• Confirm via email after the initial appointment is set
• Send an email confirmation.
• Re-confirm on the morning of the meeting.
During the reference calls, one person should act as the
moderator and facilitate the Q&A to keep everybody on time. If
you record the call, let the reference company know that you’re
planning to do so.
Ask attendees to take notes of their impressions and thoughts from the
discussion. During, or directly after the reference call, each person on the
committee listening should complete a criteria scorecard. Finally, pull all the
notes together into a single document and average the scores.
While it does take a time investment to do the reference call process as
a part of your platform selection, we guarantee that you’ll find insight and
the data that comes back might just be the deciding factor in a close race.
© 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.12

14. Add all the scores individually from the reference calls into
multiple new items on your master comparison matrix, or, boil
scores into a weighted single number per reference.
Either way, each reference call will help to tilt the results into one platform
direction or the other. Be sure to follow up with and thank the reference
companies. Sometimes it’s nice to send some kind of token gift, as well.
© 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.
By now you have selected your platform. Congratulate yourself.
You’ve taken the to evaluate a lot of variables that can often be
confusing to many decision makers.
By putting potential systems into a logical order and measuring meaning
objectively,youhavemadeadecisionforalltherightreasons.Youcanrest
comfortablyknowingyouhavemadetherightchoiceforyourorganization.
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15. © 2016 Simple A LLC, All rights reserved.14

16. simpleateam +SimpleaTeam company/simple-a
Find us online
simplea.com
[A] is a distributed technology consulting and training company dedicated to
humanizing the digital experience. We perform .NET, as well as Drupal CMS
implementation and integration, and provide CMS and CEM platform selection
consulting, including fully-managed selection cycles or simple advisory services.
[A] brings tens of thousands of hours successfully implementing and
crafting intelligent, engaging customer experiences for large national associa-
tions, healthcare organizations, university systems and other multi-faceted orga-
nizations. We can manage the entire process for you, or augment your process
and coach your team through the considerations, building your decision matrix,
and engaging with various platform vendors.
We simplify complex technology implementations to deliver powerful web content
management and content marketing platforms. Engage users with relevant con-
tent experiences and keep them loyal to your brand.
Partner with [A] to create intelligent content tailored to your audience needs,
aligned to your organizational goals and delivered with personalized, targeted
marketing tools and technologies. [A] delivers consulting, training, application
development, architecture and strategy engagement. Bilingual services are also
available.
If you would like help choosing a CMS or CEM for your organization or would
like help performing a reference process, feel free to contact [A].
info@simplea.com
815A Brazos, Suite 115
Austin, TX 78701
512-646-2100
simplea.com
About [A]
15