Even in a digital age, coordinating marketing and brand efforts can be a daunting task.

Giving business managers the capacity to quickly compare their current capabilities and offer personalized recommendations for improvement is paramount. But integrating that ability with other enterprise systems means shifting away from the usual array of digital asset management (DAM) products.

The trending alternative is to use marketing asset management (MAM) software suites like the ones made by Saepio and North Plains. The advantage is that DAM products lack dynamic collateral development, robust workflow capabilities, and user security. DAM software suites are also historically weak in centralizing access to assets and marketing materials.

FedEx Freight knows about this shift. The enterprise-focused division is one of seven operating companies under the FedEx banner. The company uses its own information software and services to manage marketing materials, empower its sales efforts, and have precise communications with enterprise customers.

"We focus on the individual needs of all our customers, though, being a large company, it's sometimes challenging to connect with each customer on a unique basis," says Michael Rude, marketing manager with FedEx. "Our marketing assessment management [software] allows us to establish this personalized interaction through tailoring marketing programs individually to address the needs of each customer while retaining control on our brand."

Recently, the shipping company developed a new tool that ties operations performance data for each customer to existing account data. The goal of the program is to help identify those customers who represent a high probability for attrition. FedEx says such tools are combined in use with the in-house MAM software to identify which marketing collateral needs to be used to address specific customer needs or concerns.

"We achieved over a 70 percent decrease in customer attrition in the span of a few months as a result of leveraging this new tool, along with the appropriate marketing collateral, to address the concerns of our customers," Rude politely explains.

Having seen the benefits of the MAM software, FedEx says it is now working on developing new tools that can be used along with its MAM suite in building highly customized and timely communications with its customers to retain its competitive edge and increase customer satisfaction.

FedEx's experience is not uncommon. A recent Aberdeen Group Inc. survey of 136 enterprises using marketing asset management tools, mostly in IT consulting and software companies, found an average of 32 percent year-over-year improvement in return on marketing investment. They also found an 18 percent improvement in brand consistency.

At least three quarters of those surveyed by Aberdeen said they also use a library asset management system; use ROI estimates to cost-justify investments; and reuse digital content and images.

"As organizations attempt to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible under volatile market conditions and often with fewer resources, the technology and process best-practices around MAM promise to separate the top performing organizations from others," says Peter Ostrow, a research director for Aberdeen.

One of the biggest tips to remember, according to Ostrow, is to remember the sales team when creating distribution and access rights for the library. It's not that sales should have carte blanche capabilities, but certainly they should be tied into organizational and knowledge management structures, he adds.

The other main takeaway is to avoid investing blindly in marketing assets or campaigns without regularly calculating what they are worth to your overall plans for market growth. Just because your contract is up for the rights to photos, videos, or other intellectual property doesn't mean you have to automatically renew.

As companies evaluate these asset management systems, shifting towards a more integrated system might just give your marketing and business divisions fewer headaches and a lot more to brag about.

— Michael Singer, Senior Editor at Internet Evolution, is focused on executive (Executive Clan) and midmarket (Midmarket Clan) issues.