With the end of DoubleClick Sales Manager (Google DSM) fast approaching, the heat is on to find a suitable replacement. The time it takes to select a solution that meets your ad sales and order management needs may take longer than you realize. This puts pressure on your search for a Google DSM alternative that’s right for you.
Most ad sales managers are eager to make a change as soon as possible before the clock strikes midnight on August 1st, 2019. However, it’s important to remember that the transition process can be wrought with potential pitfalls. Here are common issues you need to keep in mind when making the switch to a brand new order management system (OMS).
1. Accidental Repeating Entries
Overbooking and underbooking is an issue no publisher wants to deal with, costing both time and money in your ad sales process. This is an error that’s all too common, especially when process controls fall by the wayside in the transition from one OMS to another.
Make sure your alternative solution has adequate oversight to catch typos and repeating entries in your orders, to prevent the possibility of costly booking errors with your ad inventory.
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2. Ad Inventory Kept on Hold
Ad sales is a fast-moving business, and time is often of the essence. As such, keeping ad inventory on hold can be a crucial mistake.
When you book an ad or placement and the deal with a customer is not final, you’re essentially limiting yourself. Rather than keeping your options open and allowing other customers to visualize what you have to offer, you’re effectively closing the door on what could be. Inventory mismanagement can also lead to overbooking or underbooking, costing you revenue you can’t afford to lose. When making the switch to a new OMS, be sure that the alternative solution follows best practices to avoid losing out.
3. Google DSM – Dependent Booking System
You know you need a new order management system but have you taken the time to revise how much you currently rely on DoubleClick Sales Manager?
If your booking system doesn’t work independently from Google DSM, you’ll need to decide how to handle booking as you move forward. Rather than assuming your new OMS can handle your current demands – or choosing an OMS without considering booking at all – take time to decide the best path forward for your booking system.
4. Reliance on a Middleman
Direct ad sales is a priority for you and your customers. Ad placement changes all the time and your clients need to have all their cards on the table in order to make a decision. To make the most out of your ad sales abilities, booking needs to be fast, easy, and pain-free. If you rely on a sales representative for the entire process, you lose out on these advantages, turning what should be a seamless sale into manual labor.
Instead of forcing all potential customers to contact your sales department, focus on providing an easier path to ad sales. This can be achieved by removing the middleman and focusing on how to automate your process to best serve both your customers and your bottom line.
5. Limited Billing Options
With multinational and omnichannel ad operations, invoicing may need to include different rates and options, and billing is no longer as easy as it used to be. With so many strategies out there, it’s only natural that your customers may have preferred avenues they have to follow.
When you limit your billing options, you may be making things easier on your end, but you’re pigeonholing your customers in a way that may drive them elsewhere.
Consider diversifying your billing options as much as possible in order to increase your likelihood of staying competitive in an ever-changing ad sales market.
6. Static Insertion Orders
A mistake in an insertion order can be costly. A few typos, such as a wrong start date or a misquoted ad dimension, can change the outcome of your final agreement completely, costing you revenue and potentially upsetting your customers. When an incorrect insertion order is released, it can be too late, and your mistake will be made public.
To cut down on the likelihood of errors in your offerings, customize insertion orders before they are sent instead of using the same template for everyone. This can ensure you’re sending the right information to the right place, each time.
7. Inflexible Rates
Rates aren’t all made equal, and what you charge one customer doesn’t have to be what you charge the next. While setting one flat rate for your ad space may sound simple, it’s not easy when it comes to dynamic pricing. Any errors in order management can actually cost your ad operations money, especially when your competitors are striking a harder bargain.
Plenty of other industries must adjust prices with automation, optimizing rates for the best possible outcome. Consider the airline industry: seat 1A and 1B may be sold for radically different rates when all is said and done depending on a variety of factors. Airlines know better than anyone that a filled seat is always better than an empty one. Therefore, their order management capabilities must be up to the challenge.
There are so many potential problems at hand. This is only a small smattering of what could go wrong when jumping the gun on your OMS switch. Therefore, it’s important to stay organized, focused, and committed to the goal at hand.
With proper awareness of the largest pain points, you need to address on your Google DSM replacement, you can be sure you’re covering all of your bases before pulling the plug.
