Content Management Systems, also known as a CMS, help organizations and individuals manage, create, and track content — typically just for their website(s) and application(s). This content can take the form of several different media types including, images, video, and written content. Typically, your CMS makes up the backend of your site, which will then push your content to the front-end that your visitor sees.
What is a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) and how is it different from a CMS?
Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) have grown out of the limitations posed by CMS in regards to crafting and managing in-depth customer experiences. Since DXP has come into being off the back of the classic CMS there is going to be some overlap between the two, in terms of content creation and asset management.
A DXP is equipped to handle content and asset management on a large scale. For example, with a DXP you’re able to sync, manage, and push content across verticals likes web, kiosks, billboards, customer portals, IoT devices, and more.
Plus, a robust DXP will be able to help brands launch eCommerce projects, establish intranets and manage multiple microsites with multitenancy — with ease. A traditional CMS, on the other hand, would struggle to do all of that without significant investment and development time.
A DXP goes a step further than a CMS by helping a brand produce digital experiences through websites, apps, portals, IoT devices and more.
DXP Platform Features
As mentioned previously, DXPs are made up of an integrated set of technologies, each with its own granular feature set, meaning DXPs have dozens of features. Listed below are the component software within DXPs and the role they have inside the DXP ecosystem.
Hybrid or headless CMS: Hybrid or headless CMS are a foundational component that DXPs are built on. With headless CMS, users are not required to create bespoke front ends for applications when planning and designing the delivery of content. This streamlined, device-agnostic content delivery allows businesses to focus their effort on the content itself and how it can be personalized and optimized.
Personalization: Efficient digital experience personalization is the overall goal of DXPs. The personalization tools within DXPs are effective because they provide direct access to multiple repositories of customer and user data. Since businesses often keep that kind of information in many disparate, disconnected silos, other personalization solutions can struggle with effectiveness. DXPs streamline personalization by integrating all these data repositories into the systems that deliver content.
Marketing automation: The digital marketing automation arm of DXPs handles broad-reaching marketing orchestration by pulling customer and user data from CRMs and data management platforms, delivering experiences across multiple channels, and pulling content from various content storage repositories.
Digital asset management (DAM): DAM tools are content management systems that specifically handle the storage and delivery of marketing collaterals. DAMs are a pivotal component within DXPs since other pieces like marketing automation tools pull content from it when orchestrating content campaigns.
Data management platform (DMP): DXPs include a DMP within their offering to house customer and user data. DMPs sometimes integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) solutions to intake more customer data. DXPs are heavily reliant on the data housed within this component to create personalized content in real-time.
Translation and localization: DXPs include translation and localization tools, which are useful when businesses attempt to personalize digital experiences based on a user’s preferred location or language.
E-commerce platforms: Many DXPs also provide all the functions of an e-commerce platform, allowing businesses to run an online store within the same platform that maintains the rest of their digital presence. E-commerce websites provide many features that regular web content management software do not, like integrations with inventory management, search and navigation, and payment gateways.
Digital analytics: Gathering and applying analytics are key components within DXPs. Businesses leverage digital analytics to measure content performance and user experience which are then used to further refine their digital experiences.