Marcom Portal

Pros

Marcom Central has created shorter lead times and more satisfied clients. Our non-marketing employees are able to create digital collateral on the spot without having to wait for design time, proofing time and the time it takes to get things scheduled. The system is user-friendly and intuitive. The system means we require fewer employee hours, benefits, etc. due to the automation of routine tasks. It has improved operational efficiency. Most importantly, multiple members of the strategic marketing & communications team have greater job satisfaction because they can spend their time doing more meaningful work rather than making routine design updates/changes.

Cons

Customizing the software to fit our workflow was one of our more difficult tasks, however, I look forward to the constant improvements the team at Marcom continues to create to make the user experience better.

Pros

I like that we can easily add products and how simple it is for our static products. It easy to add users, products and cost centers. The approval process for products is easy and intuitive. It's a localized resource that our users can use.

Cons

The back end of the product is fairly slow. It takes a long time to add products because of how slow it is at times. The reporting for the portal could be better. I know the Business Intelligence feature was created to solve for reporting.

Also sometimes we experience difficulty with customizable products. I feel like there's more options to build this out more based on the users needs.

Pros

The capability in a vacuum is awesome. It can do many things, and considers many scenarios that required as part of maintaining a businesses brand. I noticed at the last conference and even in conversations, the desire to listen and consider the challenges customers are facing with regards to system needs.
The recent hire of UX support is a tremendous step in a great direction to understand use and process and enhance from a user perspective.
I mostly enjoy the consideration of the system not just being POD, and instead, being a brand system, with needs for downloads, print, assets, guidelines, templates, videos, etc. This is where MarcomCentral can shine.

Cons

The capability in a vacuum is awesome. The product is better promoted than it performs. As the admin, planner, builder, and user, I see all sides. I can see what it can be but struggle with a system with an attitude. Some days, it is so great, and then something stops working or changes and all things go to hell. I need something I can be an ambassador for and believe in. The unpredictability of new releases, adding functionality, changing settings or altering things intended to improve can have unexpected and timely consequences. I can tell the fundamental system was conceived and built by techs, with limited UX exploration or user consideration.

Pros

I like the most that I can see the edits that I make to the platform live time and make minor edits, such as captions or thumbnail image easily. I like that I can pull reports to see who is ordering and downloading from the site.

Cons

I do think that there are little nuisances on the back end that add up to be quite time consuming, such as having to re-search for products rather than the search saving.

Pros

MarcomCentral did exactly what we expected. It helped us automate our design and printing process by creating templates that took the place of our one-off designs. We were at a point where every business card, in a corporation that had 5,000 employees, was created by one of our designers.

We had great support with our implementation team and customer service. They are constantly improving their product, which was great.

Cons

The templates are not "magic" nor could you expect them to be. The front-end was very easy for users, but the back-end needed to be set up by more tech-savvy marketer/designers.