Component Content Management System (CCMS)

Our world is constantly changing, so communication and information management are crucial to a successful marketing strategy. This also applies to managing, creating and publishing manuals. A Component Content Management System (CCMS) is definitely a game-changer in that regard. A CCMS is a software tool that allows companies to manage well-structured and reusable content. Usually, a CCMS is used to manage manuals and other content that needs to be updated frequently and appears in different places. For marketing teams, a CCMS offers the opportunity to streamline processes, improve collaboration and maintain brand consistency when publishing manuals

One of the biggest challenges for marketing teams when creating manuals is ensuring consistent and correct content across documents. A CCMS offers a solution by approaching the creation of manuals in a modular way. Instead of creating every manual from scratch, technical writers can develop texts (topics) on different subjects and products. These texts can easily be reused in countless other manuals, ensuring consistency whilst saving time and effort.

For example, imagine a company launching a new product line. The documentation team can create texts for specifications, user manuals, troubleshooting and more. These texts can then be reused in the various instructions and user manuals. This does not only speed up the creation of manuals, but also ensures that the correct and most up-to-date information is shared across all documents.

Creating manuals often involves several departments. Marketing, R&D, engineering and technical writers. A CCMS provides a centralised platform where different team members can work together seamlessly. Writers can work simultaneously on a variety of texts, subject matter experts can review content and provide input, and designers can ensure that manuals are visually appealing – all within the same environment.

This workflow avoids version control issues and reduces the risk of miscommunication. For example, if a manual needs to be updated because product characteristics need to be changed, one of the subject matter experts can edit the relevant texts directly. The changes are then reflected in all manuals that use the relevant texts (topics), resulting in consistent texts.

Effortless publishing by using the Component Content Management System (CCMS)

Traditionally, publishing a manual requires quite a bit of DTP work, especially when the manual is in several languages. But with a CCMS, publishing (multilingual) manuals becomes easy. The approach ensures the automatic generation of correctly formatted documents, ensuring consistency and a professional appearance throughout all manuals.

Moreover, a CCMS provides opportunities for multi-channel publishing. This means that the same content can be published in different formats – PDF files that can be printed and responsive HTML pages that can be published online. This approach helps marketing teams to reach their target audience through the platforms they prefer to work with, which improves the overall user experience.

In the dynamic world we live in today, products often follow up on each other in rapid succession. Manuals therefore need to be updated frequently. A CCMS simplifies the management of your (technical) content. If a change is needed, it only has to be implemented in one location. The CCMS then automatically updates the texts in all relevant manuals. And so, all manuals remain up-to-date.
For example, if R&D needs to update the product specifications in all manuals due to a last-minute change, all content can easily be updated at once. The change is immediately reflected in all manuals, making everything correct, consistent and up-to-date in one go.

A consistent look and feel are crucial for a good brand experience. A CCMS ensures that manuals comply with the company’s brand guidelines. Templates, fonts, colours and other design elements can be standardised across all documents, reinforcing brand identity.

In short, a Component Content Management System (CCMS) is a powerful tool that simplifies and improves the process of creating and publishing manuals significantly. By developing content more efficiently, implementing convenient workflows, simplifying publishing, managing revisions effectively and ensuring brand consistency, a CCMS enables (marketing) professionals to focus on what matters most – delivering consistent and accurate content tailored to their target audience.

Foxiz knows like no other which packages and solutions suit your challenges. Is your current way of working efficient? Is your workflow set up optimally and does your software provide for ultimate reuse, regardless of the language? Foxiz will examine the current approach and needs, and will discuss the requirements and possible solutions (software) with you.

For more information, contact us via email ; info@foxiz.nl or by calling  +31 344 84 88 00.