I’ve long been saying that there’s value to "experience management" services if executed properly. And I've watched vendors move along the WCM -> WCXM evolution continuum. And I've explained the myriad of industry buzzwords -- like CXM, CEM, WCXM, WEM – to our subscribers.

I've also expressed my utter disagreement with a vendor -- whom we cover in our WCXM research, but who shall remain unnamed here -- that proclaimed in a sponsored whitepaper that web content management systems are “so five years ago” and everyone should jump onto the “CXM platform” train. Pronto.

But here is the problem. Web CMS is still too critical. Nobody cancelled the web channel yet. Web content management -- in its basic form -- is what many organizations (who also try and attempt CXM) are still struggling with. Content lies at the heart of all marketing.  Always was.  Always will be. 

But with a buzzword snowstorm enveloping us and clouding our view, it is no wonder that many technology buyers are confused, and many technology vendors exploit that to their advantage.

At the same time, there’s a lot more to CXM than just content management across multiple channels. Here’s a simple graphic to illustrate some of the constituents of the CXM universe:

But the bottom line is -- currently -- no “CXM platform” or a WCXM system is capable of addressing all use cases and business challenges properly. Instead of buying the big CXM kahuna, I advise you look at specific parts of this ecosystem separately and give consideration to separate components of separate best-of-breed solutions.