The State of Content Collaboration Benchmark Report

To understand what sets top-performing teams apart, Smartsheet × Demand Metric surveyed over 200 marketing and creative leaders to explore how alignment, intake processes, technology, and feedback loops influence content lifecycle satisfaction, from intake to asset deployment.

The findings reveal a widening gap between satisfied and dissatisfied teams, and clear insights into how to close it.

Key findings include:

• 58 % of high-performing teams have a formal, well-defined feedback loop, while 43 % of low-performers rely on informal, anecdotal sharing.
• 77 % of satisfied teams say it’s easy for stakeholders to find pre-existing assets—versus just 54 % among dissatisfied teams.
• 94 % of high-performers have an effective creative intake process, compared with 58 % of those dissatisfied with theirs.
• 68 % of satisfied teams operate with a single-source-of-truth for assets, reducing duplication and miscommunication.
• 55 % of organizations report that creative backlogs cause stakeholders to produce off-brand content.
• Teams that use integrated project management and DAM platforms are 42 % more likely to be satisfied with their content lifecycle.

The study shows that satisfaction—and performance—hinge on five capabilities: formalized feedback loops, actionable requests, workload balance, proactive reviews, and the right enabling technology. Organizations that review their creative processes monthly or more often are more than twice as likely to report strong satisfaction levels.

The report concludes with a practical five-step action plan for teams that want to improve alignment, reduce creative backlogs, and prevent off-brand content from slipping into the market. From establishing a single-source-of-truth to integrating your DAM and project management systems, the findings provide a clear roadmap for modernizing content operations.

Download the full report to benchmark your team against industry leaders, uncover what drives top-tier collaboration, and learn how to accelerate your creative output without sacrificing quality or brand control.

If you’re ready to run your own INSIGHTS™ research study to better understand your market, audience, or value proposition, visit INSIGHTS by Demand Metric to see how organizations use original research to inform strategy, build thought leadership, and drive measurable growth.

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