Customers expect accurate and detailed product information across all points of sale. If this expectation is not met, potential buyers will most likely churn and pick a competitor over you.
To retain your customers and attract potential clients, you need to ensure that you deliver complete and correct product information across all channels.
But doing that sounds a bit challenging—unless you implement a reliable Product Information Management (PIM) solution.
Author Radiana Pit | Copperberg
What is PIM?
PIM software will help you simplify the process of creating, collecting, and managing your product information for both online and offline catalogs. With PIM, you can deliver compelling product experiences through your sales and eCommerce channels faster and easier.
Just imagine the benefits of centralizing technical, usage, and emotional data into one platform alongside media files such as images and videos; you’d be able to experience:
- Streamlined onboarding processes
- Improved data quality and consistency
- Better customer experiences
And there are still more advantages to unpack. Marketers can use PIM to improve customer interactions across multiple channels and access information about specific products and customer behavior much easier.
Retailers and brands can use PIM to strengthen supplier partnerships and eCommerce managers can use PIM to gain a complete view of the impact product data has on sales. Even data governance teams who want to track and meet compliance demands can benefit greatly from leveraging a PIM tool.
So, let’s dive deeper into the importance of leveraging PIM and uncover the ways in which it can help you gain a competitive edge in modern B2B eCommerce.
Streamlining eCommerce in 2020
According to James Barlow, Country Manager of UK and Ireland at Akeneo, one of the top benefits of leveraging PIM for your business is that it can help you streamline your digital strategy and drive up sales through increased conversion rates in a landscape where consumer buying habits change fast.
Keeping up with today’s modern consumers can be challenging, but with PIM, you can slash time-to-market, save resources on internal processes, and deliver the data your consumers seek faster.
Improving data quality, consistency, and compliance
If your product information is siloed and scattered across multiple channels, your customers will have a more difficult time interacting with you. And customer interactions are increasingly important and significant in an environment that becomes more and more digital.
Additionally, changing regulations and legal requirements can create compliance issues that put a wedge between you and your customers. Luckily, PIM can help you enforce data integrity and compliance, and also provide richer and more accurate information to your clients.
PIM will enable you to create and maintain a single source of truth for each of your products, thus closing the gaps that exist between multiple marketing channels and touchpoints.
Enhancing customer satisfaction
According to the Akeneo Global B2B Survey 2020, many B2B professionals believe that the product information displayed on a supplier’s eCommerce site is of the utmost importance when it comes to satisfactory customer experiences. However, up to 54% of survey respondents revealed that they don’t have the necessary solutions for product data and product experience management.
By implementing PIM, B2B professionals can ensure that customers experience a satisfying interaction with their sites. A good PIM solution will keep all relevant information online, up to date, and consistent, thus providing visitors and potential buyers with rich product information that enhances the shopping experience.
Plus, the right PIM will support your omnichannel strategies and optimize your product information for all channels, ensuring that the product impressions, expectations, and experiences of your customers are aligned.
Driving up sales and increasing ROI
In the current climate, it is paramount to ensure that your customers have consistent experiences across all channels, including social media, websites, in-store, etc. If you manage to do this, you will convert your customers into brand advocates who will loyally support your brand messaging and introduce your products to new audiences, thus driving up your sales.
PIM software is the key to unlocking the gate to increased ROI with its capability to centralize your offerings into one location from which all information is delivered across a variety of touchpoints. This way, your customers will have the same, consistent impression of your products, which is essential to establishing customer trust.
Once customer trust is established and the product is enriched with correct information, you can optimize your processes to contextualize the product information for specific channels and locations. This is a great tip to take things another step further and personalize the interactions and experiences your customers have with your brand and products
Overcoming omnichannel challenges
Pushing products through different channels and sharing information quickly between cross-functional teams is no easy feat. But it’s a mandatory endeavor if you want to devise a successful omnichannel strategy and create seamless customer experiences.
PIM can help you overcome the most common omnichannel challenges and:
- Maintain data consistency
- Simplify ERP and OMS maintenance
- Optimize inventory updates across storefront and sales channels
- Enhance online product releases
- Create and manage a large product catalog across all channels
- Scale internationally to provide better shopping experiences
PIM is the ideal solution if you want to automate manual data processes and enable your teams to focus on what they do best, whether that is product development, marketing, or something else.
Are you ready to embrace the ideal PIM solution?
According to Akeneo’s research, one of the biggest hurdles in improving product experience is achieving team productivity and collaboration on product data management. This is followed by other challenges such as timely product launches, media management, collecting product data into a central repository, and more.
PIM solutions can help solve all of the above and add benefits that would be difficult to leverage otherwise.
Consider tapping into global eCommerce with this customizable tool. Whether you’re concerned with omnichannel strategies, large inventory management, or bigger sales, you can adapt your PIM to your unique needs.
