A consistent product story across all channels may seem self-evident, but it is still an enormous challenge for many organisations. If the Covid-19 pandemic teaches us anything, it is that we are all buying more and more often online. Sometimes out of necessity, because we are in quarantine, but often because it is simply much easier. And convenience still serves people well!
Of course, apart from Covid-19, we have seen significant growth in online sales for years, and we also see that brand manufacturers are increasingly focusing on direct-to-consumer sales and thus competing with their own wholesale channel. Whatever the channel, whether it’s B2C or B2B sales, your product has to tell the same story everywhere, but how do you ensure that? I will tell you more about it in this blog.
PIM: a crucial link
A product information management (PIM) solution is a crucial link in this challenge. It is not only the gathering place for product information, it is the connecting factor between your internal departments and all your sales channels. However, not every organisation makes the most of it or has even implemented a PIM system.
Product information management is still in development at many organisations. Perhaps you are still looking for a PIM platform? Or you already have a PIM system, but it only serves as a repository for your product information. Or the marketing department may already be using PIM, but you want the rest of your organisation to start using it too. Whatever your situation, it is a good idea to investigate the possibilities of PIM. Good product information management is indispensable for the findability and sale of your products.
Make product information manageable, findable and exchangeable
How will a PIM system help you tell your customers the right product story? Organisations that do not have their information provision in order, struggle with incomplete product information where important characteristics are missing. A frequently heard problem is that product information is stored in a fragmented way within different applications throughout the organisation. This makes the exchange of information with colleagues or external partners unnecessarily time-consuming. And what about the management of product information when it is not recorded centrally? A PIM system helps you with this and prevents multiple versions of the truth from arising.
What information does your customer want?
But where do you start? First, find out what product information your customers really need. What information do they need to make a purchase? Once you know that, you can make sure that customers see relevant information at the right time and in the right place. This immediately prevents you from continuing to manage irrelevant product information unnecessarily.
One way to examine customers’ need for information is to analyse search and click behaviour on your digital channels. But you could also analyse return information, for example. Why do customers return your products? Perhaps the size of a specific product turns out to be different. Once you have this insight, you can enrich your PIM system with that specific information. The PIM system ensures that this information is sent along with the product when you publish it on your channels. Because the consumer has this information directly available, he can make the right decision, which reduces the chance of a return notification and the associated costs.
