5 signs that you would benefit from Product Information Management
Feb 18, 2021,
by Claire Gibbons, TrueCommerce - Category: Data Management
Is product data management a challenge for you? Do you need a PIM?
Here's a 5 point checklist from TrueCommerce .....
The term ‘Content is King’ has traditionally been associated with online marketing, however it now equally applies to eCommerce, where the lack of accurate, complete data can lead to lost sales. For many companies, a PIM system has been the solution.
Before we look into whether PIM is right for your company, what exactly is PIM?
A PIM system provides a centralised master repository for storing, optimising, managing and publishing product information to all your sales channels. It ensures that you present a consistent and complete view for buyers across all your channels, with fewer resources required. So, would your business benefit from PIM?
If any of the following statements apply to, it would suggest that PIM is an area that you should consider.
1. You have a large or rapidly expanding product catalogue
Manually managing product data from a number of disparate sources is complex, time consuming, and costly. If you sell a large range of products or you work with a large number of suppliers, the complexity involved in managing data is greater with a high risk of errors occurring from rekeying.
A PIM solution enables you to source, market, update and synch product content from a central repository, removing the need to manually enter, format and manage product data. With a PIM solution expanding product portfolios is easier to manage, crucially reducing the time-to-market.
2. Your company has an Omni-channel strategy or is looking to expand its sales channels
If your company has an omni-channel sales and marketing strategy and sells across a number of channels, the complexity of managing the product information needed for each channel can be a complicated process, with differing requirements for each channel. For an Omni-channel strategy to be successful, delivering a consistent customer experience and brand image across all channels is crucial.
With a PIM solution you source and update your product information once and it is automatically distributed to all your channels, including online marketplaces and storefronts. Not only does this ensure your product content is optimised for each channel, something which is crucial when selling online to ensure buyers can find your products and all the information they need, it also reduces the time-to-market when onboarding new sales channels.
3. Your products are complex and technical or are subject to frequent changes
The need for detailed and accurate product descriptions can be critical to the sales process, particularly for more complex or technical products where buyers need more information as part of the decision making process. However, ensuring information is accurate and constantly maintained can be a labour intensive process when lots of technical details are required – time which could be reinvested into more strategic areas of the business.
A PIM system makes the maintenance of product information more efficient as it only has to be updated in one system and then distributed to all channels automatically. This means even if you are required to make regular changes to the technical details or prices, it doesn’t need to be a time consuming process for your team to provide and maintain high quality content. What’s more, with more accurate and detailed product information you reduce the likelihood of returns.
4. You sell your products internationally or you are looking to expand globally
Expanding into global markets can further increase the complexity involved in managing product data, with the need to comply with regional requirements, translate descriptions into local languages and update the currencies used.
With a PIM solution the process of updating product data for different geographies can be automated – you can define unique attributes and product descriptions for local languages, cultural differences, as well as regional requirements, making it easier than ever to expand into new geographies.
5. There are multiple stakeholders involved in the management of product information
If your company has multiple people or departments involved in managing and distributing product data – for example, product management, eCommerce, marketing, and sales it can be extremely difficult to maintain consistent information. As a PIM system is centralised, there is only one repository of data which all the stakeholders access and update, removing the issues caused when multiple versions are created.
An important element when multiple stakeholders are involved is control and permissions – with a PIM solution you can control which users can access, edit, add or remove content and you can even enable suppliers to view and edit content for their products.
If any of the areas covered in this checklist apply to you and your organisation there is a high chance that you would benefit from a PIM solution to better manage your product information.
Contact TrueCommerce for information on how the TrueCommerce PIM solution can help you make the most of your product information and deliver strategic, marketing and financial benefits to your company.
You can also download a PDF of the checklist should you wish to share it with your colleagues or refer to it at a later date.
Tags: Product Information Management, PIM, ecommerce, selling online,