Simply put, without product data, there would be no e-commerce. The Concern is that a lot of high-quality information is mandatory to support a single product. A digital buyer cannot take a product off the shelf, feel its weight, or experience it in the same way that a physical buyer can. They rely on the information they read, see, and hear about a product online — the product’s specifications, text about its benefits, how-to videos, images, and so much more.
To face (and ultimately win) in the digital arena, businesses must have accurate, robust, up-to-date, and compelling product information. Managing all of this information without the service of product information management is difficult (PIM). Today, we’ll go over what PIM is and how it’s assisting a wide range of organisations and roles in harnessing the true power of their product information to achieve greater e-commerce success.
What is PIM?
Product information management (PIM) is the technique of collecting, managing, and disseminating all necessary information about a product from a central location. PIM software aims to protect and develop the aspect of product information available to internal and external collaborators, systems, and partners.
Prior to the advent of digital commerce, shoppers could only learn about products through catalogues or through hands-on experiences in stores. Today, however, shoppers evaluate products based on specifications, descriptions, images, and videos that compete for attention online.
Many brands handle product information with spreadsheets or platforms designed for engineers and product managers. However, these are not always compatible with marketing systems. So someone is tasked with the time-consuming — and error-prone — task of entering and reentering thousands of lines of information into tools for project management, digital asset management (DAM), and e-commerce syndication.
This time-consuming work raises the possibility of inaccurate information reaching customers. Customers will be dissatisfied if the description or photos depict one thing and they receive something else (…cue the negative reviews…).
Brands use PIM platform to:
Compile technical information from engineering and product platforms.
Conceive marketing content based on complete product information and specifications.
Allow content projects to copywriters and other creators.
Send proof to marketers and product managers for review and approval.
Enhance product information with keyword-optimized descriptions, photos, and videos.
Localize product listings for Various regions, regulations, and languages.
Send product listings to digital and print catalogs, as well as e-commerce syndication platforms and publishers.
Update e-commerce listings as products change.
How do PIM tools work?
A PIM solution, or tool, works by assigning internal processes so that organisations can provide consistent, accurate, and high-quality product information to their customers. As a result, brands fuel stronger customer and omnichannel involvement, which ultimately drive more revenue.
Every piece of instruction related to a product is stored in a single master profile within the system when using a PIM tool. Product data from other systems or sources can be exotic into the PIM platform by designated users or a system administrator. The PIM tool enables users to enrich product data with marketing copy or digital assets, notify collaborators to take action, and provide updated exports containing the most new product information to e-commerce partners, print publishers, websites, and other channels.
PIM tools make use of taxonomies or logic to define how products and associated information are related and organised within the system. Taxonomies employ multi-level hierarchies to classify products and the attributes used to describe them into various categories and subcategories. As a result, structured product information is produced, allowing system users to efficiently and effectively find and update information in the PIM system, as well as easily customise channel-specific exports for various publishers and syndication platforms. Taxonomies are generally defined in systems other than the PIM platform but are used within the PIM system.
Who needs a PIM solution?
Many businesses rely heavily on their products. If they sell, it is a win-win situation for everyone in the company. A PIM solution benefits the integrated organisation by assisting individuals in a variety of roles in various ways to improve their day-to-day work — all of which contribute to increased company-wide revenue.
Product managers
Product managers use a PIM solution to provide accurate product information to the marketing team. If a product’s specifications change at any point during its lifecycle, the product manager can update data in the PIM tool, triggering an automated alert for collaborators.
Product management success is dependent on product information accuracy, but it also necessitates flexibility. Products evolve in response to changing customer needs. A PIM solution gives a product administrator the control and agility they need to manage and communicate up-to-date, accurate product information — no matter when or how it evolves.
Product marketers
Product marketers rely on the PIM system as a single source of truth for product information. They use a united PIM and DAM solution to request and assign copywriting, photography, and videography for new products. Product marketers attach the best copy and digital assets to the master product listing within the PIM system, keeping product positioning and strategy in mind.
Product marketers work hard to create a product narrative that resonates with target customers, and a PIM solution helps protect that storey.
Creators
Copywriters, photographers, videographers, designers, and other creators use the instruction stored in the PIM system to guide their projects. A PIM solution organizes creators with on-demand access to the information they need to create accurate, strategic deliverables. Their work is then reviewed and proofed in an explanation like our PIM tool, the Widen Collective, for faster, more efficient workflows.
Managers of E-commerce
Product listings are sent from a PIM system to e-commerce syndication platforms and publishers by e-commerce managers. When product data or content is renewed in the PIM system, an alert is generated for the e-commerce manager to distribute the new information.
ecommerce PIM Software is quickly becoming a requirement. With e-commerce managers working harder than ever to provide superior customer experiences, 100% consistent, reliable, and complete product information is a must.
Agencies
PIM software is used by agencies to access and develop their clients’ product information for syndication to marketplaces, print publishers, and other e-commerce channels.
Product descriptions, feature lists, and other marketing content are optimised within the PIM system.
A PIM system manages data.
Product associates are all of the different types of information that organizations manage in a PIM system to help them support, market, and sell their goods online. Product attributes include everything from data to marketing descriptions, photos, videos, and any other information that describes and supports an organization’s product catalog. But here’s the catch: all of these product attributes are unlikely to come from a single department, source, or software.
A PIM system collects all of this dissolving information and provides organizations with a unified view from which to manage it. Here are a few examples of information that organizations can manage using a PIM system.
Data on the product
Product data is the raw, objective information that businesses use to describe their products. Product data is typically accomplished and defined by engineering and product teams within their systems (e.g., ERP and PLM tools), which are then concurred with the PIM platform. Product data includes vital information such as SKUs, weight, sizes, colors, materials, ingredients, and other product stipulations.
Digital assets
Digital assets are reports that have been collected in a digital format. Digital assets include videos, photography, 360° images, illustrations, logos, and content such as user manuals, product guides, sell sheets, and etc. Marketers can develop or attach product-related digital assets to product profiles in a PIM system and use them in assistance with information types to support customers and better market and describe their offering.
Marketing content
Marketing content includes descriptions of product features and benefits, which are commonly found on a product details page, as well as other sales-driven highlights and copy. While this content frequently uses objective facts, it may also include subjective messaging to convey the product’s value and persuade a customer to make a purchase.
Marketing data
Marketing data is information that assists organizations in successfully launching, optimizing, and running their marketing programs. Search engine optimization (SEO) keywords, personas, and brand guidelines are all examples of marketing data. This marketing data is used to create more effective copy and assets. Data such as SEO keywords also provide publishers with the information they need to fuel higher search engine rankings, stronger on-site results, and more accurate and consistent keyword use across channels.
Information that is localized and regionalized
Localized and regionalized instructions include product aspects to a market or geographic location. This information contains language diversity for marketing or legal copy, currency and measurement translations, images that cater to cultural norms, and etc. Localized and regionalized information assists marketers in meeting the unique needs of existing markets while also making it faster and easier to expand to new locations.
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