Product Information Management: A definitive guide.

Sales and marketing organizations face mounting demands to create and distribute complex content across various channels. Scaling up these efforts can be daunting, but fortunately, there is a solution: Product Information Management (PIM).

As these organizations expand, they quickly realize PIM’s crucial role in staying competitive and satisfying customers’ ever-changing needs. That’s why we’re here to guide you through everything you need to know about PIM.

We’ll begin by explaining what PIM is and how it functions. Then, we’ll delve into the benefits your business can reap from using a PIM. Finally, we’ll provide expert tips to help you select the perfect PIM solution for your unique needs.

So, without further ado, let’s jump to the first point!

What is PIM?

PIM stands for Product Information Management. It is a system that manages all information about a company’s products in a centralized location.

This information includes product descriptions, attributes, pricing, images, and other essential details for effectively selling and marketing products.

By having a centralized location for all product information, businesses can ensure that information is consistent across all channels, including online and in-store reducing the chances of errors or inconsistencies leading to customer satisfaction.

Effective PIM is crucial for businesses wanting to remain competitive and provide effective customer service. By managing product information effectively, businesses can improve operational efficiency, reduce errors, and increase sales, ultimately leading to tremendous success and profitability.

How does a Product Information Management Solution work?

PIM is used to manage everything about your products. From,

• The product’s technical data like specifications, dimensions, colors, ingredients, etc., and
• Product usability data like where and how the product is used to
• Emotive data like compelling product descriptions, videos, images, documents, and relevant product stories, just about any assets that help put your product in good light.

You probably wont just wake up and magically set up a PIM… Implementing a PIM system involves three key steps:

1. Data integration.
2. Data mapping
3. Data enrichment.

Let’s quickly take a look at each step

• Data integration: Data integration involves gathering all product information from various sources and consolidating it into a single repository. This includes data from internal systems like ERP or PLM and external sources like suppliers or marketplaces.
• Data mapping: This involves organizing the data into a standardized format that can be easily understood and shared across different channels and platforms. The products are mapped or arranged into attributes and categories, defining relationships between them.
• Data enrichment: Here, product data is enhanced with additional information such as images, videos, and descriptions; this step improves the accuracy and completeness of the product information, making it more beneficial to the customers.

PIM helps businesses manage product information across multiple channels, such as e-commerce websites, marketplaces, social media, and mobile apps.

Let’s say a business with listings in different online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Shopify wants to streamline its product information management process and improve the quality and consistency of its product data across these channels; a Product Information Management system can do the magic for them.

PIM facilitates omnichannel marketing by providing consistent product information across these different customer touchpoints, be it email, social media, or mobile, providing a seamless customer experience.

The benefits of using Product Information Management

Businesses love PIM solutions for the following reasons:

• Increased Efficiency: PIM systems automate tasks like data entry, mapping, and enrichment, freeing staff time to focus on other critical business activities.
• Improved Data Quality: PIM systems provide a single source of truth for product data, ensuring consistency and accuracy across all channels and platforms. This help to reduce errors, improving customer experience.
• Greater Control: PIM systems allow businesses to manage their product data in a centralized location, providing greater visibility and control over the information, helping businesses make informed decisions and respond quickly to changing market conditions.
• Improved Collaboration: Improving collaboration between different organizational teams, such as marketing, sales, and product development, can be daunting, especially with everyone having different technical skills. PIM software easily overcomes this challenge, helping to improve communication and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.
• Increased Sales: PIM systems help businesses increase sales when correctly implemented. They provide customers with accurate and detailed product information across multiple channels and platforms, increasing customer confidence and conversion rates.

Overall, using a PIM system can benefit businesses, from improving data quality and collaboration to increasing sales and reducing costs. By providing a centralized repository for product information, businesses can improve their product information management processes and respond more effectively to changing market conditions.

So far, we’ve considered what PIM is and how it works and seen why it is vital that you leverage PIM systems in your business.

I’m sure you already feel like a pro in this subject matter. Can’t wait to implement it in your business?

Not so fast! We have one more question to answer.

How can one choose the right PIM solution? We aren’t letting you do that in a vacuum, we will consider some factors you need to consider when choosing a PIM.

How to Choose the Right Product Information Management Solution.

There are many factors to consider when selecting a PIM solution. With so many vendors to choose from, it can sometimes be overwhelming to make a choice.

We’ve put together a few pointers to help you when selecting the right PM software for your business.

• Start by identifying who in your team will use the PIM :

A Product Information Management (PIM) system is used by numerous internal teams, including marketing, IT, inventory management, sales, product support, and eCommerce managers, as well as external stakeholders like suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.

With a PIM software solution, the appropriate parties can access the pertinent product information at the right time. A PIM system benefits any team or organization focused on building a robust product experience strategy.

• Identify your business needs and goals and why you need a PIM:

To choose a PIM vendor that meets your business goals, identify the pain points you want to address, such as scattered and redundant product information, siloed teams, slow time-to-market, inability to scale, and poor product experiences.

Next, select a PIM solution that aligns with your growth goals, such as creating a cohesive omnichannel experience, reacting faster to new markets and channels, and optimizing internal operations.

Implementing a PIM system as the central source of record for all your product information can reduce time-to-market, streamline internal processes, and ensure everyone has access to the necessary product data.

• Identify the features you’d want in a PIM in line with your goals:

A good product information management (PIM) system should provide core functionalities that help manage and enrich product information.

It should centralize and optimize product data, such as ensuring consistent formatting, removing duplicates, and categorizing products.

Next, look for a PIM system that localizes and contextualizes product information, making it relevant and usable across different regions, languages, and markets.

It should also activate product records across all channels to improve the customer experience and reduce errors.

A cloud-based, intuitive, and user-friendly system is invaluable to improving adoption and usage by the team. It should help improve internal operations, reducing time-to-market and improving team efficiency.

A sound PIM system can help achieve growth goals and improve the customer product experience by providing these functionalities.

In summary, when implementing a PIM system, watch out for scalability, customization, and integration capabilities.

Go the extra mile with Datameer

While Datameer may not be a PIM solution per se, it is a powerful data transformation tool that can help streamline your data management processes.

By integrating Datameer with your PIM solution, you can automate transforming raw product data into clean, structured data ready to be loaded into your PIM system.

If you want to improve your organization’s data management capabilities and take your PIM solution to the next level, consider integrating Datameer into your workflow.

With its intuitive interface, robust feature set, and powerful automation capabilities, Datameer can help you get more value from your data faster.

Request a free trial today to learn more about how Datameer can help you transform your data management processes and get the most out of your PIM solution.