We have estimated that less than half of Finnish product companies manage their product content presented in the customer interface centrally. Businesses do have operational control systems, but for some reason, the same amount of effort is not put into the up-to-date and accurate management of product information visible to customers.
The contents related to the product, from the conceptualization phase to the end of the product's life cycle, form an important part of the product's quality experience both internally and for end customers. Genuinely customer-focused companies ensure a comprehensive product experience for their customers, taking into account the product contents of both the sales and use phases.
Why do companies need product information management?
How product information is created, stored and maintained is subject to constant change. Data structures are becoming more and more complex and the amount of data is multiplying every year.
It is said that ninety percent of all the world's information has been created in the last two years. As far as product information is concerned, we are hardly talking about the exact same number, but tens of percent are certainly there as well.
This means that companies must manage product-related information even more efficiently in the future - updated information must be updated quickly and everywhere. Product information management is needed for the centralized management of localized and even personalized product content related to products.
Without product information management, offering high-quality product content in all customer encounters is challenging. It is also difficult to offer complete, purchase-supporting product experiences throughout the purchase process. Product information management manages which product information is displayed where. In the initial phase of the purchase process, customers are awakened to identify their needs. The user of the product, on the other hand, may already need very detailed instructions for use.
Although the form of information changes along the way, the product experience must remain intact. When content related to the product experience is managed centrally, it is easier to manage the overall product experience as well.
It can be said that with the help of centralized product information management, the added value of product information for business can be maximized.
High-quality product information is part of the product's quality experience
Product information management is an important part of quality management. It ensures error-free product information both in internal use and in the customer interface. The high-quality product data exported to the product information management system is also distributed in high quality to all publication channels. It helps to build customer trust and increase competitiveness.
High-quality product content optimally supports the actual product experience. If the snow shovel in the presentation video cuts through a hard frost like a hot knife through butter, but in use the shovel barely sinks into the slush, there is a clear contradiction between the product contents and the user experience, and the product quality experience suffers.
With high-quality product content, it is possible to raise the quality experience of the product accordingly. A good example of this is Apple's product launch videos, which customers watch to make them appreciate the product's quality in use more and more.
With the help of product information management, customers have the right information at their disposal for decision-making in a rapidly changing market.
What advantages does centralized product information management bring to the company?
Product information management makes it possible to export products to sales channels faster - which in turn increases sales. It also plays an important role in creating the customer experience, as described above. In addition to this, product information management has internal advantages.
The product information management system, which was introduced in a planned manner and taking into account the needs of the business, helps to streamline business processes while increasing the efficiency of operations. It causes data to move and be enriched between systems that previously functioned separately from each other. It also ensures that valuable information content can be distributed to all those channels where they bring added value to the end customer's purchase process.
All systems found in the company's IT architecture benefit from the fact that product information is only entered once into one system. Old legacy systems and independently maintained silos, whose operation requires expensive and time-consuming maintenance, can either be integrated into the product information management system or, in some cases, even completely disabled. This not only saves IT costs, but also significantly improves the employee experience of people handling product data.
In order for the product information management solution to offer the company an optimal advantage, it is important that all business areas involved in the product process commit to the new operating method. All departments must understand and appreciate the business advantage that product information brings to the company.
Take control of product information
Today's centralized product information management solutions offer product companies the ability to react quickly to market changes. New channels can be switched on easily when the content to be fed into the channel is already ready. The product information management system only defines which products enriched with product content are published on which channel. Modern interfaces and architectures act as an intelligent gateway between the centralized product information management system and publication channels.
The implementation of the product information management system is a new way of working to increase the business's ability to serve the customer. Commissioning should be done in a planned manner and in appropriately sized steps. Product information management that makes effective use of the system as a method of operation is clear and can be handled well on one's own, but in the initial planning phase it is worth using the help of an experienced product information management expert. In this way, the results can be seen faster and the payback time of the operating model can be minimized.
The Adeona PIM product information management system offers a cloud-based solution that puts the company's valuable product information capital to smart and productive use.
