In an increasingly saturated marketplace, with products available at the click of a mouse or tap of a finger, it's crucial for your products to capture customers' attention and keep it throughout the purchase process.
Product experience management (PXM) offers a go-to resource for solving product-related challenges.
By understanding the challenges associated with product information in domestic and global markets, and the role PXM plays in solving these challenges, you can effectively meet the needs of customers in today's marketplace.
Product information can make or break your business
Constantly expanding customer touchpoints and cross-border commerce make the optimization of product listings and data difficult—but no longer optional. As channels continue to merge and customers expect a more seamless e-commerce experience, there are several product information management hurdles to consider.
Incorrect product listings mean lost sales
Customers have a lot of options when they search for a desired product. More than ever, they rely on product descriptions to gauge whether the product will meet their needs.
Those who encounter contradictions or confusion in product attributes such as price, size, or availability are quick to abandon their carts, return the product, or leave a negative review.
However, just because product information needs to be consistent doesn't mean it should be uniform. Instead, consider the context of each channel. The way a product is listed on Amazon should look vastly different from how it's presented in a Facebook ad.
In addition, poor product data can lead to hard-to-discover products. If the taxonomy of the channel isn't right, products will be categorized incorrectly. For example, if you label your product taxonomy as Women > Sport > Shoes, but the channel's taxonomy for the product is Fashion > Running > Shoes, your product won't show up in the category, which means the sale has been lost before it's begun.
More e-commerce channels mean more opportunities—but it's more complicated, too
Brands can no longer settle for having a presence on one or two channels. Instead, customers want brands to be where they are—whether that's on third-party sites like Amazon or on Instagram feeds. Though it's undoubtedly a benefit to have more chances to connect with customers, a lack of technology and processes to support those channels can turn infinite possibility into a product management nightmare.
To fully capitalize on a variety of e-commerce channels, your product information and advertisement specifications must adhere to various platforms' standards while capturing customers' attention with consistent and accurate information across channels.
This means changes such adjusting product specifications to meet guidelines for Instagram or Amazon, as well as more widespread adjustments related to product content as a whole. For instance, as more consumers adopt home hub voice devices, it's crucial to include thorough and concise product descriptions for voice purchasing, since customers aren't engaging with a visual interface.
Global companies demand global solutions
Implementing nimble product information management across multiple channels is already challenging. So, when your global business needs to reach customers in many countries across the globe, various cultural, technical, and regulatory obstacles come into play.
Perhaps the most obvious example involves variations in currencies. When a US company sells products in Europe, it must list prices in euros, not dollars, or risk complications and lost customers. Moreover, companies must consider regulatory requirements in international jurisdictions. For example, you can't make the same claims about skincare and cosmetic products in the UK as you can in the US. So, American companies selling moisturizers can't promote "anti-aging" messages, since that claim isn't legally allowed.
Culturally, it's the details that lead to success. For example, a cookbook publisher looking to expand to the Middle East might omit recipes that include pork to align with cultural standards. And what Americans call a "vacuum" would be called a "hoover" in countries that use British English. Product descriptions must reflect the preferred terminology in specific global markets.
Product Experience Management avoids future pain points
There's no question that providing accurate, consistent, and updated information for customers across borders and channels requires optimized product experience management. To expand your reach, it's imperative to tap into an automated system that avoids the inefficiencies and costly mistakes of manual processes.
The retail reality is that channels will continue to multiply, but PXM tools can help businesses stay competitive. These tools allow instant product information updates that comply with requirements in various channels and markets. And product descriptions, technical specifications, and categorizations monitored by PXMs save time, internal resources, and money.
To maximize sales and keep customers coming back in our ever-changing e-commerce landscape, product experience management should be a welcomed solution for any business.
