Across the marketing stages, creating awareness, consumer consideration, conversion to purchase, service, and loyalty, the product information provided to the consumer should be consistent for him to be loyal. Access to accurate product data is necessary for content marketers to create realistic and complete descriptions of a brand's products. The availability of the product information will avoid misunderstandings or incorrect expectations and eventually lead to frustration and lost sales. Incorrect messaging via content marketing channels could damage the brand's credibility and reputation. Consumers may lose trust and not be loyal to the brand. Content marketers and sales teams may need more time researching and verifying information without access to accurate product data. We have seen examples of sales agencies searching on brand websites for product information. Ignoring product data could negatively affect a brand's content marketing efforts and overall business.
The product data lifecycle is distinct from the product lifecycle, though the product data is the product's digital twin. The product data lifecycle describes the various stages involved in creating, using, and disposing of product data, from the development of the product to the introduction, growth, maturity, and decline of the product.
By ensuring that product information is accurate and consistent across all channels, brands can help consumers make informed decisions and reduce the risk of misunderstandings or incorrect expectations. By syndicating product information to various media, companies can make it easier for consumers to discover their products and learn more about them. The availability of product information in cloud-native applications can reduce frustration and improve consumer satisfaction as the product data is accessible to relevant stakeholders, including content marketers, sales teams, and service agents.
This stage involves the creation of new products and gathering information about them, including design specifications, technical specifications, and marketing materials. Design specs are created using Computer-aided design (CAD) software and computer-aided engineering (CAE) software. The artifacts are stored in the Digital asset management (DAM) platform, and the Product lifecycle is tracked with the product lifecycle management (PLM) software.
This stage involves storing and organizing product information in a central repository, such as a product information management (PIM) system. The product information management system tracks design specifications, technical data, and marketing materials. The supporting systems like enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and supply chain management (SCM) systems connect with the PIM for the design specifications, technical data, and marketing materials.
This stage involves distributing product information to various channels, such as online marketplaces, retail websites, and third-party data providers. Akeneo, Informatica MDM, and Pimcore are some PIM tools that can connect to different channels and data providers. Vendors like GoDataFeed, DatafeedWatch, and Feedonomics help brands manage data feeds to various channels. Commerce platforms, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, include tools for creating and managing product data feeds for syndication to online marketplaces and other channels. ChannelAdvisor, GoDataFeed, and DatafeedWatch help enrich the product data with additional or missing attributes.
This stage involves tracking the product information by various stakeholders, including consumers, retailers, and suppliers. The PIM tool can usually track product data like the number of views, clicks, or downloads of product data or the number of times product data is used to create a purchase. Custom surveys are conducted to understand the usage of product data from the consumers directly. Metrics from the other systems that contain purchase history and website usage can also be used to understand the product content performance. Lastly, social media monitoring tools and online review tools help understand how consumers use and interact with product data. By analyzing product data usage, brands can optimize their product data strategy and improve the consumer experience.
Product data plays a significant role in the consumer experience. Effective management of product data throughout the lifecycle can help brands improve the accuracy and consistency of their product information, increase efficiency in their operations, and improve the consumer experience.