When you market a large number of products across several markets, the pitfalls are many. From information challenges to time-consuming update processes, there are a lot of things to contend with.
Whether your channel is e-commerce, product catalogs or you just need to onboard a large volume of product information, a PIM system can help you avoid some of the worst mistakes.
Here's a breakdown of some of the most common mistakes, and how smart software can help you.
1. Inconsistent Data
Before PIM systems, keeping data consistent was virtually impossible. The reasons for this were many.
Primarily, though, it came down to the fact that e-commerce managers were entering data information by hand, which is a notoriously flawed approach. In this structure, it's easy for a simple mistake to spread across many platforms, and for it to take a long time for the mistake to be discovered.
With a PIM system, though, things are a bit different.
A PIM system gives you a single source of truth for your product data. This means that you can be sure that all product data is described in the same way. If there's a mistake, a PIM system makes it easy to fix it with a few simple clicks -- no need to go in and update everything by hand. This helps your product categorization and enables easier searches if your products are to be displayed in a web shop.
2. Outdated Data
Before the introduction of PIM systems, it was virtually impossible for managers to keep data information consistent across all platforms. Again, this had to be done by hand and was an arduous and time-consuming process.
Unless you updated all your information in one large, fell swoop, it would become difficult to figure out which systems had been edited and which hadn't. With a PIM system, though, this isn't an issue.
You avoid outdated data in your systems because all data is updated centrally. This ensures accuracy, keeps things simple and allows you to keep your information accurate for your customers.
3. Different Product Data in Different Channels
Before the help of PIM systems, it was difficult to avoid describing different products differently in different channels.
After all, time is a finite resource, and it can be too time-consuming to update all your data sources at once. Unfortunately, this leads to confusion and difficulty and can be challenging for you and your customers.
The good news is that a PIM system can help address this. Unless you wish, specifically, to keep your differentiated product descriptions separate, a PIM system will help you keep your various product channels up-to-date and consistent. Of course, if you want to create and maintain differentiated descriptions, a PIM can help you do that, too.
Avoid Simple Mistakes
If you're marketing many products on several different platforms or markets, you'll face challenges no matter what you do. Regardless of whether you're using e-commerce, product catalogs or any other sales platform, managing product data can be difficult.
A good PIM system can help. By addressing the pain points associated with standard data management and making it easier to do things like update product information, maintain product data across different channels and maintain data consistency, a good PIM system can help you avoid time-consuming and difficult mistakes and enjoy a simpler management process.
Download our white paper
Do you want to learn more about how a PIM system can help you to a simpler product data management process? Download our white paper ‘A CMO’s Guide to E-Commerce Success With PIM’.
