inRiver: Summary of: Polishing Up Your Products

Polishing Up Your Products — Why PIM Really Matters

Telling A Consistent And Engaging Product Story Is Imperative

by Peter Sheldon

with Zia Daniell Wigder, Michele Goetz, and Rebecca Katz
summery written by Henrik Béen, CPO inRiver AB

In his latest report Forrester analyst Peter Sheldon gives his view on “why PIM really matters” and the positive effects it has on Retailer’s sales. Recent Forrester research shows that 71% of all US online shoppers actively research product information online to help them make better purchase considerations. This of course puts pressure on the retailers to provide customers with rich, relevant, and consistent product information in all channels where they what to be present. Forrester concludes:

“For decades, product data has been the lifeblood of many large enterprises. Now, in the age of the customer, eBusiness leaders and marketers are critically reliant not only on their product data, but on curated product content to provide differentiated digital experiences. Key to this objective is telling engaging stories about the products being sold; however, many online retailers, brands and industrial manufacturers lack effective tools to streamline the product content creation process needed to efficiently create high quality, consistent product content. This report explores the role that product information management (PIM) systems have to play in telling compelling and contextual product stories, the primary drivers behind the investment in these systems and the steps necessary to steer clear of the hurdles that all too often derail these programs.”

Peter Sheldon means that PIM (Product Information Management) should be seen as the “gestation engine” where products are fully enriched and where they mature to be marketed and sold. With no proper PIM strategy and without governance and control, it is very likely that you end up having a “product horror story”. In his report he highlights some key benefits from deploying a PIM system in the organization. According to Peter, with a PIM system and process in place these companies can:

· Easily locate product information

· Trust the information and content they do find

· Ensure consistency across channels

· Scale their product assortment

· Support their product assortment

· Support increasingly demanding channel distribution partners

· Meet product launch deadlines

Get the full report here:

https://www.forrester.com/Polishing+Up+Your+Products+8212+Why+PIM+Really+Matters/quickscan/-/E-RES116038

Also, you can watch a recorded webinar on the subject given by Peter Sheldon: http://inriver.com/product/resources/inriver-webinar-feat.-forrester-behind-every-product-theres-a-story-to-be-told/