A localized product information management solution makes it easy to create and deliver a captivating product experience to a global market.
Product information management (PIM) involves collecting, managing, and distributing all information about your product from a central location.
At some point, you’ve likely researched a product online, comparing prices and specifications. All that technical, usage, and emotional data that describes each product is created and managed using a PIM solution.
It’s important, therefore, to have a strong, automated localization solution to accelerate product development and release.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at PIM, who needs it, and the specific information managed. As a bonus, we’ll also touch on why PIM localization matters.
What is product information management?
Product information management (PIM) systems let users store, enrich, and manage complex product information.
PIM tools centralize product-related data. They streamline the process of updating and managing accurate information throughout multiple sales and marketing channels.
Consider this: E-commerce wouldn’t exist without product information. For instance, a digital buyer can’t take a product off the shelf. They can’t feel its weight and experience it in the same way they can in person.
Instead, they rely on the information they read, see, and hear about a product online. That includes specifications, uses, benefits, how-to videos, images, customer reviews, and so much more.
PIM is helpful internally too. Think about your digital marketing, merchandising, product management, and eCommerce teams. They might struggle to put together a complete and cohesive view of all product information.
Additionally, you can spend way too much time updating spreadsheets and exchanging emails about product content within your team. If you can’t stay organized within, imagine trying to get accurate into to external groups like suppliers or creative agencies.
Companies that struggle to manage and collaborate on product information effectively miss opportunities. They lose revenue and market share, and ultimately fail to deliver engaging product experiences.
Who needs a product information management solution?
If you have something to sell, a PIM solution will benefit your entire company or organization.
Specific roles impacted by a PIM solution include:
Product managers: They use a PIM solution to deliver accurate product information to the marketing team. If product specs change, the product manager can update data in the PIM tool, triggering an automated alert for collaborators.
Marketing team: You can’t effectively market a product without consistent messaging. The team needs on-demand access to the information they need to create accurate, strategic deliverables.
E-commerce managers: They send product listings from the PIM system to e-commerce platforms and publishers. You update product data or content is updated in the PIM system. Then it triggers an alert for the e-commerce manager to distribute the new information.
Product information management benefits everyone in your company accordingly. It helps individuals and teams in a wide range of roles and enhances day-to-day efforts to boost company-wide revenue.
What information does a PIM system manage?
The different information types that organizations manage in a PIM system are called product attributes. This covers everything that help you develop, support, market, and sell your products online.
That includes specifications, marketing descriptions, photos, and videos. Any other information that describes and supports your organization’s product catalog is in there too.
The tricky thing is these product attributes rarely come from from a single source. From development to launch and everywhere in between, the message must remain consistent.
The PIM system aggregates gives your organizations a single view from which to manage your innovation, top to bottom.
Here are a few examples of the information you can manage through a PIM system:
Product data: Raw, objective information you use to describe your products. That includes essential information like SKUs, weight, sizes, colors, materials, ingredients, and other product specs. Engineering and product teams typically manage and define product data.
Digital assets: Videos, photos, illustrations, logos, and content like manuals, product guides, sell sheets, and more. Your marketing team uses it all to creatively describe your offering. Additional marketing content includes descriptions of product features and benefits typically used on a product details page.
Marketing data: Information that helps launch, optimize, and run your marketing programs. Think search engine optimization (SEO) keywords, buyer personas, and brand guidelines. This marketing data informs smarter copy and asset creation.
To optimize the customer experience at launch, the product information must be consistent and fine-tuned at every level. PIM solutions keep you on target and on brand internally and externally.
Why PIM Localization Matters
When you localize your product information, you maintain consistency while adjusting your messaging to specific markets and geographic locations.
You’re competing for customers in a global market. Your success therefore depends on the quality of your online marketing content and product information.
Attract commercially savvy shoppers with tailored online content that resonates with target audience. It’s not just about translating the product information. Localized information includes variations for marketing or legal copy, currency and measurement translations, images and video adapted for cultural norms, and more.
The benefits of a strong, automated PIM localization solution include:
- Unique and innovative language solutions to speed up time to market
- An expertise in language operations to provide program insights
- Data collection for AI to assist with localization
- Cost reduction while accelerating product development and release
Localized product information helps you meet the unique needs of existing markets. It’s also faster and easier to expand to new locations.
Above all, this will build relationships with potential customer right from the get to, culminating in increased sales.
