We’ve all done some online shopping. In fact, most of us have probably done a lot of online shopping. That makes sense because when we shop online, all the information about any available product is right at our fingertips. We can quickly and easily see what colors an item comes in, what it’s made of, what it costs, find the size we need, and order exactly what we want.
These factors are also what online retailers and eCommerce companies love about online shopping. It’s far more likely someone will buy something online if they can see that it fits all their requirements. Managing all that information effectively and ensuring it's up to date and connected to the right product is a lot of work, however.
That’s where a Product Information Management (PIM) system comes into play. PIMs make it easy to organize and track all the information a consumer sees on a specific product’s page, as well as all the information they don’t see (distribution, inventory, cost of goods sold, etc.).
How Does a PIM Work?
Product information management (PIM) systems allow organizations to collect and categorize their product data from suppliers, retailers, distributors, and more in a single organized format. Once the data is in the system, products and their related data can be sorted into categories and managed in batches. Permissions can also be added to each group to ensure each team within the organization has access to the proper product groups.
From there, just like with any other data management system, the team managing the PIM needs to add integrations, build processes and standards, train users, and govern the data in the system. Building out and managing the PIM well ensures that the organization can easily share product information with consumers and business partners of all shapes and sizes.
Connecting Your PIM and DAM Systems
When you log in to an eCommerce site to start shopping, how do you pick which products to click on, read more about, and add to your cart for eventual purchase? Odds are most people will say that their first purchasing decision (the click to the product page) is based on the pictures and videos of the product. People want to buy things, especially clothing because they like how they look or they fill a specific need.
If product photography and video are the medium driving the first purchasing decision, the specific information about the product and its features and customer reviews are the medium for the second (the click of the “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart” button).
Organizing, maintaining, and managing these two types of information separately is critical to the long-term success of your eCommerce business. Organizing, maintaining, and managing them together, however, is the secret to successful online retail. PIM and DAM (digital asset management) platform vendors are starting to catch onto this best practice and are implementing features and integrations to support these initiatives.
Some of the information in your PIM system can be made into metadata thus ensuring it’s searchable using the same language that consumers see on your site. Going in the other direction, digital assets in your DAM system that represent your products can be added to the product information in your PIM system. That way, the best and most up-to-date product photography is always attached to the right product in both your system and your website, leading to increased sales.
Conclusion
If you need help organizing your efforts around integrating your PIM and DAM systems, contact Stacks! We’ll be happy to ensure that your DAM system is connected to all your other systems so they work seamlessly together.
