Your ‘mission’ or ‘promise’ to customers is a core part of your business, it tells them exactly what they can expect from you. You may promise to provide exceptional customer service, be the most competitive on price, or invest in the latest technologies to meet customer needs.
However, did you know that only 50% of customers believe a company will deliver on these promises? If you fail to meet the expectations of half your customers, they are more likely to go elsewhere.
High-quality and comprehensive product information is crucial for managing customer expectations and ensuring active customer engagement. The first step is to ditch the spreadsheets and invest in a Product Information Management (PIM) system, this will help you:
- Provide consistency across all your sales channels
Most customers use more than one channel to buy, so consistency is essential to make a good impression and ensure exceptional customer service. What procedures do you have in place to ensure a consistent brand presence? If your employees manage multiple spreadsheets, then they can easily create content based on their own understanding of your business. With a PIM system, you don’t need to leave your brand open to interpretation. The approval workflows will ensure consistency throughout the gathering and publishing of information.
- Reduce barriers during a customer’s path-to-purchase
Every process during a purchase must be simple and designed to accommodate customers’ needs. This includes having all the relevant product information at hand. Customers don’t want to search elsewhere for information about allergens, size, weight, ingredients, images, etc. However, not all product information is necessary for every sales channel. With a PIM system, you can distinguish what information needs to be published and where. This will reduce any aggravations during a customer’s buying experience, wherever they choose to shop.
- Ensure your employees are knowledgeable and informed
A keyway to ensure consistency is through your employees. Poor customer service and a perceived indifference of staff account for 68% of lost customers. With a PIM system, all your product information is easily accessible to your sales and customer service teams. This means everyone has access to a single source of information so your customers can be served better and faster. Meeting your promise to provide exceptional a customer experience!
- React speedily to current and upcoming trends
If you proudly state that you are a ‘leading’ business in the sector you operate, then that itself creates expectations from customers. They are more likely to think you will have the latest products on the market. This is easy to achieve with a PIM system because staff can easily update one system. It also facilitates your suppliers to undertake product data entry and reduce the burden on your staff. As a result, you can speed up the collection and approval of product information and get new products to market faster.
- Increase the visibility of your business online
Many customers’ path-to-purchase start online, often with a search engine. When competing for search position on the result page, the quality and uniqueness of your product information will have a positive impact. High quality, comprehensive information on your site, along with good filtering and search facilities will keep customers interested and lead to greater conversions. As well as enhancing your reputation as being a definitive source of industry information. A PIM system helps because it enables you to create keyword-rich, unique content. It also holds images and videos which can boost your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) efforts and create a more visual experience for customers.
To find out more about how Oporteo PIM could help your business, contact Andy Pratt