Expert Talk: Why Product Experience is Treated Carelessly

Many companies struggle with manual and time-consuming product data preparation processes, lengthy ERP or PIM implementations, and confusing responsibilities in data management. But why is this the case, and what does the product experience have to do with it?

For Tobias Schlotter, VP Global Channel at Akeneo, the product experience begins very early in the product data process, even before products are presented to the target audience. When preparing product data for the various sales channels, retailers and brands must ask themselves how the products should be presented: How should they be described? Which images should be shown to the target audience, and which media assets must be included in the advertising?

The product is the basis for trust, not a beautiful online shop.

The product experience must therefore be seen as an important communication strategy that complements the customer experience, has a significant impact on customers, and aims to positively accompany their journey. After all, in order to survive in today’s highly competitive market, it is no longer enough to simply provide a nice online store with all the usual payment options.

In other words, a mediocre product experience has a negative impact on trust. After all, no one wants to encounter missing or incorrect product descriptions when shopping online or be fobbed off with a “tbd.” Although this is well known, it still happens. Why?

One possible explanation is that companies have not yet come to terms with the fact that trust in their own brand or company begins with the completeness and availability of product data. However, this realization is absolutely essential and must be incorporated as a strategic goal. Above all, because in today’s market, it is clear that appealing customer experiences must be created wherever the customer base is located. Customer experiences that offer customers real added value and are distinguished by the targeted use of the right product information throughout the customer journey.

The best product experience is characterized by personalization

But how do customers recognize a very good product experience? This can be ensured through personalization. For example, anyone who opens a profile in a shop wants to be addressed by name in the future and, if possible, be shown new trends or additional items that match their last purchase. Detailed and accurate product data is particularly important when it comes to highly technical products or when expectations of a product are particularly high. For example, hardware stores need to provide a large amount of accurate data points for each product. The same applies to luxury brands, where customers expect only the best and an exceptional customer experience.

Creating customer experiences is a major challenge not only for retailers and brands, but also for suppliers and manufacturers. The traditional division of markets is becoming blurred in the area of product experience: for manufacturers, for example, it is a challenge to prepare product data from production and product development in such a way that it is available in the required quality for the desired sales markets. Product data is often unstructured and needs to be structured, for example by means of classification, before it can be passed on to the various retailers.

Retailers, on the other hand, face the problem that a large number of suppliers provide product data in a wide variety of data formats. This data must then be harmonized, enriched, and transferred to the retailer’s own target structure. When it comes to this important issue, too many retailers still rely on manual processing methods that could actually be automated. This is where companies can benefit from the Onedot product data platform. It is designed so that all supplier or manufacturer catalogs can be converted directly into an importable ERP or PIM format.

So if you want to improve the product experience in the long term, you need to set up a powerful e-commerce IT infrastructure. Our next expert, Marco Kahler, head of the valantic PIM Competence Center, will tell us about the role a PIM system plays in this and what you need to consider when introducing a well-designed infrastructure. We look forward to the next Expert Talk!