3 Essential Tips for Maximizing ROI in Your PXM Program

It’s always tough to hear clients tell me their goal when implementing a PIM is to automate the product catalog management as if human processes were not essential in the project. Simply put, PIM integration CANNOT be the end goal when entering into such a project – what you’re trying to achieve is efficiency in maintaining and distributing your product catalog no matter the sales channel you’re leveraging.  

By correctly organizing your teams and processes with the right technology, you can reach higher conversions on your different sales channels, offer a better customer experience, and ensure your customer can browse, compare, and select your products at the right place in the right time.

1. Analyze Your Processes and Challenges Along the Product Lifecycle

When embarking on a PXM project, it’s crucial to define your product catalog management challenges comprehensively. This includes analyzing assets, specifications, and all aspects of the product lifecycle, from inception to data distribution across various customer touchpoints. 

Avoid solely focusing on what PIM technology can do for you. Instead, start your analysis by examining the genesis of information, whether it’s product data from providers or created within your PLM system. Extend the analysis beyond PIM enrichment and stop at the point where your customers engage with your product catalog, be it on websites, marketplaces, physical catalogs, in-store displays, or social media channels.

2. Embrace the Product Lifecycle Moonwalk Theory

To ensure a successful analysis and PXM projects that drive higher conversions, flip the traditional approach and start from your sales channels instead of the origin of data. This way of thinking enables you to shift your focus to the minimal data required by customers to make purchasing decisions.  This is what we call the Product Lifecycle Moonwalk Theory – you start from the destination in order to finish at the origin of the data, so you focus only on the data that makes a difference for your end customers.

Remember that PIM is a marketing tool designed to manage customer-facing data and provide the necessary information for informed buying decisions. Starting from the sales channel perspective allows for a more streamlined implementation, reducing costs and generating a higher return on investment. You can learn more about the moonwalk strategy on this podcast.

3. Set Clear SMART Goals and KPIs to Measure PXM Success

In the past, I’ve seen numerous PIM integrations lacking clear success metrics for customers. To ensure your PXM program’s success, it is essential to establish Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). 

While not all goals can be quantitatively measured, some may require team interviews for evaluation. Below are a few of my recommended goals and KPIs:

• Make your teams more efficient. PXM programs are meant to optimize your product catalog management flow by correctly reallocating the right resources at the right place so your teams can work more efficiently together when enriching your product pages. And of course, with a PIM, your teams will save time and resources in the process by:
  • Eliminating duplicate efforts 
    • KPI: average number of days to publish a product
    • KPI: number of tasks needed to complete the publishing
  • Optimizing the enrichment process by reallocating team members at the right stage of your product lifecycle
    • KPI: hours spent enriching your products divided by the number of resources to complete
  • Reducing the cost of operating your customer service due to wrong product information.
    • KPI: number of calls to customer service due to wrong product information
  • Reducing the number of product returns. 
    • KPI: number of product returns due to wrong product information

• Enhance your customer experience
  • Improve your onsite search & navigation
    • KPI: Average time spent on category page; Average time spent on the product page; Product page bounce rate; Average number of searches on Algolia or similar onsite search
  • Improve your product catalog data quality across all channels
    • KPI: At Valtech, we calculate a data quality score based on a programmatic analysis of your product information database by analyzing misspellings, duplicates, and wrong data

• Generate more money 
  • Enhance your product and category marketing information and accelerate the publication of new and updated products across your channels to grow the number of sellable days.
    • KPI: Average number of days from product creation to syndication; Conversion rate on all channels based on the product’s completeness; Average order value

In the fast-paced business world, staying ahead of the competition is essential. By implementing a strategic and ROI-focused PXM program, you can take your product catalog to new heights and captivate your target audience. Analyze your processes, embrace the moonwalk theory, and set clear SMART goals and KPIs to measure success. With a laser-focused approach, you’ll maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and deliver an unparalleled customer experience. Don’t settle for average – invest in a PXM program that propels your brand to new levels.

Ready to start your journey? Discover how the Akeneo x Valtech partnership  can drive your business forward and unlock the full potential of your product catalog. Or you can check out how enterprises can incorporate AI into their PX Strategy in this recorded webinar.

This article was written and submitted by Akeneo partner, Valtech.