Are you giving your buyers an error-free experience with your product information? The answer is probably “no”, and the impact of these errors is likely more than you realize. 

Product information helps buyers discover your products, provides critical information about a product and its use, and even helps convey your brand values. Simply put, errors in product information hurt the customer experience and brand reputation, and even cost your organization money through lost sales or abandoned purchases. 

Let’s take a look at 6 of the most common errors we see with product information.

 

1. Inconsistent Data

Populating product data is a collaborative effort that brings together multiple data sources and teams to create the final product record. These disparate data sources, each with their unique formats, coupled with individual contributors adding their own interpretations, can lead to multiple ways of describing the exact same data if proper governance isn’t implemented.

The Impact: These inconsistent formats can lead to multiple filter options for a customer that creates a poor navigation experience. This degrades the customer experience and impacts the discoverability of your products.

 

2. Failing to Consider Intuitive Language for Customers

Organizations often sell products with unique, complex, or highly technical product details that don’t always align with how customers try to find their products. The most common example is found in color, where a product with an exotic color like Burgundy is not linked to a generic “Red” SEO keyword or filter. 

 

The Impact: Your Burgundy EasyGo Road Cruiser Bike may be the perfect product for a customer who never sees it because they don’t understand your marketing colors. Searching for “Red” is far more intuitive than searching for Burgundy. Learn more about this color conundrum here.  

Color is just one example; this challenge exists across many product specifications and every industry brings its own nomenclature that you shouldn’t necessarily expect your customers to know. 

 

3. Showing Customers Internal Language 

Many organizations have internal abbreviations or codes for product information that are never intended to be seen by customers. This often originates from procurement processes and ERP systems with limited space, and is supposed to be replaced before products make it in front of customers. This doesn’t always happen though.

The Impact: This internal language looks sloppy, can be confusing for customers who may not understand internal codes, and can even impact discoverability if it’s included in particularly sensitive places like product names or specs. 

 

4. Showing Customers Placeholder Language

During the development process of products, it’s not uncommon for certain pieces of information to not yet be available. In these instances companies will insert temporary filler language with the intention of going back later to replace it with the final version. The problem comes when companies fail to go back and update the information, often due to tight launch deadlines or unclear processes with no ability to validate the final version. 

The Impact: At best, customers are exposed to an obvious error that erodes their trust in the product and you as a brand. At worst, it means critical information is withheld from the customer that impacts their buying decision, or impacts their ability to find the product because of SEO gaps or missing filters. 

 

5. Showing Customers Inaccurate Data 

Human error is always a risk for organizations that don’t have proper tools or governance in place. A content specialist entering hundreds or thousands of products a day in a spreadsheet or the back-end of an unwieldy eCommerce platform will inevitably make errors. 

 

The Impact: Customers who see information that is obviously incorrect will lose trust in the product and your brand. An even worse outcome is that the customer won’t realize there’s an error, purchase the product anyway, get something that’s different than they expected and carry out a return. Returns are expensive and will further degrade a customer’s loyalty to the brand.

 

6. Neglecting Product Compatibility

Products typically don’t live in a vacuum. There may be complementary products that a buyer would be interested in adding to their shopping cart, or products they want to buy in conjunction with another product they already own. An example would be a customer trying to buy a charger for an Electric Car they already have at home. Maintaining this type of relational data can be difficult and some organizations fail to include it, making these types of purchases extremely difficult for customers as they don’t have the information they need.

The Impact: Customers are left uncertain about whether the product they’re about to purchase will meet their needs, which pushes them to buy elsewhere. A charger for an electric car is a critical item for a customer that relies on their car everyday, and they may not be willing to gamble on whether or not their car is compatible with a product they want to buy. Finally, failing to present compatible products means missing out on cross-sell opportunities for other products and services which can have a significant impact on your bottom line. 

Eliminating these errors can be more difficult than it appears because they’re often a systematic failure in how product information is managed in an organization. It’s not just a data error, it’s a breakdown in how you leverage people, process, and technology within your organization to build and deliver product experiences for your customers. 

Reach out to an Akeneo expert today to get started on developing a comprehensive Product Experience (PX) Strategy that can help you address these product information issues and more.

The business landscape has been undergoing a significant transformation with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although it’s important to acknowledge that AI isn’t a magical cure-all, there’s no denying its potential to revolutionize customer experiences.  In fact, it has become a pivotal tool for companies seeking to elevate their customer interactions to new heights. While human oversight remains essential, the integration of AI opens up exciting opportunities for brands to enhance customer satisfaction, meet rising customer expectations, predict customer behavior, and foster unwavering loyalty. While there’s a lot of information out there about the possibilities of AI, let’s take a look at four ways forward-thinking organizations are using AI today to provide a more compelling customer experience.  

1. Reduce Errors & Gaps in Data and Visuals

In the digital age, maintaining a strong brand image and building customer trust heavily relies on data consistency and accuracy. With the vast amount of information dispersed across various platforms, businesses often struggle to ensure that the data presented to customers is correct, up-to-date, and consistent. This is where AI-powered tools come to the rescue, offering efficient solutions to comb through massive datasets and identify any missing, incorrect, or inconsistent information across all channels. For instance, product descriptions, pricing details, and specifications are critical pieces of information that customers rely on when making purchasing decisions. AI algorithms can be employed to automatically analyze and validate this information, rectifying any discrepancies and updating it in real-time. This ensures that customers receive reliable and accurate information, no matter which platform or touchpoint they are using to interact with the brand. Moreover, AI can play a crucial role in analyzing visuals and multimedia content associated with products. Brands often use numerous images and videos to showcase their offerings, and it’s essential to cross-verify that the right visuals are correctly linked with the corresponding products. AI-powered image recognition and verification algorithms can automatically match visuals to products, reducing the chances of errors or mismatches. It’s even possible to take product visualization to the next level by generating mock-ups of products in various colors, sizes, or styles, enabling customers to visualize how the product would look in different variations.   

2. Enhancing Customer Support

Prompt and effective customer support plays a pivotal role in the success of any business; it is the backbone of building trust and loyalty among customers. AI technology can significantly augment the efficiency of support teams, enabling them to provide even better assistance to customers.  AI-powered tools can analyze support tickets, chat logs, and customer interactions to identify the most frequently asked questions and common issues faced by customers, freeing up your customer support reps to focus on higher value-add work or more complex and critical support inquiries. By automating responses to these FAQs, AI can provide quick resolutions without the need for human intervention. While AI can handle routine tasks, human representatives excel in providing personalized and empathetic support. By offloading repetitive inquiries to AI, support teams have more bandwidth to devote to understanding and addressing the unique needs of customers. Empathy and understanding are crucial in making customers feel valued and heard, leading to a positive emotional connection with the brand and faster problem resolutions.  

3. Deliver Personalized Recommendations

As consumer expectations continue to grow, personalization has emerged as a key differentiator organizations can use to stand out from the competition. AI’s prowess in analyzing vast amounts of customer data has revolutionized the way brands approach personalization, providing the ability to create tailored experiences that cater to individual preferences and needs based on real customer data. AI algorithms excel at processing and analyzing large datasets, including customer browsing history, purchase behavior, and interactions on the website. By understanding these patterns and preferences, AI can predict the products or services that customers are most likely to be interested in, enabling companies to offer personalized product recommendations that increase the likelihood of conversions. AI technology can even help reduce cart abandonment rates; when a customer abandons their shopping cart without completing the purchase, AI can automatically identify this behavior and trigger targeted marketing campaigns to re-engage the customer. These campaigns might include personalized emails with discounts, special offers, or incentives to encourage the customer to return and complete their purchase, helping to recover potentially lost sales and boost conversion rates.  

4. Enter New Markets Swiftly

Expanding into new markets or geographical regions is often a complex and costly endeavor, especially when it comes to overcoming language barriers and localizing content to resonate with new audiences. AI offers invaluable solutions that streamline this process, making market expansion more accessible and efficient. AI-powered translation tools can swiftly and accurately translate product descriptions, marketing materials, and websites into the languages of target markets, saving time and effort for businesses and enabling them to make a seamless entry into foreign markets. AI not only simplifies the translation process but also enables businesses to test new markets more efficiently and at a lower cost. AI can analyze data from different markets to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and response to marketing efforts, identifying the most promising opportunities and helping businesses prioritize and focus on regions with the highest potential for success. By understanding customer sentiments and demands in these new regions, businesses can adjust their strategies accordingly before making substantial resource commitments.  

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  While AI has been heralded as the next wave of technology to revolutionize the retail industry, many of the articles out there focus on the speculation of how AI can impact the way we do business over the next couple of years. And while it undeniably holds enormous potential to revolutionize the way we shop down the road, there are several ways AI can be utilized today to reduce errors, enhance customer support, deliver personalized recommendations, and smoothly expand into new markets. By combining the power of AI with human ingenuity and oversight, businesses can create a customer-centric approach that fosters long-term loyalty and success. As technology continues to evolve, the possibilities for leveraging AI to improve the customer experience are endless. 

As the interest in sustainability is growing in the mass market, resale and growth of the secondhand market are featured in news headlines every month. However, the variety of possible execution models, limited data availability, and fear of failure make many companies hesitant to take full advantage of the opportunity at stake.

As more consumers become sustainability-oriented, the demand for resale business increases for brands and retailers. Let’s quickly talk about some facts. 

• Market growth (US): Resale in the United States experienced record growth in 2021 at 58%, and in 2022 it grew 5x as much as the retail clothing sector.
• Fast adoption (EU): 90 million EU shoppers engaged in reselling for the first time in 2023 (compared to only 16 million in 2020). 
• Consumer sentiment: 41% of consumers use resale as a way to access hard-to-find pieces, while 40% consider it a more sustainable choice, and 36% want to save money.
• Circular behaviors: 9 out of 10 surveyed shoppers participating in resale market, buy new and pre-owned, while 75% resell their items.

Fashion and luxury are the most talked about from the perspective of growth in the secondhand market. But the trends apply to other sectors, such as electronics and other consumer products, as well.

 

How to Go After the Opportunity

The resale business is not a new concept in the market. The first model of general marketplaces, such as eBay, has been around for years. The next generation of the model includes specialized marketplaces – dedicated to consumer or fashion products, as well as consignment marketplaces – that actively manage the resale process. For brands or retailers, these models give quick access to a big audience, and provide easy ways to participate in the secondhand market with little operational burdens – but at the expense of not being directly involved in the consumer touchpoint nor transaction. 

The big idea of value creation in resale is customer lifetime value expansion, which is virtually impossible without owning the relationship with the consumer. To help companies with lifetime value expansion, white-label recommerce service providers have emerged in recent years. These companies support brands and retailers in establishing their resale business under their brand, with a dedicated storefront – offering out-of-the-box solutions, outsourced operations, and a branded experience for shoppers. This is a huge step in consolidating the “new” and “pre-owned” business as it takes back the ownership of the value generated by products the companies initially sold (and could resell again!). 

However, such models come with limitations – an “outsourced” business typically involves breaking points in customer experiences with limited visibility into demand and supply, and much delayed or fewer ways to build on the newly established customer touchpoints. 

 

No One Recipe for Success

There are various ways to succeed in the resale business model. For example, specialists can support brands and retailers with services for product lifetime extension and operations that will limit environmental impact, in a way that is measurable and traceable. Also, sustainability plays a major role in the resale business and is a big drive in setting up a proper ecosystem for resale execution.

Success in the resale business starts with an alignment between business objectives and brand strategy. Organizations need to keep in mind that the customer experience as well as transaction data become a foundation for expanding customer lifetime value, which benefits the resale business. Companies can build trust with consumers via the “front-office” by delivering the best, most optimized customer experience. From the “back-office” perspective, they need to be equipped with the capabilities to handle complex recommerce operations along with the right data and insights to connect supply and demand signals. 

 

Room for Innovation

Once the basic setup of a resale business is in place, the question about maximizing its revenue, profit and customer lifetime value emerges. The answer to it would look different as each company has their own story and brand equity, combined with the circular mindset.   

For some, it would be about building new experiences that consumers can try using pre-owned products – lowering the barrier to trying a new sport, variation, or style. For others, it would be a way of capturing more customers who need certain products for a short amount of time, and an easy way to bring back a product after it serves its purpose. On the luxury end, it would be more related to collecting and reselling archive pieces or merging the digital and physical ownership using NFTs, and other forms of digital ownership. 

In a world where every purchase has the potential to make a difference, the rise of value-driven shopping has become an unstoppable force. Gone are the days when consumers merely sought products; now, they crave a connection with the heart and soul behind the brand, and if they don’t connect with your business’s message, they’re quick to abandon purchase in search for an organization that shares their views. 

Our 2023 Global B2C Survey uncovered that two-fifths of consumers have declared their willingness to pay more for brands that proudly showcase their core values. And it’s not just a passing fad; we also found that these consumers are prepared to invest an average of 18% more for products that weave meaningful brand values into their very fabric.

But what actually matters most to consumers these days, and how can your brand ensure that you’re effectively communicating your investment in these areas? Let’s take a look at four pathways to breathe life into your brand’s core values through product information, forging an unshakable connection with your customers. 

 

1. Sustainability

With sustainability becoming a major concern for consumers, brands need to prioritize communicating their efforts in this area. Our B2C Survey revealed that 35% of customers consider sustainability a crucial piece of product information. Moreover, a staggering 63% of consumers stated that they would stop buying from a brand if they lost trust due to a lack of transparent and accurate product information. To communicate your sustainability efforts effectively, brands must have access to the right product information that can be syndicated across all customer touchpoints.

One effective way to achieve this is through Digital Product Passports, which will soon be required by law for any organization that sells or conducts business within the EU. These passports require organizations to gather data on a product and its supply chain and share it across entire value chains so all actors, manufacturers, repairers, and consumers better understand the environmental impact of the materials and products they use. Not only does this promote sustainable and ethical supply chain communication, but it also provides consumers with the information they need to make an educated purchase that aligns with their desire to protect the planet.

 

2. Disability Accessibility 

Inclusivity is another critical aspect of a brand’s values that can be conveyed through product information. Ensuring that your website and products are accessible to people with disabilities, such as those with hard of hearing or blindness, is essential. Having the right product information in the appropriate places enables these individuals to effectively utilize assistive tools, like screen readers that convert on-screen text into synthesized speech or Braille output, and have an equally enjoyable browsing experience.

In order to provide additional information to these assistive technologies, a set of attributes referred to as ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) can be added to HTML elements. These attributes help screen readers and accessibility tools understand the interactive elements, live regions, and dynamic content on a web page, improving the user experience for individuals with visual disabilities. By clearly identifying interactive elements, users can efficiently interact with the website and perform actions like adding products to their cart or submitting forms. ARIA attributes can also be applied to indicate when a product is currently out of stock or unavailable for purchase, or used to describe visual elements like product images, all of which require the appropriate product information around product availability or image alt-text to be readily available.

3. Size/Gender inclusivity

Though these values tend to apply specifically to fashion brands, size and gender inclusivity is an important aspect of a brand’s value set that consumers are increasingly prioritizing in their purchase decisions. In a world that celebrates uniqueness and diversity, brands that embrace size and gender inclusivity in their product information are paving the way for a more inclusive and accepting shopping experience.

One of the most powerful ways to promote size inclusivity is through product photos that reflect the diversity of your customer base. Rather than showcasing products solely on models with conventional body types, fashion brands can feature their products on models of various sizes and appearances.

Accurate and inclusive size guides are another essential component of size inclusivity. Providing detailed measurements that cater to a wide range of sizes ensures that customers can confidently choose the perfect fit for their unique body shape.

And it’s not just size inclusivity that’s a hot topic; rigid gender norms are also being challenged more and more frequently. To stay ahead and foster a more positive shopping experience for all customers, brands should reconsider their approach to gender categories. Instead of strictly dividing products into traditional men’s and women’s sections, consider providing options for non-binary individuals and those who prefer gender-neutral clothing by offering gender-inclusive product categories or providing gender-neutral options for certain items. Beyond product images and categories, the language and messaging used in product information also play a crucial role in promoting inclusivity. Avoid gender-specific language when it’s unnecessary, and opt for gender-neutral terms that resonate with a broader audience. This simple yet powerful gesture goes a long way in establishing an emotional connection with customers, signaling that your brand respects and values their identities. 

 

4. Back to School/Education

For brands looking to support education and back-to-school initiatives, effective communication of product information is crucial. Running a campaign where a portion of sales goes to a local school requires accurate information about qualifying products, the percentage of the price being donated, and precise tracking of contributions. Transparent and accurate product information instills trust in customers, assuring them that their purchases are making a genuine difference in supporting education.

Plus, back-to-school season provides an opportunity for brands to connect with a large influx of customers on major retailer websites that have historically carried out back-to-school campaigns like Target, Walmart, and Amazon. Product detail pages serve as the frontline in capturing customers’ attention and driving conversions on these sites – brands should ensure that their product information is comprehensive and engaging across every retailer platform. This includes high-quality images and videos that showcase products in action, user reviews that build credibility and trust, accurate stock availability to prevent disappointment, and shipping estimates that manage customer expectations.  A compelling presentation of product information captures shoppers’ attention, fosters trust, and ultimately encourages them to choose your brand over competitors during the back-to-school rush. By providing well-prepared and informative product detail pages, brands significantly boost their credibility and visibility in crowded online marketplaces.

Beyond the technical aspects of product information, storytelling holds the key to forging a deep emotional connection with customers during the back-to-school season. Brands can leverage narrative videos and behind-the-scenes stories to communicate their commitment to education and the community. Share heartwarming stories of how the campaign impacts local schools, highlighting the real difference it makes in students’ lives. Personal anecdotes and testimonials from educators, students, and school administrators further solidify the brand’s dedication to supporting education.

As consumers become more discerning about the values and practices of the brands they support, it is imperative for businesses to invest in creating product content that highlights and reinforces these values. By leveraging product information effectively, such as through narrative videos and behind-the-scenes stories, brands can build a deeper connection with their customers. Transparent, accurate, and inclusive product information not only facilitates informed decision-making but also builds trust and loyalty with consumers who share similar values. Embracing communication of brand values through product information can lead to more significant customer engagement and increased brand reputation in today’s value-driven market.

To learn more about how to utilize product information to communicate your brand’s value and gain deeper insights into trending consumer behavior, be sure to check out the full 2023 B2C Survey Results Report.

Recently, we introduced the latest collaboration between Akeneo and Calago: the ETIM app, which serves as a seamless connector between the ETIM API and Akeneo, revolutionizing the way catalog structures are created.  By integrating the power of ETIM with the efficiency of Akeneo, this app simplifies the process of adhering to ETIM standards and streamlines catalog management for businesses worldwide.  

What is ETIM?

ETIM, short for “European Technical Information Model,” has emerged as a critical global technical standard. ETIM provides a standardized classification and structure for technical product data across various industries, ensuring consistency, interoperability, and streamlined information exchange.  As a result, ETIM has become a fundamental framework for industries such as construction and electrical, enabling efficient data management, effective communication, and enhanced collaboration throughout the supply chain.  

Akeneo x Calago

Before the development of the Calago ETIM app, integrating the technical characteristics of the ETIM standard into Akeneo required manual effort and time-consuming processes. While the software previously created attributes and families, it did not automatically populate the product data itself.  This meant that customers had to invest significant resources in manually creating attributes, particularly for businesses dealing with a wide range of product types requiring numerous classes and features. The whole process of creating ETIM structures in Akeneo could take hours or even an entire day depending on the complexity of the product catalog. The newly introduced Calago ETIM app directly addresses the challenges faced by businesses in integrating ETIM standards into their Akeneo catalogs. The app offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies the process to just a couple of clicks, enabling users to create a complete catalog structure in Akeneo within just a few minutes.  Moreover, the app provides the option to schedule automatic updates, ensuring that the latest classes from the ETIM API are fetched and integrated into the catalog automatically. This automation eliminates the need for manual updates and allows businesses to “set and forget” their ETIM catalog structure, especially for companies whose product classes experience minimal changes over time.  

The Future of the ETIM App

Looking ahead, the Calago ETIM app aims to enhance its functionality to meet the evolving needs of businesses. One of the planned improvements includes the addition of reporting features, which will notify users of any removed attributes or features within the ETIM standard. This reporting will enable users to efficiently manage attribute removals from Akeneo, ensuring compliance with the latest ETIM standards. Furthermore, the app will introduce an export functionality, allowing users to export data from Akeneo back out according to the ETIM standards. Additionally, the app’s roadmap includes catering to businesses that already have an existing structure in Akeneo and wish to align it with the ETIM structure. This enhancement will provide flexibility for customers to maintain their own structure while still adhering to ETIM standards, offering a harmonious integration of their catalog management practices. The Calago ETIM app represents a significant step forward in simplifying the creation and maintenance of catalog structures within Akeneo, adhering to the global ETIM standard. By automating the process, reducing manual efforts, and providing a user-friendly interface, the app empowers businesses to effortlessly manage their catalogs and ensures seamless interoperability within the industry. With future updates and improvements, the ETIM app will continue to serve as an essential tool for businesses seeking to streamline their catalog management processes and enhance their compliance with industry standards. Are you interested in learning more about how Calago and Akeneo can help your organization comply with ETIM standards? Reach out to an Akeneo expert today.

As we navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital commerce, one thing is certain: innovative technologies continue to reshape the way we shop online. The future of digital retail holds immense potential, fueled by advancements that were once only the stuff of science fiction. From AI-driven commerce to AR & VR experiences to live commerce or social shopping, the possibilities are endless.

Let’s take a look at the top four ground-breaking technologies that are impacting the digital commerce landscape today, and how companies are already utilizing these futuristic strategies today.

1. AI-Driven Commerce

The leaps and bounds we’ve made within Artificial Intelligence (AI) over the past few years is truly mind-boggling; what once produced clunky, robotic chunks of text can now create eloquent and natural-sounding sentences that pass through human detection with ease. Generative AI can help product teams create compelling (and SEO-friendly) product descriptions and product page copy, along with instantaneous translations and suggestions for product information. Not to mention, this technology can analyze almost unfathomable amounts of data instantaneously, sorting through millions of transactions, interactions, and browsing patterns to pull out customer insights that lead to more personalized product recommendations, advertisements, and customer experiences. And it can even digest visual content – brands can utilize AI to analyze product images to identify characteristics like color, material, and size to pull as attributes.

 

Mondial Tissus Spins AI Magic for Seamless Growth

Mondial Tissus, a leader in the French retail market for fabrics and haberdashery items, successfully leveraged AI technology to supercharge their product experience. With the combination of a composable PIM and ChatGPT’s AI capabilities, Mondial Tissus automated the generation and translation of hundreds of product attributes, resulting in improved product descriptions and easy localization of content for international markets within hours. This not only accelerated their time-to-market but also enhanced the quality of their offerings, empowering their teams to develop high-value assets, personalized for each season, and expand into new geographies with ease.

 

 

2. AR & VR Commerce

Together, AR and VR are transforming digital commerce, blurring the lines between online and physical shopping. With VR, consumers can virtually “try on” clothes and accessories without stepping foot in store. Similarly, AR allows consumers to visualize products in their home before ever making a purchase. Visual configurators personalize the shopping experience by enabling customers to visually bundle the items of their choice and customize to their heart’s desire. By meshing the ease of online shopping with the power of physically seeing how a product incorporates into a space, brands are empowering consumers to make better shopping decisions. Plus, these brands will then have the data they need to suggest compatible products to compliment a buyer’s choice, encouraging cross-sales.

 

From Hollywood to Your Homepage: Visual Effects for eCommerce

Founded by a CGI expert who created visual effects in Hollywood, Threekit is a 3D product configurator that offers brands the opportunity to create virtual and augmented reality experiences for their customers on their own D2C site. By enabling consumers to visually change color, fabric, or size of products and see the adjustment in real-time, Threekit provides a visual representation of the exact product that the consumer wants. Plus, their AR tool for eCommerce lets users virtually place these customizable products in their space. Utilized by Starbucks Coffee, Crate&Barrel, and TaylorMade, Threekit is already supporting the visual commerce efforts of massive corporations. 

 

 

3. Live Commerce

Live commerce is an emerging trend that combines live streaming and eCommerce, providing a real-time interactive shopping experience to consumers. Influencers, brands, or retailers will broadcast live video sessions where they showcase and demonstrate products, engage with viewers, and offer exclusive deals or discounts. 

Not only does this interactive format allow customers to ask questions, receive instant feedback, and make purchases directly within the livestream, but it also enables businesses without the resources for a brick-and-mortar store to still showcase their products and build trust and credibility among customers.

However, as with all aspect of digital commerce, the product experience your business can offer through live commerce is only as good as your product information. If you provide an influencer with the wrong list of ingredients for the lipstick they’re demoing, or doesn’t know the correct dates for a flash sale that someone asks about in the chat, this experience falls flat and becomes a liability for the brand.

Beauty, Brains, and Real-Time Buys at Your Fingertips

Major beauty and personal care retailer Sephora has been making waves in the world of live commerce, hosting their “Sephora Live” events, where beauty experts and influencers broadcast live sessions to showcase products, makeup tutorials, and engage with viewers in real-time. During a “Sephora Live” session, the expert host will demonstrate application techniques, answer questions, and offer deals, encouraging consumers to interact through comments and make purchases directly in the live stream. This digital commerce strategy also enables Sephora to reach customers who may not live geographically near a Sephora location, driving revenue and unlocking new markets.

 

 

4. Social Commerce

Social commerce is one of the fastest growing segments of digital commerce as it fuses two of the most popular uses of the Internet: social media and online shopping. By bringing the convenience of eCommerce to popular social platforms like Instagram or TikTok, users can discover, research, and buy products all without exiting the app. 

Social commerce also enables consumers to easily access real, trustworthy user reviews, check out personalized recommendations, and purchase exactly the same item as their favorite influencer, all so that they can feel confident that they’re purchasing the right product.

Again, a strong social commerce presence relies on strong product information. Imagine a customer comes to your TikTok page to see videos of your product in action, but all they see are recycled images from Instagram plastered into a video template. Or they try to input a promo code they saw from a Tweet, but the promotion doesn’t start until the following week and the Tweet never mentioned that. This is a recipe for bad product experiences.

 

Starbucks’ Social Media Brews Up Success

Starbucks has effectively incorporated social media platforms into their digital commerce strategy, particularly Instagram and Twitter. On the photo-sharing app, Starbucks brews up visually appealing images of their products and utilizes the Instagram Shoppable post feature that allows users to click on tagged items and make purchases directly from the Starbucks website or app. Plus, they encourage user-generated content by promoting specific hashtags, featuring customer photos, and running Instagram-specific promotions.

Starbucks is equally as innovative on Twitter – through their “Tweet-a-Coffee” campaign, users are able to send digital Starbucks gift cards to friends or followers directly through just a tweet, linking their Starbucks account to their Twitter profile. Not only do these social channels allow Starbucks to promote their products and connect with customers, but they actually help drive revenue, customer loyalty, and a better customer experience.

 

 

In today’s digitally driven world, it’s crucial for businesses to prioritize customer experiences in order to stay ahead. But the long-term competitive advantage comes from not just meeting customer expectations, but surpassing them. By creating an engaging digital offer on all buyer journey stages, you can  exceed customer expectations and delight them through their entire experience with your brand. 

1. Flawless Product Descriptions

Failure to provide a consistent digital experience across all channels can lead to poorer conversion rates. Consider the following scenarios that cause user misunderstanding and dissatisfaction:

• A discrepancy of information at different touchpoints,
• Outdated images or lack of information in product descriptions,
• Different product pricing in various sales channels.

According to research, 87% of customers won’t make a purchase again at a store where they encounter false information. It means they will never use your service again, pay a premium for your product or recommend your brand to friends.  Providing flawless and error-free product descriptions is an obvious solution at this point. But it takes work to achieve in real life. It can be challenging, particularly when managing multiple sales channels and various markets. Thus, you’ll have to put in additional work to ensure your digital offering meets the specific requirements of every touchpoint your customer may approach.

2. Personalized Digital Experience

Personalization increases engagement at every stage of the customer journey. Adding customized product bundles and recommendations to your digital offer can quickly improve conversion and drive sales.  Analyze data from your eCommerce platform to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and buying patterns. These insights will help you understand their needs and tailor your offer to their preferences and expectations.  The possibilities for customization in eCommerce are almost unlimited. Consider adding to your offer:

• Personalized pricing and promotions offers. Include in your marketing campaigns special offers for various client segments. Then send it to them when they’re more likely to make a purchase. 
• Tailored recommendations. Adding this simple feature to your digital offer can increase conversion, time spent on the store, engagement, and profits. 35% of Amazon’s revenue is generated by its recommendation engine.
• Targeted messaging. By nurturing customer relationships after purchase, you can create loyal advocates who will contribute to your brand’s success. Remember that regular customers are four times more likely to recommend your products or services to their friends and family. 
• Customized notifications. Inform customers about seasonal sales or new products they may like to maintain high engagement even after the initial purchase.
• Adjust product descriptions. If you’re selling abroad, create product descriptions based on local and cultural expectations for different markets. 

3. Inclusive UX Design (WCAG)

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) defines how a website or mobile app should look and behave to be accessible to people with disabilities. Making your digital offer suitable for people with disabilities is a crucial issue for nearly one billion people worldwide. Add to this group the silver generation and those using outdated equipment, whom you will also reach by making your site more digitally accessible. While the primary goal of meeting WCAG guidelines is to increase accessibility for people with disabilities, by implementing those standards, your digital offer will become intuitive and easy to use, positively impacting the digital experience of all your customers. Criteria such as appropriate contrast of elements on the site, font sizes that allow for comfortable reading of content, or straightforward navigation ensure that all users can use your online store in a comfortable and understandable way. Therefore you not only reduce digital exclusion but also gain access to a whole new target audience.

Transform the Customer Experience with Solid Digital Offerings

The customer experience has become a critical factor in shaping the success of businesses across industries. By providing a solid and compelling digital offer, organizations can improve the customer experience, forge deeper connections with their customers, foster loyalty, and drive sustainable growth.  Technology tools like Akeneo PIM play a vital role in ensuring a consistent digital experience throughout the entire customer journey. Equally important is collaborating with an experienced technology provider with expertise in implementing and optimizing your new system. It will help you leverage the new system’s full capabilities, maximize efficiency, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.   This article was written and submitted by Akeneo partner, e-point.

Having a well structured effective PIM is a necessity to having an effective PX Strategy. With thousands of companies using Akeneo PIM, we have been able to consolidate the most impactful ways a company can accelerate their launch of a PIM, and we wanted to walk you through three actions you can take now in anticipation of your PIM implementation to reduce your time to value.  We at Akeneo have been assisting our clients in implementing a new PIM for over 10 years; we would like to share some of those best practices with you.  We’ve compiled the top three focus areas with you to accelerate your time to value, and to mitigate the risk of a project failing altogether: 

• Identify Clear Business Objectives – showcase why you’re investing in a PIM: what are you looking to achieve? Which pain points are you looking to solve? How will you measure the success of these objectives?

• Align Resources to Project Roles – identify the personnel to be assigned to the PIM implementation roles so you and your team are ready to hit the ground running. 
• Begin Cleansing your Product Data – your PIM is only as good as your product data, so you can get a jumpstart on cleaning up any stale data now to expedite your implementation. 

Let’s dive in a bit deeper on these three topics.  

1. Identify Clear Business Objectives 

This is a critical first step in your PIM journey, as it provides the answer to “Why a PIM?” “Why Akeneo?” “Why NOW?” Providing answers to these questions enables you to set the foundation for proper change management internally, and to educate your team on why this investment in a PIM is so important to your organization, and to all of them individually. When identifying your business objectives, we have a recommended template to use and Action Item #1 asks the following questions:

• What is the problem you’re trying to solve?

• How does this problem impact you or others at your company?

• How does this problem impact your customers?

• How would you quantify this impact?

• How would you like to see it improved?

  PZ Cussons clearly articulates their “why” behind purchasing Akeneo:

Aligning on your business objectives allows you and your team to know the “why” behind an investment in a PIM and how this impacts each and every person at your company. Aligning on business objectives provides a north star internally, to come together on why you are asking your team to dedicate time out of their already busy schedules to this project, and what is in it for them.  What we also include in the template is how you may track or manage the business objectives; providing metrics associated with the business objectives allows us to measure how successful the project is, and see the tangible progress you have made.     

2. Align Resources to Project Roles 

It is important to start planning which resources you will need internally to dedicate to your PIM project. This includes both the people that are contributors (creating and enriching product data and assets) and people that are consumers (benefiting immediately from high-quality and always up-to-date product data).  We’ve written other blogs about Building the PIM Dream Team, as it is a vital step in preparing for your PIM journey. We have outlined roles to prepare you for your Akeneo PIM implementation in our downloadable deliverable as Action Item #2; this way, you can start writing down names to each and every role outlined so that both they and you know who is responsible for what.  Assigning team members to roles before implementation puts you ahead of the curve and allows you time to set expectations both internally and externally as to your workload capacity to better prepare for your implementation phase and beyond in your Akeneo journey.  An excellent example of how critical project roles are can be seen from one of our valued customers, Bongenie Grieder:

3. Begin Cleansing your Product Data 

We all know the saying “garbage in, garbage out,” and this applies to your PIM data as well. Your PIM is only as good as the data included inside of it, so having clean data will accelerate your business’ time to value in your Akeneo PIM journey. We’ve written other blogs about the importance of clean data, and this blog here includes an actionable deliverable diving into HOW one may go about doing so. As an excellent first step, start outlining where different data sets exist, and the owner of this data. Then, start reviewing your data for the quality of it. What do we mean by data quality?

• Product Duplicates: The same product duplicated
• Attribute Duplicates: Attribute definitions are varied but mean the same thing resulting in inconsistency in attribution
• Irrelevant data: Fields are used to maintain information that may not map to the PIM system schema or used to maintain information which shouldn’t be migrated
• Incomprehensible: Meaningless data that follows no guidelines
• Incomplete: Mandatory fields may have been circumvented
• Inconsistent: Standards for information may have been misinterpreted or arbitrary information populated
• Inaccurate: Information may be wrongly entered
• Not structured: No categorisation in legacy systems for effective mapping into the PIM. Wrong categorisation leading to wrongly attributed product
• Non conformance: Standards, structure and missing data and attributes for the product type

Even if you aren’t certain how you may want to restructure your data to fit into all of Akeneo’s features and functionalities and the best practices into how to leverage them, you can at least cleanse any data that you know needs cleaning up. And if you aren’t certain as to where to start, we recommend leveraging our downloadable deliverable and populating Action Item #3.  One of our valued customers, Thras.io had this to say about data cleanliness:

Now that you’ve completed all of your action items, what is left is quite simple: beginning your Akeneo PIM journey and becoming one of the many trusted customers within the Akeneo community!  Feel free to download our template outlining the three action steps for a quick PIM implementation, or reach out to an Akeneo expert today to see how we can help you accelerate your PX strategy.

Let’s talk about it; the dreaded return. Businesses fear it because of the associated expenses, both in terms of direct costs like shipping, restocking fees, and processing, and indirect costs such as lost sales and negative customer experiences.  And consumers hate the time-consuming and often frustrating process of trying to obtain the item they initially ordered, with 63% of consumers saying that having to return an item gives them a negative view of the retailer.   It’s safe to say that it benefits both the consumer and the retailer to try to minimize the amount of returns. But in a world of “serial returners”, what’s a business to do? The secret lies in your product information; over half of all consumers (54%) blame the need for a return on  incorrect pre-purchase product information. Let’s dive into five effective strategies that your organization can implement today to improve the product experience offered to your consumers and reduce the rate of returns.     

1. Provide high-quality visual assets

A picture is worth a thousand words, and in the realm of eCommerce, it holds even more significance. High-quality visual assets such as product images, GIFs, or videos play a vital role in helping customers better visualize the product before making a purchase. By showcasing multiple angles, close-ups, and colors or sizes demonstrating the product in action, you can provide potential buyers with a clearer understanding of its features, functionality, and overall appeal, reducing the likelihood of a needed return.  Or you could take it one step further – incorporate innovative AR technology by utilizing a 3D product configurator. Imagine you’re in the market for a sofa, and you stumble upon online furniture brand “FurniCo”.  Not only do they have high-quality photos of the couch you’re interested in, but there’s also a virtual representation of the sofa, ready to be personalized. You can choose the fabric, the color, and even the configuration of the sofa—whether you prefer a classic L-shape or a spacious sectional. As you make your selections, the 3D model updates in real-time, giving you an accurate visual representation of how your customizations will look in reality and eliminating the guesswork. You can rotate the 3D model, zoom in and out, and examine the finer details of your customized sofa from every angle. You even have the option to virtually place the sofa in your living room and adjust the size and placement, ensuring that it fits perfectly within your space and assess whether the chosen design and color scheme will blend seamlessly with your existing décor before ever making a purchase.    

2. Embrace transparency around availability & shipping times

Few things are more frustrating for customers than discovering that a product they’ve eagerly purchased is out of stock or has lengthy shipping times. To avoid this frustration and potential returns, it’s essential to keep your stock and availability information up to date across all channels. Utilize inventory management systems that sync in real-time to provide accurate information to customers, regardless of where they’re shopping—whether it’s your website, third-party platforms, or physical stores. When customers can trust that the products they want are genuinely available, they are less likely to resort to alternative options or cancel their orders. By proactively sharing expected shipping times and potential delays, you can manage customer expectations, enhance their overall experience, and significantly reduce return rates. Let’s return to our furniture company, FurniCo. Let’s say you’ve selected a specific fabric and color combination for your sofa, but FurniCo’s system detects that this particular customization may require a longer production time due to high demand. Instead of leaving you guessing, FurniCo’s website displays a clear notice upfront, stating the estimated time frame for production and shipping.  Furthermore, FurniCo provides the option for customers to sign up for email or SMS notifications regarding stock updates, so that they can be notified when that specific fabric and color combination becomes available. This transparent communication sets realistic expectations and allows the consumer to make an informed decision based on your timeline and needs. By providing accurate shipping and stock information, FurniCo minimizes the likelihood of returns due to unexpected delays or out-of-stock situations. Customers can confidently plan their purchases, knowing when to expect delivery and having reassurance that their customized furniture will be available as specified.    

3. Provide up-to-date, reliable product descriptions

Accurate and reliable product descriptions are the backbone of a successful digital commerce strategy. They instill confidence in customers and foster trust in your brand. Make sure your product descriptions are comprehensive, covering essential details such as size, dimensions, material composition, care instructions, and any other relevant information that might influence a customer’s purchasing decision. Understanding the crucial role that accurate and comprehensive product descriptions play in reducing returns, our friends at FurniCo include a comprehensive description that covers essential details such as dimensions, materials, construction, and care instructions on every product detail page. To enhance the clarity of the information, FurniCo utilizes a combination of concise written descriptions, bullet points, and detailed measurements specifying the height, width, depth, and seating dimensions for every sofa. If any changes occur, such as improvements in materials or slight design modifications, they promptly update the information on their website.  To further support customers in their decision-making process, FurniCo incorporates customer reviews and ratings on their product pages. This valuable user-generated content allows potential buyers to gain insights from previous customers who have purchased the same item. By providing detailed and up-to-date product descriptions, FurniCo minimizes returns caused by misaligned customer expectations. Customers can confidently evaluate the furniture based on accurate information, ensuring that the dimensions, materials, and design align with their requirements. This transparency and attention to detail result in a higher level of customer satisfaction and a reduced likelihood of returns.  

4. Personalize information to each channel

Every channel has its own unique characteristics, and tailoring product information to suit each platform is crucial. Whether it’s your website, social media platforms, online marketplaces, or physical retailers, adapt your product information to the context and format of each channel. Consider optimizing content for search engine visibility on your website, providing concise and engaging descriptions on social media platforms, and ensuring that your product information aligns with the expectations of specific retailers. By delivering tailored information, you enhance the customer experience across various touchpoints, leading to more informed purchases and fewer returns. Let’s take a look at how FurniCo can personalize their product information for different channels:

• Amazon: Recognizing the importance of optimizing product information for Amazon, FurniCo tailors their Amazon product listings to ensure that all essential details, such as dimensions, materials, and features are clearly outlined in the product title, bullet points, and product description. They leverage high-quality images that meet Amazon’s image guidelines and showcase the furniture from different angles and includes up-to-date pricing and shipping information.
• D2C eCommerce site: On their own website, FurniCo has full control over the presentation of their product information. They take advantage of this opportunity to provide more in-depth descriptions, including the inspiration behind each furniture piece, the craftsmanship involved, and the quality of materials used. They also create engaging content that showcases the brand’s story, values, and commitment to creating sustainable furniture. FurniCo also optimizes their website’s user interface, ensuring a smooth and intuitive browsing experience and utilizes interactive tools, such as the 3D product configurator mentioned earlier, to allow customers to personalize their furniture choices directly on the site.
• Social commerce platforms: To reach customers on social commerce platforms such as Instagram or Facebook, FurniCo adapts their product information to suit the format and context of these channels. They create visually captivating posts or ads that highlight their furniture’s key features, versatility, and unique design elements on Instagram. FurniCo includes concise but compelling descriptions that provide a snapshot of each product’s benefits and how it can enhance a customer’s space. On Tik Tok, they utilize user-generated content and partner with DIY influencers to feature their products, fostering trust and social proof. 

   

5. Embrace new technologies

Advancements in technology continue to reshape the digital commerce landscape, offering innovative solutions to common challenges. Embrace these technologies to provide customers with unique experiences and new ways to visualize or understand products to reduce the likelihood of a returned item. We already mentioned FurniCo’s use of a 3D product configurator, which is a great use of innovative technologies. But FurniCo could also take advantage of the advancements made in AI to FurniCo to enhance the product discovery process and provide personalized recommendations. By analyzing customer preferences, browsing behavior, and past purchases, AI algorithms can suggest furniture pieces that align with individual tastes and styles. This personalized approach helps customers find the furniture that best suits their needs, increasing the likelihood of a satisfying purchase and reducing the chances of returns due to style or design mismatch. AI can also be utilized in chatbots or virtual assistants, which could be available on FurniCo’s website or mobile app. These AI-driven assistants can answer customer queries, provide real-time product information or shipping updates, and assist with the customization process.  

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  Leveraging your product information to provide a stronger pre-purchase customer experience is the best defense against the dreaded returns. Both businesses and customers benefit from better utilization and syndication of accurate and detailed product information;  businesses can enjoy increased customer satisfaction, reduced operational costs, and strengthened brand loyalty. Customers, in turn, experience a seamless and personalized shopping journey, making confident purchases that align with their expectations. Interested in learning more about how to reduce the rate of return, and what else is top of mind for the 2023 consumer? Download the results from our 2023 B2C Global Survey today!

In today’s fast-paced digital world, where captivating visuals and engaging content rule the online realm, one thing is clear: digital assets are the lifeblood of effective communication and brand success. Whether it’s striking images, compelling videos, or informative product data, the proper management of these digital assets is crucial to staying ahead of the competition.

But managing all that digital data is no easy feat, especially if you don’t have the tools or technology in place to support a streamlined workflow that not only organizes, secures, and delivers your digital assets to various channels, but also communicates seamlessly with your other technology.

Implementing a Digital Asset Management (DAM) tool is a great way to kickstart this process, but diving head-first into any random software solution you find is a recipe for headaches, miscommunication, messy data, and ultimately a poor customer experience.

Let’s dive into the top 10 best practices you can do both before DAM implementation and after.

 

Before Implementation

1. Audit existing digital assets for accuracy & gaps

Before diving into DAM implementation, it is crucial to assess your current digital asset inventory. Conduct a comprehensive audit to identify inaccuracies, outdated files, and any gaps in your asset library. This process will enable you to clean up your digital assets, remove redundant files, and ensure that only relevant and up-to-date materials are included in your DAM system.

 

2. Centralize product data into a single system of record

One common challenge faced by organizations is scattered product information across various platforms, tools, and spreadsheets. To establish a solid foundation for DAM implementation, centralize your product data into a single system of record, like a Product Information Management (PIM) system, that can communicate seamlessly with your new DAM tool. By doing so, you can eliminate silos, reduce duplication, and have a holistic view of your digital assets.

 

3. Define a clear, strategic goal aligned with business objectives

Implementing a DAM system without a clear objective in mind can lead to confusion and inefficiencies. Take the time to define a strategic goal that aligns with your business objectives. Whether it is improving collaboration, accelerating time-to-market, or enhancing brand consistency, clearly identifying your objectives will guide your decision-making process and ensure that your DAM system meets your organization’s unique needs.

 

4. Identify stakeholders, assign roles & responsibilities

Successful DAM implementation requires a team effort. Identify key stakeholders within your organization who will be involved in the process. Assign clear roles and responsibilities to each team member to ensure accountability and smooth collaboration. Additionally, you should be able to implement granular user access management to control who can access, edit, and distribute specific assets. This not only ensures data security but also protects intellectual property and maintains compliance with privacy regulations, all while still providing key stakeholders with the digital assets they need, when they need it.

 

5. Identify tools that need to integrate with the DAM

To maximize the benefits of your DAM system, identify the tools and applications that need to integrate seamlessly with it. Whether it’s your content management system, eCommerce platform, PIM, or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool, ensure that your DAM system can integrate with these essential tools. This integration will enable you to leverage your digital assets efficiently across multiple channels and touchpoints, ensuring a consistent and compelling product experience no matter where your customers research and discover you.

 

After Implementation

6. Develop a clear system for standardized naming

Consistency is key when it comes to organizing and searching for digital assets. Create standardized naming conventions for your files to ensure clarity and ease of identification. By adopting a consistent naming structure, you can avoid confusion, prevent duplicate files, and improve the overall efficiency of your DAM system.

 

7. Implement metadata standards 

Metadata provides vital context and information about your digital assets, and can include information such as file descriptions, keywords, categories, and usage rights. Develop a robust metadata schema and apply it consistently across your asset library. By implementing metadata standards, you can enhance searchability, improve asset categorization, and facilitate the efficient retrieval of assets when needed.

 

8. Create automatic workflows within the DAM

Automation is a game-changer when it comes to optimizing your DAM workflows. Leverage the capabilities of your DAM system to create automatic workflows that streamline operations. For example, you can set up workflows for file approvals, metadata tagging, or asset distribution. These automated processes save time, reduce human error, and ensure that assets follow the correct approval and distribution channels. And with new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming more and more advanced and accessible, automating mundane or repetitive tasks within your DAM system can improve operational efficiency and ensure that your employees are focusing on high-value work.

 

9. Train and educate your DAM users for optimal efficiency

To fully harness the power of your DAM system, invest in comprehensive training and ongoing support for your users. Educate them on how to effectively use the DAM system and familiarize them with best practices for uploading, tagging, and searching for assets. By empowering your users with the necessary skills and knowledge, you can improve their efficiency, increase adoption rates, and maximize the value derived from your DAM system.

 

10. Regularly audit and maintain your DAM system

Implementing a DAM system is not a one-time task; it requires continuous maintenance and optimization. Regularly audit and assess the performance and usage of your DAM system. Seek feedback from users on the product experience, identify areas for improvement, and implement necessary updates or modifications to enhance efficiency and user satisfaction. Additionally, regularly review and maintain file organization to accommodate changing requirements and ensure that your DAM system remains scalable and adaptable to your evolving needs.

 

Implementing DAM best practices is crucial for any organization that wants to effectively manage its digital assets and optimize workflows. By conducting an initial audit, centralizing data, defining clear goals, assigning roles, and implementing user access management, you can lay a solid foundation for your DAM system. Once implemented, focus on standardized naming, metadata standards, automation, user training, and ongoing maintenance to ensure optimal efficiency and success. By following these best practices, you can unlock the full potential of your digital assets, streamline your operations, and gain a competitive edge in the digital landscape.

Want to learn more about how Akeneo technology can help support your DAM implementation by creating a central source of record and enable your team to provide stronger product experiences? Reach out to an Akeneo expert today.