The name "product information management (PIM)” became too boring in a world full of headless, composable, and AI-written code. The ecosystem needs to communicate change. Between quite revolutionary news, like SAP introducing a composable storefront, Vue Storefront being able to extend using React, and that SaaS equals flexibility, good old PIM might sound as exciting as a load balancer for businesspeople.
That’s wild because PIM is critical for every enterprise. Having this in mind, it was hard to believe that the market was struggling to find an eye-catching marketing outfit for our silent hero until the turn of 2019 and 2020. Product experience management (PXM) is supposed to be a flashy replacement and connect information about products with a customer's experience. This move started to turn a static database into a client’s heart collector.
What is PXM?
The term PXM is an adoption of the broader term “customer experience management,” which covers all interactions between your business and customer. PXM is more specific and refers to interaction with the products. It predicts the process of managing and optimizing all aspects of a product’s presence and presentation across various channels. This includes product information, images, reviews, descriptions, and other content or assets related to a product. Its main goal is to ensure a consistent and compelling product experience for consumers across different touchpoints, such as eCommerce websites, mobile apps, marketplaces, or physical stores. What’s crucial here is that we shouldn’t talk about a PXM system but a PXM strategy that will help you monetize features you probably already have. It’s definitely not PIM 2.0.
PXM characteristics
A PXM strategy involves various aspects that contribute to creating a positive and consistent experience for consumers across different channels. The most important aspects of a PXM strategy are:
- A strong focus on data quality and accessibility, including relevant digital assets. Centralizing and managing accurate and comprehensive product information is fundamental to a PXM strategy. This includes details such as product descriptions, specifications, pricing, and availability.
- High-quality and engaging content, including images, videos, and product descriptions, plays a crucial role. Ensuring that content is not only visually appealing but also informative is essential to maintaining consumer interest and building trust.
- Content syndication (personalization). PXM Strategy aims to provide a unified experience across various channels, including eCommerce websites, mobile apps, social media, and brick-and-mortar stores. Consistent branding, messaging, and product information will help you build trust and recognition, but at the same time content needs to be adjusted to improve UX.
PXM strategies often involve tailoring product experiences based on geographic location, cultural differences, and individual preferences. Localization ensures that product information is relevant and resonates with the audience.
- A clear understanding and tracking of the direct relation between PXM operations and their influence on business results directly impacts conversion rate, search rank, engagement, sales, and retention. Relying on analytics for insights should be your bread and butter.
The benefits of PXM
A product experience management (PXM) strategy predicts several benefits for businesses looking to enhance their product presentation and improve customer experiences. Here are some key advantages:
Improved customer engagement
PXM helps create compelling and engaging product experiences by capturing the attention of customers and encouraging them to explore and interact with products.
Consistent branding across channels
PXM ensures a unified brand image and message across various channels, including eCommerce websites, mobile apps, social media, and physical stores.
Increased sales and conversion rates
By providing customers with rich and accurate product information along with an immersive experience, PXM can positively impact conversion rates and contribute to increased sales.
Enhanced customer loyalty
A positive and consistent product experience builds trust and loyalty among customers. PXM helps in creating long-term relationships by meeting customer expectations and delivering a seamless experience.
Optimized product information
PXM involves product information management (PIM) to ensure that product data is accurate, up to date, and easily accessible. This leads to reduced errors, improved data quality, and streamlined operations.
Personalization and localization
PXM allows businesses to tailor product experiences based on individual preferences and local market needs. Personalization enhances customer satisfaction, and localization ensures that product information is relevant to specific regions.
Efficient content creation
PXM streamlines the content creation process, making it easier to produce high-quality images, videos, and product descriptions. This efficiency is crucial for keeping product content fresh and engaging.
Data-driven decision-making
PXM involves the use of data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends. Businesses can make informed decisions and continuously optimize their product strategies based on real-time data.
Adaptability to market changes
PXM strategies are often agile and adaptable, allowing businesses to respond quickly to changes in the market, competition, or consumer expectations. This adaptability is crucial in dynamic business environments.
In short, by leveraging PXM, businesses can be on time with a client’s expectations and create a holistic and positive product experience.
How different is PXM from PIM?
PIM started to be a thing in the early 90s’ as a side effect of online sales and printed catalogs. Bearing this in mind, PIM solutions may differ a lot. Let’s focus on those solutions implemented recently, let’s say up to 7 years. What you received back then obviously wasn’t as complete as modern solutions but allowed for adjustments per channel and market. Those solutions were also combined with digital asset management (DAM) and analytics connected with various channels that could provide concluding data for improvements thanks to A/B testing.
So, here’s the question: is PXM about something completely new? Not necessarily. It’s just putting best practices into one basket and putting brand new label on it. However, we need this term to group activities that we knew but now consider a mandatory part of product management. An important point is that we do not talk about a class of system but, instead, a strategy and the conscious using of the advantages of modern technologies. If you need any guidance or, what might be even more interesting, a different view on what PXM means, feel free to reach out to me.
Published October 19, 2023
