What Is PIM and How Does It Improve the Food and Beverage Industry?
The food and beverage industry is divided into two major segments. One of those is production and the other is the distribution of edible goods. Marketing software plays a big role in digital marketing strategy as well as the management for online retailers and in-person shopping locations. Providers like Amazon continue to disrupt the food and beverage industry.
Understanding data, omnichannel distribution and personalization is a top priority. To keep everything in order – enter PIM. What is PIM? PIM stands for Product Information Management System. PIM is proving to be useful in both the online and offline world. Join us through the rest of this article as we explain what PIM is, what it does and how it can improve the food and beverage industry.
What Is PIM and What Does It Do?
Product Information Management Systems not only store your product information, but they also allow you to manage it. A PIM is where all your data is located. Instead of fragmenting all over in different places, all data goes here. Having a PIM will also increase the quality of your data since they encourage data audits before passing it on to other channels. Since a PIM stores information from different channels, it can collect many different types of data. Some of the data you will find in a PIM is:
- Product data such as the product name and description
- Product attributes like the cost, pricing, and SKU
- Product specifics like warranty, packaging or dimensions
- Product copy
- Supplier information
With the amount of data stored in a PIM, you could get lost in analysis for years. Thankfully, since these systems are smart, you don’t have to get lost in the data for years. You can allow it to push the information out to the necessary channels. The system will transfer data out to sales channels like the POS registers or CMS.
Having a single place to access information allows everyone in the company to see the same thing. Instead of information silos and miscommunication or lack of communication between departments, everyone can see the information in real-time. Since there isn’t any need for more than one data source, the data consistency and quality continues to improve. Easy management and more eyes on the information allows viewers to spot inaccurate data.
Who Needs to Use PIM?
Not all businesses work the same way or need the same tools. If you are a small business with very little inventory, you may not need to invest in this technology. On the other hand, if you are a large retailer with many SKUs and multiple streams of data you might be a prime candidate. Here are some other common things businesses that need PIM share:
- A lot of SKUs to track
- Frequent SKU transition
- Confusing fulfillment options
- More than one channel that communicates product information
- Manual data processes
- Hard to manage existing data management system
If you don’t share these attributes, that doesn’t mean you are out of the running to use a PIM. We are only sharing what many companies that value these services often have in common. If you feel the need to use a PIM when you don’t have a lot of SKUs, you may want to get used to the system before you add more products.
Using Customer Data to Increase Sales & Profits
Your company collects all that data for a reason. There are plenty of applications for the data you have gathered. Here are some of the ways you can increase sales and profits with the data in your PIM.
1) Market to the Right Audience
Gathering data about your products, customers, and how your customers use or respond to your products has many benefits. One of the benefits of gathering and using the information is the ability to market to the right audience.
When you market to the right audience by pinpointing your ideal client, you are able to decrease CAC, or customer acquisition cost. The less it costs you to bring on a new customer, the more profits you can count on.
2) Personalize Customer Experience
Personalizing has advanced well beyond getting a monogrammed shirt for a loved one for Christmas. Now your company can personalize the customer experience by using big data. Whether you customize the experience by using their name in promotional emails or send targeted coupons like Kroger, a personal touch goes a long way. The more you customize the customer experience, the more attention they will pay to your promotions. Whether you are advertising to customers online through social media ads or if you are sending out a direct mail campaign, use your data.
The days of only having the option of sending out blanket promotions to a whole zip code are in the past. Get to know your customers and use the data you have to cross-sell, up-sell and build a relationship with them.
3) Build Customer Loyalty
The cost of keeping a customer is always less than the cost of acquiring a customer. Using information to help your customers keep doing business with you through loyalty programs and thank you gestures is another way you can leverage the data you have.
The more creative you can get with promotions and customization, the more loyalty you can build into your brand. Customers love brands that make them feel valued and heard. Use the information you have to become the brand with raving fans through focusing on customer loyalty efforts.
Provide Consumers With the Information They Need to Make Decisions
Now you have your answer to, “What is PIM?” Failing to have proper information for your internal team or for customers can cause big problems. A PIM can solve your problems and put you out in front of the competition. Absent or incomplete information can be a thing of the past with a good PIM. If you are ready to provide customers with the information they need at the speed of light, contact us today to see how it works.