How to Select Your PIM Software
Every business today needs to use some kind of software to grow. Every brand needs software solutions to maximize potential in the face of challenges never imagined before. Brands operate now within an ecosystem of software, much like their own contained metaverse in the context of their business. Employees and other stakeholders collaborate through the veil of technology and one software flows into the next.
Software is also how brands today streamline processes, reduce risk, and create new opportunities. That sounds pretty good, right?
Knowing what kind of software is best for each process, however, has grown exponentially more complex as new SaaS offerings pop up every day. It seems like everywhere a brand looks there's some subscription-based software that solves some problem they have.
Naturally, a busy business person will take pause if a nerve is struck. When a solution speaks to a problem that person has, the solution garners attention.
That doesn't mean that every software solution is worth the investment, though. Most solutions today have at least some overlap with other solutions the brand already has. Other solutions might sound great, but they aren’t as good as another provider’s spin on the same class of software.
Manufacturers have a particularly hard time identifying the right software when it comes to product data management. The options are many, and the acronyms thrown at brands quickly push you to exhaustion. Does your brand need an MDM? Or a PIM? Or a PLM? What about a DAM, or any of the other product-related databases?
Brand manufacturers have increasingly seen the next-gen PIM as the best solution. That PIM (product information management) software whirs away at the center of software ecosystems to pool, organize and optimize product imagery (i.e., videos and pictures) along with text-based product attributes.
Sounds great, but there are still multiple PIMs on the market to choose from. Here’s how you can make choosing your PIM software easy for your brand.
Step 1: Establish a decision-making matrix
Lots of people have a natural stake in choosing your PIM software. The right PIM solution has the potential to streamline coordinated efforts between multiple departments, including: marketing, product development, customer service, sales, and even leadership.
Not all those people will have the same weight in the decision-making process, but all of them should have the opportunity to share their thoughts. They should talk about their process requirements. They should share their preferences. They should provide feedback on any solutions you’re considering.
There also needs to be a smaller group of stakeholders identified who will make the final decision. It’s when you start to tier stakeholders out this way that you create a “decision-making matrix.”
People to ensure are included in your decision-making matrix when choosing your PIM software are:
- Employees who have anything to do with product data
- Customer service employees who reference product data for clients
- Your management team
- Your company leadership
- Your CIO or IT lead (or IT partner, if a third-party vendor)
Step 2: Look at current processes and the state of your data
Once you've identified your decision-makers and out how to leverage feedback from all your stakeholders, it's time to take a hard look at your existing product data and processes.
Your current setup clearly isn't the "way it should be done," otherwise you wouldn't have been attracted to a next-gen PIM. Remembering this helps frame the conversation so you can be better prepared to toss current processes altogether and build new ones that meet your business needs.
For example, a brand that's grown from working with three sellers to a dozen won't be able to manage product data in spreadsheets anymore. That brand has to scrap the idea of spreadsheets altogether and invent new standards of product data quality in order to work effectively with more sellers and ensure their product data doesn’t dissolve into a mess of inaccuracies.
The current state of your product data is another factor to consider when choosing your PIM software. For instance, if your data is spread across multiple spreadsheets in several departments with varied taxonomies of how product attributes are broken down, that's a huge selling point for some PIMs over others. You need a PIM where attribute mapping is easy and helps guide you through exact matches, possible matches, and new attributes to easily merge your data sources together.
This stage of looking at your current setup also requires establishing how much you can spend on a PIM solution. That number might change, however, after you calculate the ROI on specific PIMs you're looking at.
Step 3: Get the right advice from the right places
Seeking expert advice—or at least outside advice from peers—before choosing our PIM software is critical. There is so much going on in the business software industry that there are going to be things you haven't thought of. A specialist or peer might have lived some of those things first-hand, and you can learn from their experience.
Start by leveraging all your in-house IT expertise. The CIO or IT Lead should be at the center of conversations involving product data and choosing your PIM software. These professionals will understand the bigger ecosystem of software your company uses and be able to advise on how the correct PIM will fit in.
It's also the IT department that will know what tool integrations are possible. There are some PIMs that might not work at all if, for example, they can't load and merge product data in the formats your brand currently stores it.
Other experts who can provide indispensable insights include process consultants or even representatives from the PIM providers you’re considering. Yes, each sales professional will have a vested interest in the PIM solution his or her company offers. Work with your IT department to identify the tough questions you can ask every PIM provider, and the answers you get will make it clear to you and to the PIM providers whether your brand and their solution are really a good fit.
Step 4: Outline the implementation process
This final step is the forgotten one. This step is most often missed when the CIO or IT Lead isn't included early enough in the conversations around choosing your PIM software.
Whatever PIM you're in the final stages of vetting, ask:
- What will the implementation of that solution look like?
- How far will your existing product data get you in the new solution?
- Or will your existing data hurt you because of how it’s formatted or how the PIM works?
- What does support from the provider look like?
- And which PIM will get the fastest buy-in from users and be easiest to onboard?
Ensuring the whole team will be able to use the solution to its greater potential is the only way to get the full ROI. Training has to be part of the picture, but the better the solution, the less training should be required. The PIM you choose should be the fastest to implement and it should be the easiest to use. That's why we've built the next-gen PIM the way we did: it's been called "the PIM people actually want to use" for a reason.
When the going gets tough in implementing your new PIM, you need the peace of mind that your PIM provider has a team who can support you. At least, that's what we believe at Amber Engine. That's why we do what we do - we work hand-in-hand with each client.
These four steps are straightforward. Choosing your PIM software requires:
- Clarity on which stakeholders are weighing in
- A hard look at your current processes
- Advice from the right people
- And a plan for PIM implementation
You’re choosing your PIM software because you want control over product data, right? You want to manage it efficiently for multiple sellers or channels. You want to ensure its accuracy. You want to optimize it for every outlet to gain more sales.
If it’s control of product data you’re after, take these four steps to exercise maximum control over your outcome. Your choice of PIM will take you as far as you’re willing to go.
Keep reading to learn 5 ways to get the maximum value from your PIM software.