Product Cloud technology is now the baseline for building and shaping product experiences through the centralisation of product data to ensure its accuracy, consistency and accessibility across all channels, a giant leap forward from its former incarnation, Product Information Management or PIM. Data in the Product Cloud includes baseline information — technical specifications, product descriptions, images and videos; but in addition, crucially, active or ‘hot’ data such as user-generated content (UGC), stock levels, prices and reviews. In a well-organised Product Cloud, brands can ensure that their product data is not only optimised for search engines, making their products more discoverable, but also deliver a seamless experience for consumers across all markets.
Product Cloud therefore provides the building blocks for Product Experience (PX); while customers may interact with brands in many different ways, the moment of truth is the product. As consumers browse the website, read product descriptions or experience the product post-purchase, the quality of PX essentially defines the customer’s perception of the brand. And while customer experience (CX) has long been the focus for retailers and brands that put shoppers at the heart of their businesses, the role of PX is increasingly becoming a key part of that.
This is because the entire customer experience can be negatively impacted by a poor product experience. Issues such as unclear, inaccurate, conflicting, or outright missing product information, descriptions, and specifications can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction that leads to cart abandonment, returns, and lost loyalty.
For brands, especially those expanding into new markets or extending product lines, the relationship between CX and PX is critical. A brand’s ability to internationalise and succeed in new territories hinges not just on offering excellent service, but also on how well they present and manage their product information across multiple channels and regions. Central to this is Product Cloud, which plays a pivotal role in enhancing product searchability, ensuring optimised language use, and helping to optimise SEO.
The product is the experience
According to industry experts, such as Forrester who created a Customer Experience (CX) Index methodology, the way a brand presents its products plays a significant role in shaping overall customer experience. The report emphasises that the most impactful drivers of a brand’s CX Index score are often related to its products — what the brand offers and how well its online descriptions match the actual product experience. Misleading or incomplete information can create a chasm between what the customer expects and what they receive, resulting in dissatisfaction and lost trust.
In a post-pandemic world where consumers are more mindful of their spending habits, thanks in part to global inflationary pressures, brands need to be more thoughtful than ever in their PX strategies. Customers are becoming increasingly discerning, not just in terms of product quality but also in the ease with which they can access accurate information about products. Brands must therefore ensure that their product information is not just accurate but also emotionally engaging.
Searchability is also a vital part of the PX. When customers are looking for products, they rely on filters, keywords, and search terms, as well as specific descriptions to find what they need. Brands will often mistakenly embed critical information in descriptions without providing proper filtering options, making it difficult for consumers to find and compare products to make informed buying decisions. By using Product Cloud tools to optimise language use and incorporate relevant keywords, brands can significantly improve searchability, not just on their own platforms but also on the all-important search engines and marketplaces.
Furthermore, as brands expand into new markets, they face the challenge of ensuring that their product information is accessible and relevant to consumers in different regions. Product Cloud solutions support this by enabling easy localisation of product information. With optimised language use and SEO strategies tailored to different markets, Product Cloud can help brands maintain consistency while adapting to local preferences and regulations.
Nothing artificial about the benefits of AI
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, its integration into Product Cloud solutions is revolutionising the way brands and marketers manage and enhance product information. AI can assist in several areas of product data management, from collection and cleansing to enrichment and translation, ensuring that product data is accurate, complete, and reliable for customer engagement.
Key areas enabled by AI are:
- Product data collection and cleansing to automate processes, reduce errors, and ensure that product data is accurate and complete, ultimately resulting in a reduced time-to-market.
- Product information enrichment to generate enhanced product descriptions and add tone to content so it appeals to consumers emotionally and accurately reflects the brand’s personality and point of view.
- Content translation for brands that are internationalising, and localisation that goes beyond just language translation to include cultural nuances, preferences, and local regulations.
- Cleansing and normalising supplier product and pricing data, simplifying the onboarding process for both parties and speeding up time-to-market.
Companies leveraging AI to improve their product experience include sporting goods retailer Intersport, which reduced its product data processing time by 50%, demonstrating the power of AI in improving product information management. Similarly, fashion brand Karl Lagerfeld is now leveraging generative AI (GenAI) functions to support content creation, enhance its SEO performance, and transcribe languages for product description pages across international markets.
In short, product experience is critical to the customer experience. To enable this, brands must invest in both technology and creativity to ensure that their product information is optimised, compelling, and relevant across all markets and channels. Using Product Cloud systems and AI-powered tools, retailers can elevate their product experience, build stronger customer relationships, and successfully expand into new markets. The future of CX is inextricably linked to PX, and brands that understand this will be the ones that thrive.
Featured image: Ivan Samkov / Pexels