{"id":4672,"date":"2019-08-15T14:33:38","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T14:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catsy.com\/blog\/?p=4672"},"modified":"2025-02-24T06:16:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T12:16:49","slug":"pim-d2c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catsy.com\/blog\/pim-d2c\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Ways a PIM Can Drive Revenue for a D2C Operation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You know selling online comes with unique challenges. What\u2019s more, selling Direct to Consumer (D2C) has its own specific set of difficulties. Are you sure you\u2019re set up to solve them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re struggling to present a robust, delightful customer experience, you should know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re not alone.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYour premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it\u2019s not going to get the business.\u201d<\/p>\nWarren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (source<\/a>)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The key to D2C success is delivering product content more compelling than on retailers\u2019 product pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means delivering authenticity.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

While you understand why this is important, it often feels impossible to know if your D2C site provides a truly authentic customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, let\u2019s not forget, product content isn\u2019t just product information like descriptions of features, detailed benefits, and specifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product content is everything you use to sell your products, including digital assets<\/a>, like images, videos, and CAD drawings. All this needs to be managed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the challenges of D2C operations don\u2019t stop there.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But you can rest easy, because there is a solution: Product Information Management (PIM<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMass advertising can help build brands, but authenticity is what makes them last. If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.\u201d<\/p>\nHoward Schultz, CEO of Starbucks (<\/em>source<\/a>)<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In this blog, we\u2019ll take a deep dive into the core challenges you\u2019re facing running your D2C operation. Understanding these challenges, and how PIM solves them, are the keys to increasing your D2C sales revenue and growing market share today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"pim-d2c-or-dtc\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

D2C or DTC?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of which abbreviation you use, D2C or DTC, they refer to the exact same thing: the direct to consumer advertising and sales model. Because you already know what those are, this blog isn\u2019t going to focus on explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, because clarity is key to comprehension, it\u2019s important to note why this blog uses D2C, not DTC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, DTC already means to many other things. Wikipedia\u2019s DTC disambiguation page lists 27 companies, industries, methodologies, and even people already referred to as “DTC” (source<\/a>). Second, D2C mirrors acronyms already in common use, such as B2B and B2C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These reasons would seem to be enough to reject DTC in favor of D2C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are D2C challenges?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Think about why you decided to create a D2C webstore in the first place. What does the D2C model afford you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D2C allows you to control every aspect of your brand message<\/a>.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These days, sales success<\/a> is nearly synonymous with the word \u201cniche.\u201d Leveraging your niche allows you to speak as an authority to a very specific kind of customer. This empowers your site with authenticity that drives conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, because you want to laser-focus your product content on a particular kind of customer, the D2C model allows you to do this. But there are challenges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"d2c-own-content-creation\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Challenge #1: You own content creation.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With a D2C site, you\u2019re now responsible for making sure your product pages<\/a> are maintained as well or better than your retailer pages. You need to bring together detailed information about your products with presentation based on detailed information about your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With regard to D2C product information, your users create content and move it into the eCommerce site you\u2019re using. This means manually assigning attributes to each product and populating them with the corresponding pieces of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can you ensure completeness and quality?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Optimized product pages<\/a> have to be 100% up-to-date with the latest information and images to convert customers. One way PIM approaches this problem is by automatically assigning each product a completeness score. Your PIM, once configured to include all products and their attributes, will display a score for each product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way, you can always focus effort where it\u2019s needed most.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Running a D2C site makes it possible for you to provide your visitors with a tailored and unique experience. An experience that is different than anything they will receive from a retailer site selling a wide variety of different brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product information management solution<\/a> makes it possible to manage as much robust content as you’d like and syndicate it all to your site. Telling your product and brand story with whatever content you’d like is the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use this freedom to your advantage to make your D2C site’s product pages as robust and compelling as possible.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\"manage-update-content-pim\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Challenge #2: You manage and update content.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Success in D2C means constant focus on continuous improvement. eCommerce platforms are designed specifically to display product information and digital assets to create aesthetically pleasing product pages. This also means these platforms aren’t created to manage and update product content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding attributes, features, benefits, descriptions, images, videos, and anything else necessary to improve content is very nearly impossible. But with PIM, you simply update and push out new information wherever it\u2019s missing or otherwise necessary for improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, ask yourself: how many products do we sell?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you were selling one product, managing and updating it would be simple. But you many not even know how many products you sell, so managing content means bulk-updating. Again, eCommerce platforms aren\u2019t built to handle this specific task, but PIM is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PIM connects products to their attributes at implementation. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This means you start from a robust digital foundation you use time and again when updating product information. Instead of updating one product attribute at a time, you simply make the desired change, and push it out everywhere at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"d2c-buy-direct\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Challenge #3: Your customers need a reason to buy directly from you.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Amazon, easily the largest online retailer in the world, held 43.5% of the U.S. online retail market in 2017 (source<\/a>). It\u2019s also 2.5 times bigger than its next competitor, JD.com (source<\/a>), and 4.5 times bigger than its closest US competitor, eBay (source<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why shouldn\u2019t your customers buy your products from Amazon?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The answer is obvious: Amazon\u2019s success means they sell just about everything. But if all I want is a drink of water, why use a firehose? You can fine-tune and customize your D2C site in all the ways you never could with an Amazon product page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon\u2019s sheer size means delivering an authentic, tailored customer experience through their website is virtually impossible. Amazon\u2019s product pages are standardized, so the only way you can make your products stand out is with the content you give them. Ultimately, Amazon sees sales as sales, be they of your products or your competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, people who buy products from Amazon are less likely to focus on the fact they\u2019re buying your<\/em> products. The branding and presentation of Amazon\u2019s pages mean customers focus instead on buying from<\/em> Amazon. In the short run, this might not make a difference. But building customer loyalty should be the goal of everyone selling online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A PIM driven D2C site boosts brand identity.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is turn increases conversions, revenue, and the kind of long term customer loyalty that\u2019s the dream of every business owner selling online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PIM allows you full control over your product information and digital assets, so product pages can be optimized to deliver the maximum amount of value to your customers. PIM does this all while conforming precisely to your brand message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"d2c-unique\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Challenge #4: Where does your D2C site sit among all your sales channels?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another undeniable advantage to running a D2C site is simply having one more place to showcase your products. There are somewhere between 12 and 24 million eCommerce sites online today. Of those, approximately 650,000 generate over $1,000 a year in revenue (source<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Read everything you need to know about leveraging a PIM to drive revenue for your multi-storefront operation in the blog featured below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Multi-Storefront Operations: 18 Ways PIM Drives Revenue<\/a><\/blockquote>