Top Strategies for Managing Product Data Across Multiple Platforms

Data is your most valuable asset, especially in omnichannel retail. Consumers expect consistent product experiences at every touchpoint on every platform where your products are listed. Manual data management becomes impossible when you’ve got thousands of products across dozens of platforms, but it’s still essential to the shopper or your bottom line. 

Product data quality is foundational to your sales, which means managing that information must be a central part of your product content plan. Read on to discover the top strategies for managing product data across multiple platforms and how you can do that easily and effectively starting today. 

1. Consolidate Data to One Location 

When sending data out to countless partners and platforms, you need a method to ensure consistency and accuracy. Centralizing data in a single source of truth allows for a seamless, instant exchange of your product information. 

The one-to-many model of product syndication makes data management simple, fast and accurate. Consolidating the following data points into one location allows you to update everything simultaneously, so no listing is ever left behind: 

• Product identification number 
• Product name 
• Category 
• Feature bullets 
• Product specifications
• Imagery 
• Other descriptors found on the product detail page 

Syndicated changes are universal and instant across all channels, which allows you to build trust and loyalty among shoppers to increase engagement, sales and revenue. 

2. Standardize Formats for Consistency 

Managing your product data includes standardizing it into a universal format. Data standardization ensures complete consistency, even as you draw product information from various databases. This consistency is crucial for brands, retail partners and consumers navigating an omnichannel market. Shoppers explore multiple channels on the buyer’s journey. Brands must deliver seamless content experiences at each touchpoint.

Data standardization makes that possible, as it 

• Maintains information sanity by helping prioritize useful content 
• Streamlines the flow of information by automating tasks 
• Enhances data performance by understanding which content is valuable and which needs to be cut 
• Guides consumer decision-making by providing shoppers with the data they care about
• Increases customer acquisition rates by giving you a competitive advantage on a growing digital shelf 

GS1® standards are the most widely used system of standards worldwide. Formatting your product information to meet these guidelines allows you to deliver consistent product experiences to consumers, facilitating positive shopping experiences that tell the story of your brand and products. 

Standardized data is 

• Better organized
• Easy to consume
• Easily readable thanks to consistent formatting 
• Able to preemptively answer user questions 

Formatting product content to meet global standards optimizes data management and enhances the customer experience every step of the way. 

3. Validate against Retailer Requirements 

Data creation, orchestration and distribution can be a monumental task for any organization. But management doesn’t stop there. Collaborating with retail partners, each with varying content requirements, calls for validating every data point. 

Data validation reviews product data to facilitate accurate, speedy information processing. It ensures that the data is clean and usable for trading partners while providing value to consumers. If data isn’t validated, organizations see significant delays in time to market and sales. When combined with data standardization, data validation helps you deliver product data that increases your sales –– and revenue. 

As data management is an ongoing and evolving task, so is data validation. Retailer requirements constantly change. Automatic attribute validation ensures your products are always up-to-date with evolving requirements and new regulations. 

By implementing a platform with in-depth knowledge of trading partner requirements, you prevent data errors and streamline your operations –– and those of your retail partners. Product data validation is essential for a positive relationship with retail partners and a positive consumer experience.

4. Safeguard Your Product Data 

Data security is at the forefront of retail for manufacturers, retailers and consumers. Keeping data safe, secure and confidential is at the core of product data management. Safeguarding your product data is critical to preventing operational downtime, loss of trust, legal battles and revenue loss. 

1WorldSync is one of the only platforms and data pools to be ISO certified – the highest standard for information security; it sets the bar for quality management systems worldwide. 1WorldSync guarantees rigorous data security protocols are woven into our product data management tools, eliminating the worry, stress and time wasted on potential data breaches. 

5. Run Consistent Data Analytics  

Data managers are tasked with the never-ending job of evaluating product data performance. You’ve got content for each of your products. Is that content achieving goals or falling short? 

Running consistent data analytics surfaces valuable insights that guide product data management, including identifying content gaps and finding opportunities to enhance existing content.  Product data drives sales in both e-commerce and omnichannel retail. Optimizing this data is key to seeing growth. Data analysis outlines the path forward to driving engagement, customer trust and sales.  

1WorldSync’s e-commerce analytics thoroughly evaluate your product data performance so you can focus on what matters most. 

Our tools…

• Reveal comprehensive insights of complete item listings across every store
• Measure search performance week to week against online price changes, page positioning and more
• Inform keyword strategies of organic and sponsored search 
• Uncover competitive context through dashboards and shareable reports, such as weight share of search

6. Implement a Data Quality Management Plan 

Knowing what you need to do to effectively manage product data is one thing, but actually executing those tasks is another entirely. Creating and implementing a data quality management plan through a Product Information Management (PIM) system positions your company to compete –– and win the digital shelf. 

1WorldSync’s PIM system allows you to quickly set up and seamlessly integrate and manage all product data across every channel. It acts as your centralized hub for data and management tools to aggregate, validate and communicate your content across platforms. Quickly set up and manage all your current and new e-commerce and supply chain product content with a PIM solution built to anticipate and meet your needs, including

• Streamlined data entry 
• Real-time data tracking 
• Scalability 
• Standardization 

Product Data Your Customers and Partners Can Count On

Speed, reliability, accuracy and consistency are key in today’s business world. You need the right tools that help you effectively manage product data across multiple platforms so you can spend less time on product data and more time where your energies and talents are needed most. 

1WorldSync simplifies the management and distribution of your product content across all channels where you sell. Whether you’re an international organization or a start-up, content is foundational to your success. Our platforms streamline workflows by consolidating and validating data, unifying that data across channels, and giving you access to the world’s largest data pool of trading partners. 

We live and breathe product data management, so you don’t have to. Contact our team today to see how we can improve your product information management experience.