What is Product Content Management (PCM)?

Here's a scary stat: 63% of shoppers will abandon a purchase if they can't find enough detailed product information.

Yikes! That shows how crucial robust product content is for converting online shoppers.

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However, managing a mountain of product info and assets for hundreds or thousands of SKUs is no small feat. Just thinking about it is a sweat-inducing task!

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Luckily, for e-commerce saviors, there is a solution to tame the product content beast - PCM or product content management.

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In this mega guide, we’ll explore everything e-commerce brands need to know to master product content with PCM, including:

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• What is PCM?
• Benefits of PCM
• PCM features
• Using PCM and DAM together
• PCM vs MDM
• Best practices for implementing PCM

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Let’s dive in!

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What is Product Content Management (PCM)?

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Product content management (PCM) is a system that centrally manages all product-related content in one place. This includes:

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• Product information - Title, description, attributes like size/color, classifications, etc.

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• Product media - Photos, 3D images, videos, manuals, spec sheets, etc.

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• Marketing content - Ad creative, emails, landing pages, comparison charts, guides, etc.

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A PCM system acts as a centralised content hub that structures and organises this content to optimize findability. It also facilitates content distribution to channels like your website, ads, marketplace listings, etc.

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The overarching goal of PCM is to help ecommerce brands tell a consistent, compelling product story across channels. This maximizes sales opportunities.

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Key Benefits of PCM

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Adopting product content management delivers several key benefits:

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1. Improved Content Quality

A PCM system lets you create, approve, and publish content more efficiently. Structured workflows ensure content is accurate, on-brand, and engaging across products.

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2. Consistent Omnichannel Experiences

Sync product info and assets across channels to ensure customers get a consistent experience on your site, ads, marketplaces, etc.

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3. Faster Time to Market

Collaborate on and approve content faster to speed up time to market for new products and campaigns.

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4. Enhanced Search and Discovery

Intelligent tagging, metadata management, and content organisation improve the findability of assets.

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5. Increased Team Productivity

Streamline content creation and approvals to boost the productivity of content teams, subject matter experts, and reviewers.

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6. Lower Costs

Reduce overhead of content operations by eliminating duplicated efforts and manual processes.

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7. Better Compliance

Ensure product info meets regulations and requirements for different channels and markets.

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Clearly, PCM is invaluable for managing product content efficiently at scale. But what features should you look for in a solution?

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Key PCM Features

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When evaluating PCM systems, look for these essential capabilities:

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• Centralised asset library - Store all product images, videos, 3D models, documents, etc, in one searchable location.

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• Metadata management - Assign detailed tags, captions, and alt text to assets to optimize discoverability.

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• Workflow automation - Route content through review, approval, and publishing workflows.

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• Collaboration tools - Enable teams to provide feedback and annotate assets.

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• Multi-channel publishing - Syndicate assets and product info to all sales and marketing channels.

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• Product information management - Centralize product data like titles, descriptions, specs, attributes, etc.

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• Content templates - Create reusable templates for product detail pages, ads, emails, etc.

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• Digital asset management integration - Tie into your existing DAM for a unified content system.

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• Analytics - Track asset usage and performance to optimize content.

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• Integrations - Connect to e-commerce platform, ERP, marketplace accounts, etc.

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• Permissions - Manage access and editing rights based on user roles.

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• API - Allow developer customization and extensions.

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Prioritize an enterprise-grade PCM platform that scales with your business needs.

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Using PCM and DAM Together

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Many e-commerce brands combine product content management (PCM) and digital asset management (DAM) systems. 

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Though the two have overlap, they serve different primary purposes:

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• PCM focuses on product-specific content like info, media, and marketing assets. It manages the product information lifecycle.

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• DAM manages all digital media in one place. It’s not product-specific. DAM handles global branding assets, photos, videos, presentations etc.

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PCM and DAM provide an end-to-end content ecosystem that covers both product and global creative assets. Look for integration capabilities when choosing your platforms.

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PCM vs MDM: What’s the Difference?

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PCM and master data management (MDM) are sometimes confused. But they are pretty different:

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• PCM manages product content - info, images, videos, marketing copy, etc.

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• MDM manages logistical and operational product data like pricing, inventory, ship dates, etc.

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While there is some overlap with basic product attributes, MDM is focused on managing supply chain data. PCM handles the creative side.

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MDM and PCM work hand-in-hand to provide a full view of products. Integrating the two systems creates a powerful centralized source of product truth.

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Best Practices for Implementing PCM

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Follow these best practices when rolling out a new PCM initiative:

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• Clean up legacy content - Audit and prune outdated/redundant assets and info before migrating to PCM.

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• Define content structure - Map out content types, taxonomies, metadata standards, and workflows.

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• Create contributor guidelines - Document standards for titles, descriptions, tagging, imagery, video, etc.

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• Train content creators - Educate teams on properly managing assets and data within the PCM.

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• Integrate with key systems - Connect PCM with e-commerce platform, DAM, ERP, and sales channels.

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• Iterate content templates - Continuously test and optimize templates for product pages, emails, ads, etc.

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• Analyze performance - Use PCM analytics to identify high-performing content to replicate across products.

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With a structured approach, PCM transforms how brands manage product content for maximum impact.

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Take Your E-commerce Content to the Next Level

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A robust product content management strategy is critical for e-commerce success in today’s omnichannel landscape. By centralizing and optimizing product content across channels, brands can accelerate sales and provide seamless customer experiences. To learn more about powering e-commerce content, check out SHOPLINE’s e-commerce blog

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