Product Experience Management Software

Product experience refers to how a customer interacts with a product and what they take from the exchange. It encompasses the entire journey, from the moment they first become aware of a product to potential long-term loyalty. Whether it's a physical inspection of its dimensions or an online video showing the customer its applications, companies have seen time and time again how a better product experience can lead to dramatic shifts in revenue.

If you want to improve a customer's product experience, it starts with consolidating information, verifying accuracy, and giving people the means to update data and digital assets as needed. Increasingly, this means investing in a Product Experience Management (PXM) platform that can help you manage it all.

The Role of the Product Experience

The product experience is the key to leaving the customer with a better impression of both the product and the company that stands behind it. When a customer is first evaluating a product, they're likely to have a lot of questions about whether it will meet their needs and how much work it will be on their end to reach the payoff. If all they can find are generic promises or scant, irrelevant details about the product, it will be easy for them to move on to a competitor.

Brands need a product experience strategy that identifies all potential ways a customer can interact with the product and what content will be most useful during each interaction. For instance, a customer who's looking at a product in the store won't need a product catalog unless they can't find a particular unit. They want to see how the product can be used and what value they can derive from it.

What Does a Product Experience Manager Do? 

This role was created to oversee the product experience strategy, so the company can deliver a seamless and intuitive customer experience. Better product experiences don't always lead to repurchases or expansion orders, but they do improve the odds of it. They can also boost the reputation of a brand in the minds of customers and prospective customers so a company can build momentum from every interaction. Product experience examples can include anything from watching a video about a product to reading its user manual.

The product experience needs to define the ultimate goal of any customer interaction, whether that's to inspire them to learn more about the product, to purchase the product, or to buy it again. Thorough product experiences drive acquisition, adoption, conversion, retention, and profits. Unfortunately, manufacturers can inadvertently ignore these fundamental details, even though customers and employees alike rely on the product experience for many of their biggest decisions.

What Is Product Experience Management?

Product experience management (PXM) refers to how a company delivers the product experience. The content needs to be accurate, but it also needs to be compelling enough to keep a customer invested. Instead of simply providing a few specs, PXM needs to consider how the customer is accessing the content and what they're looking for.

If a brand wants to deliver a more memorable experience, it means positioning the product experience as an extension of the customer experience. If the customer can only access irrelevant product details when they're trying to narrow down their selection, they may not think twice about abandoning either their digital or physical cart. If manufacturing brands are relying on product experiences to drive revenue, there needs to be an emphasis on how the customer perceives the product.

The Benefits of Product Management

Successful product management translates to a slew of benefits for manufacturers. New software solutions in the industry give companies the tools they need to organize content and deliver it according to the customer's expectations.

Faster Time-to-Market

No matter what type of technology you're using, whether it's spreadsheets or a database, chances are there are hurdles every time you add new product information. If you want to get your products on the market faster, low-code or no-code software can help you manage the product information. This means that your IT department doesn't have to get involved, and the rest of the staff doesn't have to invest time in setting up new systems.

Brand Consistency

Brand-approved digital assets can include photos, videos, or user manuals of a product. This content is often more valuable than the standard product information because it adds context as to how the product works, who uses it, and what they can reasonably expect from it. If you're looking for software that can store it all, it's important to find a software manufacturer that has enough functionality, and this is especially true for manufacturers with thousands of SKUs.

Accurate Product Information

When product information can change at any time, it's important to have a central place where all data can be updated. If you're used to seeing adjustments made in one digital location and not others, this can be damaging to your brand on multiple levels. If there's been a change made to a product, a customer should be able to see that change in real time, so they are always confident in the product information they access.

Better Customer Experience

Customers today are being conditioned to expect a more personalized experience every time they interact with a company. They don't want minute details of products they're unfamiliar with, nor do they want general facts for products they're deeply invested in purchasing.

Customers want the company to anticipate where they are in the buyer journey based on context clues. PXM is a proven way to reach people on their level so they can get enough information to take the next step. Whether that means visiting a store or buying then and there, the right software can be configured in a way that ensures their continued interest.

Data-Driven Digital Experiences

When a customer is on your website, they may be doing several things. Maybe they're poking around for a purchase they plan to make ten months from now, or they're looking on behalf of another person. Or maybe they need to make a purchase right then and there. Whatever it is that they're doing, you can use real-time product information to show off your products in a way that grabs (and holds) their attention. In a product experience manager job description, compelling content is non-negotiable.

Increased Sales

PXM is designed to help businesses think more like customers so they can deliver a more streamlined experience. Better product experiences translate to happier customers and better word of mouth. You can drive conversion by recommending more relevant products and promoting related parts/accessories that would complement the customer's purchases.

Empower Collaboration

Customer service, sales, marketing, accounting, IT, R&D, engineering, quality management, and operations management all need product information to do their jobs efficiently. If everyone has a different digital experience, there's going to be a lot of miscommunication within a company. The right software can help bring people together by putting them on the same page, and it can protect productivity from endless back and forth. Software like Lumavate will be able to automatically update all content changes across department domains.

What Is a Product Experience Team?

A product experience team can be defined differently at different companies. It can be a standalone team, or it can be people across different roles who have taken ownership of the product experience. It's their job to develop the process, implement it, and then track its performance.

What is the role of a product experience manager? This person leads the team and sets standards for the product experience based on the company's objectives. The manager will typically delegate tasks based on priorities, which is an especially important job if the team views their experience duties as secondary in the company. The team will usually measure an overall positive product experience based on the following metrics:

• Customer Acquisition: The best product experience management software will facilitate better relationships between a brand and its customers, encouraging existing customers to expand their horizons and attracting new buyers to the table. This metric measures how many new customers could be reasonably attributed to a better product experience.

• Product Adoption: The product experience team is ultimately tracking the adoption of a product. Whether it's accessories or an additional unit, product experience management gives the customer the full story so they know what they're getting and what they'll do with the product.

• Customer Satisfaction Scores: Customer satisfaction scores are often an accurate reflection of how people feel about the items they purchase. If they're constantly reporting inaccurate information or misleading claims, this is a sign that the product experience team has to step in to help manage the customer's journey.

• Product Feedback: If a customer doesn't have to scour the web for product information, their comments about the product are likely to be more positive. Whether the product has any kind of sentimental attachment to the customer or not, the goal is to create positive feelings about the product so they're likely to return.

• Product Repurchase: A repurchased product has proven its worth to the customer. For products that continuously need replacing, a customer experience team will trace how customers interact with their favorite products over time. Once the customer knows they can put their full trust in the organization, they can put their full trust in the product.

• Expansion: Customers who purchase one thing from a collection of products often miss out on complementary items that would make their purchase even more worthwhile. A customer experience team ensures that the customer can see options that are relevant to them based on their needs. Rather than overwhelming them with endless SKUs, they can use software to make careful selections for the individual.

• Retention: Loyal customers are the bread and butter of the customer experience team. More than just a few rebuys, product experience management is meant to help people understand the brand a little better.

Regardless of how the team is structured, there will need to be cross-functional efforts to ensure that an exceptional product experience can be implemented. What is product experience in marketing? It's ultimately different from those in other departments, but the principles remain the same.

A product experience team is not a luxury for most companies but a necessity for survival. These metrics are directly tied to the success of the organization, and because product purchases are so deeply digital these days, this is the group that often owns the PXM software for the business. It's their responsibility to ensure that the software is meeting the needs of the company and its customers alike.

What Is PXM Software?

A PXM platform is a third-party solution that can include Production Information Management (PIM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM) functionality, though not every provider offers the same functionality. With PIM, you can manage your product data in one area, while DAM allows you to add any digital assets alongside the standard product data. What is the difference between PXM and PIM? PIM refers to how companies manage general information about a product while PXM reveals all data about a customer's interactions with a product.

Each software company has its strategy when it comes to building a platform. For instance, a PXM solution from Lumavate includes a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) where you can create digital experiences without having to code them all. So, if you're making a product catalog, the software can automatically pull relevant information from both PIM and DAM.

When most product-related experiences are digital, they need to be tailored to the needs of the prospective buyer if companies want to improve their ROI. A customer experience team will be able to work with marketing and sales to bring in as many relevant details as possible without overwhelming the customer.

Use Cases for Product Experience Management Software

What is product experience software used for? Product management software can help you build websites, catalogs, sales resources, brand portals, product sheets, events, campaigns, and channel partners. Technology makes it easier to refine these company assets, delivering value when there are real stakes on the line.

If your website currently groups products, you can separate them by specs. If your brand portals are incomplete at best and confusing at worst, the software can fill in and further refine the information. If your channel partners have to ask staff to clarify how to use a product or whether it can be adapted for a specific application, this can be a great way to cut back on the questions. Companies that implement the best product experience management software for PXM ultimately reduce busy work on both sides of the aisle.

What Are Product Experience Software Examples?

PXM software is a competitive sector. The landscape includes Salsify, Catsy, Pimcore, Akeneo, and Plytex. All of these options boast comprehensive PIM functionality, and many of them have DAM capabilities as well. However, Lumavate is the only brand that allows you to centralize your data, build forms, target your text messaging to the user, and utilize your digital assets to create digital experiences. Lumavate is the only no-code PXM that includes a PIM, DAM, and digital experience platform (DXP).

No other option on the market has the same range of capabilities, nor is it as user-friendly. Because it doesn't require technical knowledge to implement, more employees can learn the system so they can be active contributors. This out-of-the-box platform can have you up and running in less than a day. Lumavate is not only around 75 percent more cost-effective than competitors, but it can help get a product to market 8.5 times faster.

As you weigh the advantages of different competitors, keep in mind that not all of them are as transparent as they may first come across. For instance, they may use third-party suppliers to secure different features of the platform. If your PIM is being managed by one company and your DAM is being managed by another, it can lead to problems down the line. These are the kinds of details that many software companies choose to obscure, so ensure you know what you're getting into first.

How to Get Started with a PXM

What is a PXM system? It's a way to give your products an edge. If you're ready to get started, the first step is to store your product data in PIM and digital assets in DAM. A software platform like Lumavate can help you accomplish this step immediately. Once this is complete, you can start mapping out different types of digital experiences for different moments in the customer journey.

From there, you can move on to the overall customer journey. You can start defining what they need at different stages and finding ways to connect with them at just the right moment. PXM can also help you create product experiences for partners and employees as well. From distributors to retail staff to customer service employees, the product experience meaning is to ensures that everyone has a worthwhile interaction with every item. The best thing you can do for your company is to find a software provider that is versatile enough to work with your systems and has enough out-of-the-box functionality so you're not crippled with endless customization features.