Product Experience Meaning

The main objective of product experience is to create a meaningful and positive relationship between the customer and the product. Manufacturers focus on developing both digital and in-person product experiences that delight users.

What Is a Product Experience?

A product experience directly relates to the customer's interactions and perceptions concerning a specific product. It encompasses how customers engage with, use, and feel about the product. This experience encompasses various facets, including the product's design, functionality, quality, and how well it fulfills their needs or expectations. 

Customer engagement with products occurs both in-person with a physical product and through online or digital experiences, such as websites, mobile applications, and microsites. Digital product experiences are an important touch point in a user’s product experience journey.

Examples of Digital Product Experiences

Product Catalogs

Product catalogs provide consumers, dealers, and partners with a comprehensive view of a brand’s product line. While commonly distributed in a print format, more manufacturers are moving to digital product catalogs for several reasons. Printed catalogs take time to produce and are expensive to print. If your product changes quickly, hardcopy information may be out of date before the catalog is even delivered.

Digital product catalogs are designed to deliver current product information quickly. They make it easier for buyers to search and filter products to identify which ones they are interested in purchasing. They can even link complimentary products for added sales.

Transforming product information into digital assets enables manufacturers to create a single source of truth for all product data. No matter what form the information takes, the data is consistent, accurate, and accessible.

QR Codes

A QR code is a unique code that allows users to quickly view content on a mobile device. QR stands for “quick response”, and it works by simply scanning a QR code with either a phone camera or a QR code scanner. The link embedded in the QR code will then appear and users can click on it and have it quickly take them to the brand’s content. Many manufacturers require customers to register their products for warranty and support. Registration often requires completing a form and returning it to the company. The customer’s product experience is improved when a QR code is affixed to the product or onboarding materials. 

For example, a QR code on the product packaging could direct the customer to an online registration form. End users could complete the form from the convenience of their smartphone. The link could also include information on add-on products or installation and maintenance instructions. The QR code delivers the convenience and speed consumers expect.

What Is a Good Product Experience?

The Forbes Customer Experience Trends survey found that 70 percent of customers would switch brands for a better quality product, 56 percent would switch for better availability, and 46 percent would look at a competitor with better product selection. Of the seven reasons customers gave for switching brands, three were product-related. The other factors included:

• Better deals (61 percent)

• Better customer service (58 percent)

• More convenient (55 percent)

• Better align with values (25 percent)

Customers indicated they were unwilling to compromise on their expectations of knowledgeable staff, fast response times, and consistent messaging.

To deliver positive product experiences that inspire loyalty, manufacturers need to highlight the quality and diversity of their product lines. They must provide accurate and consistent information to their customer-facing employees. With knowledgeable staff, companies can provide faster response times.

What Is the Role of Product Experience?

Customer experience is the sum of interactions that people have with a company or brand. It encompasses how people feel about a company, its brand, and its products. People may love a product, but poor customer experiences may make them opt for a competitor. At the same time, excellent customer experiences can't compensate for poor product functionality.

Product experience's role is to ensure positive interaction from consideration and evaluation to purchasing and onboarding. It carries through to long-term use, repurchasing, and added sales. Its goal is to create an experience that meets customer expectations.

Who is Responsible for Product Experiences?

A product experience team is responsible for creating positive feelings at every product touchpoint. They identify how the customer interacts with products, what information is needed, and how the customer feels about the experience.

Effective teams are cross-functional. They pull from marketing, sales, and product management. They rely on technical expertise to build websites and collect and analyze data. Customer service and support provide key insights into product experiences. Because of a team's diversity, a product experience strategy should be in place to ensure a consistent experience.

What Is a Product Experience Strategy?

Delivering an effective product experience requires a brand to have a strategy that does the following:

• Maps all potential customer-product interactions.

• Identifies what should happen during each interaction.

• Indicates the desired customer response at each touch point.

It should answer the question: What do customers want in product experiences? With the right product experience strategy, manufacturers can increase user acquisition and retention. They can improve onboarding and product adoption to improve customer satisfaction scores.

What Is Product Experience Management?

Successful strategies require management. Without controls, businesses will struggle to deliver a compelling and accurate product experience. Product experience management (PXM) solutions provide the controls that deliver accurate, appropriate, and accessible information. The resulting data can be analyzed to improve experiences.

Accurate

Accurate information builds trust that leads to product loyalty and can develop into brand advocacy. When buyers receive a product that matches its description, they learn to trust the information. Ensuring that product data informs a buyer's decision requires management.

Placing data in a central location creates a single source of truth. Knowing that the information can be trusted increases productivity. Employees do not spend hours trying to verify data, and incorrect data is not accidentally published.

Appropriate

Product experience teams must decide what information is needed at each point of a customer's product experience. For example, people have difficulty visualizing a product's size. Even when dimensions are provided, customers are disappointed when the product isn't what they envisioned. Providing images that display the product size in relation to a known item can help potential buyers "see" its dimensions.

Providing the same information as part of a product recommendation adds little value to the end user. The detailed specifications are more appropriate during the evaluation than the consideration stage.

Accessible

Part of PXM is making sure that the appropriate information is available at the correct point in the product experience. That may require modifying information to fit the delivery channel. Research shows that a website should load in less than two seconds on a mobile device. A delay of two seconds resulted in an 87 percent abandonment rate. Even a load time of three seconds resulted in 53 percent of visitors abandoning the site.

Managing product experiences means knowing how to deliver the data on each channel. Using a standard website often results in a poor customer experience when displayed on a mobile device. However, understanding what data is essential ensures critical information is delivered within the optimum load time.

Analytics

How do you evaluate product experience? Analytics. Collecting data on key performance indicators (KPIs) allows manufacturers to refine their product experiences and improve their customers' journeys. Because a significant percentage of a customer's journey involves product interaction, collecting and analyzing data ensures continuous improvement of the customer experience.

What Are the Benefits of PXM?

PXM platforms allow organizations to deliver accurate information consistency across all channels. They also help manufacturers accomplish the following:

• Reduce Time to Market. Software solutions enable non-technical users to add, subtract, and modify information quickly. There's no waiting until IT can fit changes into their schedule.

• Personalize Experiences. PXM solutions allow users to tailor experiences to meet customer needs, no matter where they are in their journey.

• Increase Sales. PXM platforms can accelerate revenue growth by supporting product recommendations and promotion campaigns. They can improve conversion rates for increased sales.

• Improve Productivity. A digital platform for managing digital assets enables multiple users to access and update information. Platforms such as Lumavate automatically update related digital experiences for accurate and consistent experiences.

PXM platforms facilitate the digital transformation of product data so manufacturers can meet the expectations of their diverse markets.

What Is PXM Software?

PXM software refers to a third-party solution that allows users to deliver product-related experiences to their customers. It encompasses processes, practices, and tools for optimizing, standardizing, and distributing digital assets. Typical PXM solutions consist of the following:

Product Information Management (PIM). The management solution enables the centralization and management of product data.

Digital Asset Management (DAM). While a PIM centralizes data, DAM stores and manages digital assets such as images, videos, and documents.

Some platforms, such as Lumavate, also provide a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) that enables business users to create digital experiences. DXP solutions automatically pull data from a PIM and digital assets from a DAM so that product experience teams can deliver customized product experiences.

Product experience management platforms begin with a product information management solution. Their expanded capabilities go far beyond centralizing and managing data. They deliver a robust solution for managing and delivering product experiences. Although PIMs allow manufacturers to create a single source of truth, other tools must be added to deliver a product experience.

How Do You Create a Product Experience?

Exceptional product experiences require product experience teams and tools. They demand a product experience strategy that a product experience manager is responsible for implementing. These elements are crucial to delivering a total product experience.

Create Product Experience Teams

Delivering a total product experience requires individuals from across an enterprise. The process needs input from product management as products are designed, manufactured, and maintained. It should include experienced sales and marketing personnel to help guide omnichannel experiences. Customer service can help teams understand where the product experience excels or falls short.

Product experience teams are responsible for developing and implementing a product experience strategy. They are tasked with evaluating the strategy's effectiveness by setting key performance indicators such as customer acquisition, product adoption, customer satisfaction scores, ongoing product usage, product feedback, product repurchase, expansion sales to other products from the brand, and retention.

Product teams may be dedicated, drawing on expertise from other areas as needed. Members may be pulled from cross-functional areas to create a functional core. Regardless of its composition, product experience teams are often responsible for selecting and using product experience tools.

Product Experience Managers

Product experience managers oversee the total product experience for one or more products. They serve as the contact point and are responsible for product experience outcomes. Product experience managers may be dedicated to the role, or they may serve as product and product experience managers. PX managers have a thorough understanding of customer expectations and product experience.

Select the Best Tools

PXM platforms should deliver solutions that allow product information to be centralized and digital assets to be stored as quickly as possible. Platforms that require IT support or technical expertise can slow the process. Managing product experiences begins with product information management.

The first step in managing product experiences is to put product data into a PIM. The second step is storing digital assets in a DAM. Once complete, product experience teams can create digital product experiences that reflect their product experience strategy. With an integrated system such as Lumavate's PXM platform, teams can quickly draw from product data and digital assets to deliver exceptional product experiences.

The flexibility allows manufacturers to deliver customized experiences to their diverse audiences. They can personalize data for dealers and distributors. They can modify the information to create memorable experiences for consumers. Those selling in a B2B market can adjust the presentation to meet the specific requirements of each business. The right tools allow product experience teams to deliver targeted product experiences at speed.

Implement a Product Experience Strategy

Product experience strategies identify what product information is relevant at what point in a customer journey. It requires product experience teams to focus on the customer. What data does a potential or existing customer need?

How do the needs of an existing customer differ from a potential one when reviewing a product catalog?

People browsing an online catalog for the first time require more information on the products. They have no purchase history to rely on. The goal is to convert the browser to a buyer by making them comfortable with the product. That may require more detailed information on options or features. Videos illustrating how the product operates can give customers the confidence they need to purchase.

Returning customers have a purchase history to rely on, and so do manufacturers. Product experience teams need to leverage a customer's purchasing history to deliver a personalized product experience. For example, customers value speed and convenience. They are also open to product recommendations. Why not provide them with recommendations based on purchase history?

If multiple products may be of interest, create a chart that lets them compare the products without having to search the product catalog. Making it easier for customers to make informed decisions increases customer loyalty because they feel valued.

Product Experience Platforms Can Complete Your Digital Transformation

Giving product experience meaning for your organization requires a commitment to digital transformation. It needs a solution that enables product experience teams to create seamless experiences for a diverse customer base. Lumavate offers more than a management solution for centralizing product data. Its Product Experience Management (PXM) functionality delivers Digital Asset Management (DAM) capabilities to store product-related digital assets for easy access. With its Digital Experience Platform (DXP), companies can build digital product experiences cost-effectively. Why not schedule a demo to see how the platform can complete your digital transformation?

FAQs

How do you define product experience?

Product experience is a subset of customer experience that focuses on the ways customers interact with a product. It covers the life cycle the customer-product relationship.

What is the difference between PXM and PIM?

PIM consolidates product information into a single location for easier management. It helps organizations draw on consistent and accurate data. PXM encompasses all aspects of product experiences. It starts with a PIM to centralize data and adds a DAM for efficient access to digital assets. Incorporating a digital experience platform enables users to move seamlessly from data acquisition and digitized assets to the delivery of a digital product experience.

What is the value of product experience?

Customers spend most of their journey with a product. If the product is an essential part of a larger assembly, the experience occurs every time the assembly is built. If the part requires modification to work in the larger assembly because of inaccurate data, the customer accumulates negative feelings every time a new assembly is needed. Providing accurate product information at the start of the customer journey would ensure a positive product experience, leading to customer loyalty, retention, and ongoing sales.