System 04
PIM optimisation on results
A PIM makes sure your product data is correct. This system makes sure it also works. It puts sales figures, search behaviour and return reasons next to your product content and shows which fields, copy and images make a difference, and which are simply there.
Product data is rarely evaluated
Almost every company with a PIM fills it once and then maintains it reactively: something is added, a price changes. What virtually never happens is looking back to see whether those hundreds of attributes do anything.
Meanwhile the answer is sitting right there. You know which products sell, what people search for and fail to find, and why things come back. Those three sources together say precisely which product information is missing or misleading, but they are seldom laid next to the product data.
How the system fits together
A feedback loop on top of the PIM you already run, whichever one that is.
- 01
Tying results to products
Sales, conversion per product page, internal searches returning nothing and return reasons get linked to the product they concern.
- 02
Seeing which fields matter
Products with and without a given attribute are compared on conversion and return rate. That makes visible which fields sell and which are only data entry.
- 03
Finding gaps from search behaviour
Searches returning nothing point at missing synonyms, sizes or properties. That is the most direct list of what your customers are missing.
- 04
Proposals rather than changes
The system proposes additions and rewrites with the reasoning attached. Someone approves; nothing is quietly overwritten.
How it gets built
- 01
Tie the data together
Webshop analytics, order data, internal search logs and returns connected to the PIM. This is most of the work and the least visible part.
- 02
Measure first, change nothing
A period of only reporting which attributes correlate with results. Often that report alone is enough to change decisions.
- 03
Switch on proposals
Only then add the proposal engine, starting with the product group holding the most to gain.
What the system does
Product content is steered by what sells rather than by whoever happened to have time, and you learn which mandatory fields you can drop.
- Visibility of which attributes correlate with conversion and returns
- A list of missing information derived from search behaviour
- Proposals with reasoning, not automatic overwriting
- Fewer required fields that return nothing
What it costs
What an engagement costs depends on its scope and on how many systems are involved. I work with a fixed price per phase rather than open-ended billing: you know what a phase costs before it starts, and you decide after each one whether to continue.
I only quote a figure once I know what we are talking about. That takes a half-hour conversation, at no charge.
Whether this fits
This works well when
- you already run a PIM or a central product source
- you have enough orders to measure differences
- return reasons are recorded, even roughly
- someone can assess proposals
This fits less well when
- your product data sits nowhere central: start with the PIM itself
- your volume is too low to see patterns reliably
- nobody has authority to change product copy
Questions about PIM optimisation
Do I need an existing PIM for this?
A central product source, yes, but it does not have to be a PIM package. At many companies the webshop is the source of truth in practice, and that works too. Without a central source optimising makes no sense, because you cannot tell where a change lands.
How much data before this says anything?
Roughly a few hundred orders per product group per quarter to tell differences from chance. Below that you still get the list of missing information from search behaviour, but no reliable statements about which attributes sell.
Does this fit a standard package like Akeneo?
Yes. The system reads and writes through the API and leaves your configuration alone. It is a layer above, not a replacement, and you can switch it off without anything changing in your PIM.
Let's discuss how I can help your business grow
A short call is enough to tell whether there is a good fit. No sales pitch, just an honest read on what is possible.