How to identify the right product intelligence for you
Data can and should be a crucial component of a business, but that’s only possible if the information is relevant and actionable. The standards for quality data are unique to each audience. Quality data—including the product attributes that power the insights that answer these questions—needs to be flexible and customizable to a business’s strategic and technological needs.
Shoppers, brands, and retailers are each looking for answers to their own set of questions:
- Shoppers: “Do I have the data necessary to discover the right products and understand how they deliver against my lifestyle preferences?”
- Brand: “Are my most important product attributes being correctly positioned to shoppers? Am I getting the insights I need to develop and launch my next brand?”
- Retailers: “Does the data I’m using cover all my products—including fresh? Does it reflect my unique market positioning, enforce my internal standards, and is it granular enough to ensure shoppers can easily find what they’re looking for?”
Shoppers, brands, and retailers are looking for answers to those questions because they want a comprehensive view of a product when they begin to research it. And they want it as quickly and conveniently as possible. The best product intelligence can answer those questions without adding more work.
If you’re exploring the possibilities of data and product intelligence, look for these 3 capabilities:
Going Beyond the Label
Today’s product packaging contains a lot of information, but it often leaves off pertinent information that drives shopping decisions. These information gaps can make the difference between a shopper purchasing a product and ignoring it.
For example, a product that meets the standards of being keto-friendly can have packaging that doesn’t indicate that. A thorough shopper can deduce that from the ingredients list and nutrition information, but they won’t glean it by reading the label claims. Many shoppers don’t have the time or patience to pick up each package and analyze its contents when another product proudly states “keto friendly!” in bold letters. The same can be said for eCommerce, where shoppers will type in search terms to find products that suit them and ignore the ones that don’t show up in the results. Product intelligence can identify those unseen attributes through automation and present that information quickly and accurately.
Current and Convenient Insights
Innovation never dwindles in today’s marketplace, and that’s why accurate product details are important to both new and existing products. Brands are constantly iterating and repackaging products to meet shopper demands and remain relevant. If product intelligence isn’t regularly capturing the current formula for a product, that outdated data has the potential to damage sales. A product’s previous formula might have contained ingredients that shoppers are now avoiding, or a new formula might include attributes that shoppers are seeking. In the same way good data can increase discoverability online and in-store, stale data can hinder it.
RELATED: Product Intelligence for Brands
Actionable Data Is Always Available
Brands and retailers need convenient access to data so they can understand insights and respond to business needs. The definition of “convenient access” differs for each business, but the right data solution can meet those needs, whether that’s a compatible API or an intuitive user interface. Automated data formatting speeds up the ability to immediately take action and know you have the most current data available.
Product Intelligence solutions that proactively collaborate with brands and retailers to maintain current information is necessary for creating a technology-driven feedback loop across all
parties. This empowers brands to stay in total control of their product narrative and
positioning, retailers to have a clear understanding of their inventory, and shoppers to make informed decisions.
SPINS Product Intelligence meets the standards of quality data and was created for brands and retailers who need to move quickly and strategically. Learn more about SPINS Product Intelligence and download the Product Intelligence and the Future of Modern Commerce eBook.
