Today’s customers are nothing like what they used to be a decade back. They check out a product on the web, ask for competitor recommendations on social media, and buy it at a store later.
The traditional method of tracking and nurturing lead behavior across touchpoints separately is no longer applicable. Instead, businesses today are investing in powerful data-management strategies to create holistic and personalized customer experiences.
This major revamp in the realm of data management may be a breeze for larger enterprises; for SMBs, however, the entire idea can be an overwhelming challenge. Apart from the huge costs involved in proprietary product information management (PIM) software, these investments often do not meet the desired goals.
There is always that list of unwanted features that come bundled with proprietary software, which an SMB may not find any use for. Besides, the lack of flexibility in a proprietary software seriously impedes SMBs’ ability to carry out innovations exclusive to their businesses. That’s the reason an open-source PIM software fits the bill perfectly for SMBs.
From being substantially less cost-intensive to propping an SMB’s culture of innovation, the benefits of an open-source PIM product are boundless. Let’s examine how open-source PIM levels the playing field for SMBs.
Customizability: Being extensively configurable, open-source PIM helps simplify operational workflows. Businesses can easily retrofit the software into their processes instead of remodeling their operations around PIM. This ease in configurability translates into a centralized data source and better data integration, helping businesses leap faster toward their omnichannel goals.
Flexibility: The rigidity of proprietary software makes fostering a culture of ingenuity a bit challenging. Open-source PIM opens new channels of innovation, as businesses get access to the source code, which could be molded to their specific needs. Banking on its flexible nature, business users can experiment with never-tried-before data management and analytics.
Interoperability: Open-source PIM software comes with an API-based architecture, which provides huge grounds for exploring connections with myriad data streams. With open source, businesses can merge data from various sources including forms, point of sale systems, product databases and ERPs to get a single, holistic view of data.
Automation: Bringing open-source software into the picture always means that you’ll get more leeway when it comes to automating workflows to replace repetitive and manual tasks. From data structuring to catalog building and merchandising, open-source PIM can help with automation to suit the requisite needs of your business.
Reduced total cost of ownership: In most cases, open-source software involves no cost or minimal costs. This leaves SMBs less strained when it comes to their budget spends, giving them a chance to redress the balance, and put their minds into formulating competitive strategies that are needed to succeed.
Open-source PIM software offers multitudes of other benefits, which goes a long way in helping businesses build richer customer experiences.
This article was written by Shashin Shah from PaymentsSource and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
