Countering data chaos: What central data management should look like in the B2B sector

To stay ahead of the competition, B2B companies need to offer content that is tailored to their target audience and moves them forward in the customer journey. Retailers spend a lot of effort to find out exactly what existing customers want, what prospective customers might want, which diverse target groups the customer base is divided into, and which channels they use to address them in an attention-grabbing way. By centralizing systems and interfaces, they can effectively exploit the data potential. Digital commerce expert Blackbit knows these problems and provides action guidelines that save a lot of money, time and nerves.

Lots of info - lots of chaos

Determining what potential customers want and providing them with consistent, helpful information across different channels proves to be a complicated and difficult matter to tame. This is because product information and user data are usually widely scattered in different systems and departments. Those responsible fill websites, online stores, marketplaces, catalogs, newsletters, etc. with content using different tools. Manual data reconciliation requires a great deal of effort and often leads to errors, duplications and gaps in the data stock. Sometimes data is exchanged via an interface, often still laboriously by hand - and just as often simply not at all. Errors multiply, time is wasted inefficiently, duplications and gaps thwart high data quality.

Put an end to data chaos

A significant reduction in the number of systems and interfaces solves the problem in the long term. A single system is responsible for all marketing-relevant data and combines all important digital commerce tools. If you maintain all relevant marketing, sales and customer information from a central hub, you always have access to an up-to-date, consistent database. However, centralized data storage not only means less maintenance effort and a lower error rate, but also enables the sketching of accurate marketing measures. If the "data brain" is seamlessly connected to the sales channels, marketers can evaluate user data across all channels and use it for smart communication campaigns - for example, to generate personalized landing page content based on the websites accessed by users or to automatically send suitable product recommendations by e-mail.

Open source example: Pimcore with "Connect anything" architecture

The free open source framework Pimcore is one of the tools that B2B companies use for central data collection and control. Its applications range from database publishing and master data management to multi- and omnichannel retail.

• Database publishing builds a bridge between online data and print catalog. With it, users automate catalog printing, especially when print editions are to be reproduced and appear multiple times. The product information management system (PIM) enables automated print output from multiple sources. With the help of a central PIM system, users transfer data to a freely selectable layout program such as InDesign, Adobe FrameMaker or an open source program, create templates for the various product groups or output a catalog or brochure fully automatically.
• Master Data Management (Master Data Management, abbreviation MDM) refers to the handling of a company's most important basic data and helps with data centralization. It combines information from the various source systems, cleans it up and enriches it with additional details as required. With the help of the data, employees in sales, service, marketing or accounting stay on the same level and advise customers individually on the basis of the evaluated transaction data.

Also models for Multi-channel trading allow different possibilities for the further development and centralization of data streams. In classic multichannel commerce, sellers use multi-track sales channels that do not interact with each other. Ebay, amazon or etsy serve as examples. The customer decides on his favorite channel and orders there. The omni-channel principle develops the structures further: here, too, the consumer uses all sales outlets, but optionally also purchases across channels. The prerequisites for success are uniform data and overarching processes. "Pimcore's 'Connect Anything' architecture and its holistic API approach lead to high connectivity with business enterprise systems such as ERP, CRM, BI, ESB or external 3rd party applications," knows Stefano Viani, CEO of Pimcore's gold partner Blackbit. Consolidation of content, community and commerce intensifies the digital brand experience.

Example Feature DAM: Providing Digital Assets Centrally for All Channels

A consistent brand image is based on central management, uncomplicated access and fast distribution of media content. This is where a powerful digital asset management system comes into play, which can be easily operated, for example, via the web-based user interface or via a WebDAV network drive at the workplace. With Pimcore, the DAM system is directly connected to the CMS, PIM, web-to-print and e-commerce framework. For example, users drag and drop images stored in the DAM into the content pages of the corporate website or assign user manuals to the appropriate products in the product information management system. The DAM automatically converts image data into desired target formats and displays a preview in advance. If those responsible want to prepare a publication in catalogs and in the online store, they edit image data directly in the DAM, add copyright notices or watermarks automatically and convert images into the desired color space (CMYK for print media or RGB for display on the screen). For photo retouching, a user-friendly tool palette is available for cropping images, frames, color filters and text. All assets are versioned in Pimcore, so image changes can be undone at any time.

Provide data for suppliers and external service providers

Via the DAM brand portal, companies grant their suppliers or sub-distributors access to selected assets without having to set up back-end access or send files manually. Customers and sales partners independently select provided product images and service documents, choose the required asset variant (resolution, format, color profile) themselves and exchange media with external service providers and suppliers. Individual authorizations protect data from unwanted access. Whether it's the scope of functions, user groups, specific assignment of rights or front-end design - the flexible DAM system adapts to specific company requirements and integrates into the existing IT structure.

Tidying up pays off

The switch to central data management pays off: Companies save time and money on data maintenance and target customers with appropriate content. Flexible frameworks offer a wide range of functions for managing diverse types of data and using them efficiently for profitable marketing and customer loyalty measures.

Source and further information: www.blackbit.de