This IDC Perspective discusses how product experience management platforms work with other enterprise applications to create a technology ecosystem for the management of a holistic product experience (PX) strategy. Product experience encompasses the full life cycle of customer interactions with a product, spanning from discovery and evaluation to purchase, usage, and postpurchase engagement. Unlike standalone product information, PX is shaped by structured data (e.g., specifications, pricing, SKUs) and unstructured content (e.g., images, videos, customer reviews)."Product experience is a strategic focus on setting customer expectations via consistent, accurate, and relevant product data across all customer touch points, whether B2B, B2C, physical, or digital. Beyond this, PX needs to create a closed loop, providing feedback to engineering and product teams that help them create stronger catalogs over time. The challenge is not just in selecting the right software for PX but also in ensuring data flows seamlessly between teams capable of influencing precommerce, commerce, and postpurchase stages of engagement to create a unified customer-product experience," says Heather Hershey, research director of Worldwide Digital Commerce Strategy at IDC.
Executive Snapshot
Situation Overview
What Is Product Experience Strategy?
Does PX Require an Entire Ecosystem of Enterprise Apps?
PX Involves Both Structured and Unstructured Data
PX Requires Omni-Channel Consistency
PX Is Impacted by Precommerce and Postpurchase Factors
PX Needs Real-Time Adaptation and Personalization
PX Spans Marketing, Merchandising, and IT Operations
Is It an Overstatement to Say PIM/PXM Are a Single Source of Truth for Product Experiences?
The Technical Ecosystem of Product Experience Management
Additional Business Systems That Influence PX Beyond PXM
Advice for the Technology Buyer
Recognize That No Single Platform Owns Product Experience
Define Your Organization's PX Scope Before Selecting Tools
Prioritize Interoperability Over Standalone Features
Assess Whether PXM Is Needed as a Standalone Investment
Avoid Locking Yourself into a Vendor's Definition of PX
Ensure Cross-Team Collaboration in Procurement Decisions
Don't Overlook Postpurchase PX and Customer Feedback Loops
Focus on Agility and Future Proofing
Validate Vendor Claims with Real-World Use Cases
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