Syndication: The Ultimate Tool for Omnichannel Sales

Syndication is one of the buzzwords that have been circulating in the software market for quite some time. This is due to the fact that the importance of digital product distribution continues to grow and that omnipresence in retail is now more important than ever. Each channel, be it your own communication and sales channels or those of retail partners, is important and increases the potential for sales increases. However, exploiting this potential requires an efficient strategy and practice for using these channels – and this is exactly where the software discipline syndication comes in.

‍

What is Syndication?

The term syndication describes a software discipline that aims to efficiently distribute product content across various channels. A product content syndication solution (PCS) is the corresponding software product.

PCS solutions are to be seen as the software market's answer to the increasing number of communication and sales channels – and to the problem that each channel has specific requirements for the form and content of product content. Along the digital value chain, PCS solutions form the link between the provision and distribution of product content. They simplify and accelerate the distribution process by integrating all relevant information and media content in a central data feed, setting it into predefined structures and automatically diverting the variants to the individual channels. Create product content once and play it out in x directions – that's the basic idea.

Features and Benefits of PCS Solutions:

Short time-to-market: Automated syndication processes significantly reduce manual effort and thus also time spent in product communication. Once the content for a product has been created, global data pools such as the GDSN as well as supplier portals, apps and social media channels can be delivered with just a few clicks; and direct publication on online shops or marketplaces in the form of enhanced product content is also possible with PCS.

Optimum product content: Whether in direct customer contact or in exchange with the partner network – the quality of the product content is decisive. Inadequate product content can cause delays in processes, reduce success at the touchpoint and even result in reputation damage. PCS solutions therefore use integrated validation rules to ensure that the product content is only released when the quality criteria in form and content are met.

The increasing number and complexity of digital sales channels makes efficient and effective product marketing almost impossible without software support. Key software products for product marketing include MDM, PIM and DAM for organizing and managing basic product content elements (product master data, information and media content), some of which are also equipped with syndication functions. While these are often limited to individual channels and use cases, dedicated PCS solutions go one step further and focus on managing product data feeds and real-time distribution and performance analysis of product content across many different channels.

Would you like to learn more about syndication and about the various PCS solutions in the software market? Get in touch with our experts anytime!

‍