Digital Shelf Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Managing your digital shelf is no easy feat. While proper digital shelf management has numerous benefits, there are also obstacles to hurdle, some of which can be tough for many marketers. After all, you need to balance your priorities in creating and publishing excellent content that converts while keeping product offerings at the top of relevant search results pages.
It’s important to take note of the different digital shelf challenges, answering crucial questions for your digital shelf to perform as flawless as desired. Here are questions you should answer and challenges to be aware of in advance so you can gain control of your business’ brand.
1. Is there a unified supply chain strategy to manage brand representation on the digital shelf?
You shouldn’t only stay consistent on digital shelves based on the consumers’ eyes. The internal part of the business also needs to become one with a uniform supply chain strategy. This will ensure packages on all shelves is correct and prepared to be sent on time.
If there is no unified strategy when packaging e-content development, you won’t have much control over your brand’s accurate and timely representation on websites and other channels.
2. Is the brand’s packaging and images consistent across various online retailers?
Consistency is crucial for digital shelves and omnichannel marketing. It can be difficult making sure your images and packaging is consistent throughout different channels, but this is what will keep your business growing.
Check your brand and product listing images in different product review websites and online retailers. If you see different 2D and 3D images, along with images that have different angles, colors, lightings, missing information, outdated images, or anything that shows inconsistency in different channels, then it’s time to update.
Improve your brand’s impression on your digital shelf by updating your images and product information. This will increase consumer trust and encourage them to choose your business and products with complete confidence.
3. Can stronger brand presence be achieved while reducing costs?
One common challenge when winning the digital shelf is the budget. You want to do better but on a limited budget, which has you wonder if it’s possible to improve while still reducing costs.
Yes, it is possible! You can do this by using final and approved artwork on both printed and virtual packaging. When doing this, it eliminates the need for photos, lowering supply chain costs. Simultaneously, you get control over how your brand is seen, along with the consistency of packaging on all digital and physical shelves.
This is just one of the easy ways for brands that focus on administering e-content management.
4. Inaccurate brand representation
If you have inaccurate brand representation, you will lack control in executing changes in design, both online and offline.
Current customers expect to see similar packaging bought on both physical and digital shelf, and if they don’t, then authenticity and/or freshness will be questioned.
New customers will end up being confused when they receive a product from the physical shelf that looks different from the packaging they bought online. This creates a brand disconnect and heightens the risk of eroding trust in your brand. You might end up losing customers to competitors who keep their packages and image updated and consistent across all their channels.
To prevent this from happening, keep all packaging and products similar across all channels, may it be on the physical or digital shelf. Check your packaging, update it as needed, and edit your product listings to ensure that information and branding remains consistent everywhere. You may use tools to easily monitor and manage your listings.
5. Not being able to take control
If you can’t take control of your digital shelf, your brand won’t be able to sustain a reputable image across all channels. As a result, consumers will lose trust in your brand due to the inconsistency of how you portray the business’ image and product offerings.
So how can you take control?
It will take time and the commit to complete, correct, and update packaging in all channels your brand appears on, may it be the digital or physical shelf.
When brands are successful in creating the singular brand experience, online experiences should mirror the offline ones. Marketing on time is vital, but it should match with the effective deployment strategies and processes, which delivers more than just acting quickly.
By taking the time and effort to stay consistent across channels using proper strategies, it will protect brand equities and how it’s presented across marketing mediums worldwide.
Wrapping It Up
It’s important to learn about the challenges of the digital shelf, just as much as you need to learn about strategies to improve it. Now, you can prepare ahead and start utilizing the tips I mentioned above while preventing any challenges from deterring your business. You can also check what other advice Analytic Index has to offer across our blogs!