Talking about product feeds definitely isn't the best conversation icebreaker. Even among online marketers, discussing product feeds will likely get you a lot of one word answers and checking of sports scores on iPhones. However, the value of feeds is often overlooked.
Product feeds are so imperative because, quite often, these are the source of data for your Web site, shopping engines, search ads, and more. By thinking of these feeds as a representation of everything you're trying to sell, rather than a geeky issue for IT departments, you may find many untapped opportunities. Or, if this helps, you can even think of your product database as the nourishing spring from which the woodland creatures of search marketing drink -- just don't admit that to anyone.
Check Your Data
If you send your product feed off to an agency, make sure it contains product attributes that might be of interest to a marketer. If your customers are searching by color, or size, then by all means include that data.
One big stumbling block to keep in mind is the limitations of your database. Your IT team may come back with complications, such as data being stuck in legacy systems, data not broken out into useable parts, size limitations, or other issues.
Database problems can be major fixes, so push hard to get IT support on these issues. Your Web site may be plagued by the same issues, doubling the need for improvements. Alternatively, you might be able to get a partner to help with workarounds, for example by combining files from multiple sources.
Product feeds are so imperative because, quite often, these are the source of data for your Web site, shopping engines, search ads, and more. By thinking of these feeds as a representation of everything you're trying to sell, rather than a geeky issue for IT departments, you may find many untapped opportunities. Or, if this helps, you can even think of your product database as the nourishing spring from which the woodland creatures of search marketing drink -- just don't admit that to anyone.
Check Your Data
If you send your product feed off to an agency, make sure it contains product attributes that might be of interest to a marketer. If your customers are searching by color, or size, then by all means include that data.
One big stumbling block to keep in mind is the limitations of your database. Your IT team may come back with complications, such as data being stuck in legacy systems, data not broken out into useable parts, size limitations, or other issues.
Database problems can be major fixes, so push hard to get IT support on these issues. Your Web site may be plagued by the same issues, doubling the need for improvements. Alternatively, you might be able to get a partner to help with workarounds, for example by combining files from multiple sources.
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