3 Tiers of Product Content (and How to Reach the Top)

Good product content can be understood — and mastered — in three separate tiers: base, advanced and user generated. Here's your primer on the three tiers of product content, why each is important and what you need to move from one to the next.

Tier 1: Base Content
What it involves: Base content includes all of the standard information customers need to navigate the purchasing experience. This means simple details like the product title and accompanying image, as well as more comprehensive details like product descriptions and tech specs, should all be accounted for in order for your customers to make buying decisions. For those in the technology industry, data sheets are another example of strong base content.

Why it's important: Regardless of what you're selling, consumers expect the same basic information from you to help inform their decisions. If you can't meet those expectations, you have no chance of reeling them in. Not only does base content help to simplify hundreds of thousands of SKUs, product data and research scattered across the web, but it also lays the foundation for a more intuitive online shopping experience. Where once B-to-B e-commerce managers were weak in this area, we're now seeing an improved focus on strong base content that's also paving the way for more advanced content.

How to get there: Establish a standard of five to 10 pieces of base content that every product needs before it goes up on your site, then hold your partners, suppliers and yourself accountable to them. Consider designating product information managers who can work alongside your in-store and catalog teams to capture photos, chase down any specs and collect data sheets to get them up on your site.

Tier 2: Advanced Content
What it involves: Advanced content builds on all of the essentials established in your base content. Video, 360-degree images and other interactive, multimedia material that showcases your products all constitutes good advanced content. Unlike base content, which should be standard across all inventory, advanced content will be much more specific to the individual product. As an electronic components distributor, for example, the need for 360-degree images and in-depth video for a piece of wire is significantly less than for a microcomputer.