How Do I Make a Product Catalog in Word?

Sharing current product information with your customers and dealers is a must have.  A product catalogue is a great resource to house all of this important information in one place. 

When it comes to creating a product guide there are many tools and resources to help. 

What Is the Best Way to Make a Product Catalog?

Creating a comprehensive product catalog or catalogue is a big task to add to your already full to do list. Whether you are building a product catalog from scratch or transforming a printed version to digital it is best to break up the many little tasks that add up to the big ticket item. 

1. Start with determining the structure of your catalogue and the information you’d like to include in it. Begin with questions like: will this include all products including related products and accessories? How will we structure this document? Are our products best sorted by  product type, use case, horsepower, or another category?
2. Next it is time to gather all of the product information and related assets. Collect all of the content that will be incorporated in this catagoue. Collecting all of the information and assets now will allow you to build and see results faster. 
3. Now it is time to add everything to a product information management (PIM) solution. Adding your product information into a PIM allows you and your team to work faster and with confidence. PIM solutions allow for easy access, storage, and editing of your product information. This enables your team to get the job done.
4. Once information has been added to a PIM, create a digital experience using the information stored in the PIM. The connection between the PIM and the digital experience will ensure product information is up to date when a user accesses the experience. 
5. Lastly, stay current. Keep your product information up to date using the PIM. When information is managed in a PIM solution like Lumavate’s product updates can be in the hands of users instantly. A product guide connected to PIM data can be built in 30 minutes with Lumavate. 

As with any big task, breaking it into smaller manageable pieces will help you and your team be successful. Before you know it your product catalogue will be in the hands of users!

How Do I Make a Product Catalog in Word?

There are many tools to help with the creation of a product catalog. Some offer better functionality than others. 

Microsoft Word can be used to create a product guide. Most often this results in a product catalog PDF because the Word document is saved as a PDF.  

Many companies who create product guides in Word store their product information in Excel. While on the surface Excel might appear to be a great solution, its limitations can create friction. Excel does not allow multiple team members edit the document at once. Your team can not work on the product guide asynchronously because they can not access the tools they need when they need them, slowing your process down.

Oftentimes using Word and Excel creates more work for your team. When a product is updated in an Excel document, the update stays there. The team then needs to add this product update to the Word document, opening the door to human error. Using Word and Excel requires your team to do double the work. 

Utilizing a PIM connected to digital experiences will eliminate this hurdle all together. In fact, Lumavate has a simple product catalog Template to help users accelerate their efforts. 

How Do I Make a Simple Product Catalog?

If you are starting from scratch or transitioning a printed catalog to digital it is a good practice to start simple. There is no need to put every idea into the first draft. Start small and simple and expand from there. 

If your team is updating from a printed or PDF product catalog, begin by recreating what you currently have in a digital format. Moving product information into a PIM and building a digital experience is a big task. Recreating what you already have digitally gives you a great starting point. 

Updating digital product catalogs is easy so you can create what you have now and change it at a later date. Collect feedback from customers and dealers and incorporate their suggestions in version two. Want to try a new design? No problem, the updates are easy and fast. Iteration is a key element of digital product guides. 

If you are building your first digital product guide you can follow a similar project plan. Determine what information needs to be incorporated and compile it into the PIM and digital experience. The first version of your product guide is not a final version. As you hear feedback and develop your brand’s identity, make the updates to match.

The changes you make can be in the hands of users within seconds. Gone are the days of outdated product information and branding. 

What Software Is Best for Marketing a Product Catalog? 

There are many software options that your team can use to create a product guide. A few of these options include Adobe InDesign, Filestage, Akeneo, CleverCat, and Lumavate. Review each option and their qualities to determine the best fit for you and your team. 

Lumavate is a digital experience platform (DXP)that offers a PIM solution. Lumavate can serve as a one stop shop to build your digital product guide. Your team can store and edit product information in the PIM and then use this information to build an engaging digital experience. When a product is updated you can quickly update the information in the PIM which will directly update the digital product guide. Your team will never have to add updates in more than once place again. Your customers will never reference outdated information again. Relaying product updates to customers just became easier.

Lumavate offers many templates to jump-start your creation process including a product catalog template. Start creating today!