Your company has numerous project offerings and you want to share this information with prospective customers and dealers. What is the best way to go about this? A product catalog is a great way to share information about your products with potential customers, as it normally lists all of your products, along with pertinent information.
How Long Does It Take to Create a Catalog?
The time involved in creating a product catalog can vary greatly depending on how the information is collected and the delivery mechanism. For instance, a company that uses Excel to manage its product data and decides to create a PDF version for its’ print catalog. With this particular scenario, the company will likely spend 30-plus hours updating the product guide, and, depending on the number of products, the time involved could be even longer. An important thing to keep in mind is the product guide is normally updated annually, so a number of hours need to be dedicated to the project each year. If the number of product offerings changes often, then this time could quickly increase as well.Another consideration is if the company is creating a product catalog from scratch. If this is the case, then you will likely spend hundreds of hours to get the product catalog started.On the other hand, a company that is using a product information management (PIM) solution that is tied to a digital experience product guide, will spend significantly less time creating the product catalog. This is the case for both creating and updating the product guide. Another important thing to consider is whether this product data and the related digital assets are already collected. If this is the first time a product catalog is being created, there will be a significant amount of time spent collecting all of this information. If this information has already been collected, this will be a great starting point.
How Much Does Catalog Design Cost?
There are two key factors that can effect the catalog design cost when designing a catalog: delivery method and starting point. The delivery method is generally either a print/PDF or a digital version. If a catalog has never been completed and you are starting from scratch, this can greatly affect the cost and time to market. On the other hand, if there is an existing design, this can be used as a starting point, make things go a little quicker, and can be more cost-effective. If you have a graphic designer on staff, then you will likely not have any out-of-pocket graphic design fees. Instead, you can utilize your existing team resources. However, if you need to outsource the design work and search for freelance graphic design options, you will likely need to pay for the design work based on an hourly rate or a fixed bid for the project. The graphic design hourly rate can vary based on your location and the experience of the graphic designer, among other factors.
How Do I Create a Product Catalog to Print?
There are numerous ways to create product catalogs. For this example, let’s focus on how to create a PDF version of your product catalog. To get started, this typically involves using some type of software, such as Adobe InDesign to design the product catalog. Some companies may also choose to use Word or Canva to create the catalogue as well. The design process can take a few iterations, depending on who you need to review the design. Once you have worked through the design and have this finalized, the next step is to export the file into a PDF. Now you are ready to send it off to your printer, which will print and bind your product catalog as desired. The final step, once the PDF is ready, is to begin promoting your product catalog using any channel that works for you and your business.An important thing to keep in mind is that any time your product data changes, you will need to update the PDF to ensure it’s accurate and your customers are seeing the latest data. This means that managing your product catalog is an ongoing process and will require manual updates to be made each time your product data changes.
How Much Does it Cost to Make a Catalog?
As we discussed earlier, the overall cost to create a product catalog can vary greatly depending on the delivery method: print/PDF or digital version. If you are printing out your product catalog, the costs can greatly increase especially if there are a substantial number of pages in the catalog. On the other hand, if you decide to create a digital catalog, there will be a cost involved for using the software to create the catalog. One of the best catalog design software options out there is Lumavate. Lumavate will allow you to quickly and easily create product catalogs for your customers to view. They are a digital experience platform (DXP) that also has a product information management (PIM) solution available as well. With their software, you can easily create a digital experience that can display the product information you have added to the PIM. Lumavate makes it easy to ensure your product data is always updated. They also allow you to manage all of your product data in one place. This ensures that your customers are viewing the latest up-to-date information. Lumavate offers access to their product information management (PIM) solution on both their Professional and Enterprise plans. Learn more about pricing here.Ready to learn more? Take a tour of Lumavate’s PIM.
Meet with one of our experts to see how easy it is to centralize your product data, manage digital assets, and create digital product experiences. Trust us…you’re going to be wowed.
