There are numerous products on the market today and consumers can be overwhelmed with choices when deciding what product to purchase. Product catalogs can provide valuable information to consumers about specific products and assist them in making informed decisions when purchasing a product.What Are the Uses of a Product Catalog?According to Gartner, a product catalog “contains all commercial product information that enables product marketing managers to define and map new product offerings. This encompasses certain sets of tools that allow configuration of new products and service bundles, pricing and discounts.” Simply put, a product catalogue is a document that provides information about specific products. The main purpose of a product catalog is to provide customers with a comprehensive list of all products offered. Generally, it also contains relevant product data and all related digital assets. A product catalog is used to provide customers, dealers, and employees with easy access to all of the product offerings. Product catalogs that show related parts and accessories for products can be extremely impactful, and can help increase sales for aftermarket parts. What Are Good Examples of Product Catalogs?Products catalogs can be utilized by any type of company or industry, however, one of the most common industries is manufacturing. A manufacturing company may have product offerings, such as faucets, home appliances, light fixtures, and lawn and garden tools. This manufacturing company may choose to create a product catalog that lists all of the faucets that they have available. The details for the faucets may include photos, descriptions, pricing, size options, similar products or accessories, etc.Product catalogs were commonly printed books that you would flip through to find specific product information. These days, product catalogs are more commonly online. Digital product catalog examples include a QR code that is on a physical product or a digital version that is available on a company’s website. By accessing a product catalog online, there are often more options when reviewing the product data. Meaning you can more easily search and filter for specific products. This is not to say that a PDF version or physical copy is not useful as well. Essentially, a good product catalog is one that provides detailed information about the products available, is easy to read, and is clear and concise.How Do I Create a Product Catalog?In order to create a product catalog, it is important to complete the following steps:
Determine the structure of your product catalog and determine what information you want to include in it. This can include determining what product information you want to include for each product. Examples are the name, description, pricing, size options, etc.
Gather all product information and any related assets for these products.
Once you have gathered all the product information, add this data to a product information management (PIM) solution.
Create a digital experience that is tied to your product catalog management solution. Once you have created this, you can provide up-to-date product information any time the product catalog is accessed.
Anytime there are updates to your product data, update this information and the related assets using the PIM. These updates will instantaneously be available in your product catalog/guide.
If you select a solution like Lumavate, you will be able to easily manage your product data and digital assets. Lumavate is a no-code digital experience platform that also includes a Product Information Management (PIM) solution within its suite of functionality. This solution lets you easily create and build digital experiences tied to your product data in less than 30 minutes. This means that you can create a product catalog and display all of your product data in no time. How Do I Make an Interactive Catalog?It has been common practice to view product catalogs by reviewing a document found inside the box of a product you purchased. Nowadays, interactive catalogs are a much more common way customers access product information. In order to make an interactive catalog, it is recommended that you invest in product catalog software. By using a product catalog website design platform, you will be able to take advantage of a product information management (PIM) solution to store your product data. By selecting a platform like Lumavate, you will be able to connect your product data to a digital experience.Lumavate is a no-code digital experience platform (DXP) that allows you to easily create digital experiences and also use their PIM solution. This means you can quickly create a product catalog website that can be accessed by your customers. All of this can be completed in a short amount of time, which means you can reduce your speed to market.Ready to learn more? Book a demo here.
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.