A product catalog is a reference for the customer who wants to look for detailed information about a product they want to buy. Sales representatives use the product catalog to help them promote the product to the customer, without having to remember all features of the product. E-commerce, however, uses a product catalog more than a simple reference. It becomes the essential element of marketing that attracts more customers to use the product.
Knowing the importance of a product catalog for e-commerce, it is necessary for everyone who runs a business online to know how to optimize product catalog. It means their product catalog will work as efficiently as it could be. In this article, we have collected 10 best practices that every owner of e-commerce can try to optimize their product catalog. Let’s see what they are.
1. Update the Product in Real-Time
The latest information about the product is necessary to keep the customer satisfaction level high. One of the practices for this part is updating the product availability. Therefore, the customer will know when the product is out of stock. Without this information, their order will be rejected when the supply is running out. With the high expectation of receiving products they bought, this rejection could lead to disappointment. It could spread to other people and affect the business image.
2. Smart Solution for Product Data Collection
In the past, it might be possible to record all sales and transaction data of a business. At that time, there was not that much data compared to today. However, in the modern era, the business has been affected and connected with various elements. Therefore, the product data amount is also increasing several folds. It is impossible to record them all manually.
To optimize the product catalog, a smart solution is needed. Using an automated system to record all data, such as product tax, pricing set, inventory, and many more, helps create a comprehensive product catalog. This product catalog will be able to help and be used as a reliable reference for customers and business owners.
3. Create Accurate Product Descriptions
A product description is the core of e-commerce. This section allows the customer to know what they are going to buy. It is essential because the customer also can’t see and check the product directly.
A reliable product description could come in three models, such as complementing the customer and product match, showing its benefits and features, or simple recommendations on how to use it. This way, customers can imagine how they will use the product. This kind of description could lead to an increase in sales.
4. Finding Out the Customer Experience
We call it customer journey mapping. The information about the part that customers enjoy, buy, or feel dissatisfied with contributes to the best product catalog creation. It helps create a catalog that understands the customer.
To gather this information, customer service will have a big role. They answer all customer questions that help the company understand the feedback from the customer.
5. Pay Attention to the SEO Elements
Creating an SEO-friendly product catalog is another practice that every modern business owner should do. Keywords, backlinks, catalog structure, and many other elements help the product appear in a better position on the Google page. Thus, customers can easily find it, which produces a higher chance of an increase in organic traffic and transaction.
6. Create the Mobile Version
The mobile device is part of modern people’s life. They can’t live without it. Therefore, creating a mobile version of the product catalog is necessary. So, customers can access and get the information much easier with it.
To create the mobile version, some parts need more attention, such as font size should be suitable for mobile device screens, HD quality product images, and many more.
7. Provide An Intuitive Digital Catalog
A Digital catalog is the standard product catalog, today. To make it work optimally, an intuitive design is necessary. It is related to the accessibility feature.
For example, the catalog must be downloadable, easy to share through various online platforms, email-friendly, easy to embed, and multilingual. Those elements attract and keep more customers using the service.
8. Optimizing the Payment Method
The old product catalog requires the customer to leave the catalog after finding the product they want. Then they visit the online store where that product is available and purchase it there. This is a good flow but not fully optimized.
Currently, Instagram has tested one of the best features of this social media platform, which is the checkout feature. Through this feature, customers don’t need to leave Instagram to buy the product they found in the product catalog posted on Instagram. It connects directly to the online store that provides that product.
Thus, it optimizes the payment and transaction process. Even though it is still only available in the U.S., soon, global Instagram users can use it.
9. Easy to Navigate Product Catalog
Customer wants to find the product quickly. Therefore, the product catalog should also be able to provide that. An easy-to-navigate design is a solution here.
It includes the easy search feature, product filter, and how the product is presented in the catalog. Displaying a list of thousands of products on one page is not good.
It is much better if the list also includes the popup windows that show the large-size of product information, plus a detailed description, so the customer can easily find the information they need.
10. Use the Best Image that Fit with the Brand
Lastly, a product catalog should have the best-quality photo or product image. The product image is not only an image to display the product’s appearance. It also could be used as a marketing tool that attracts more people to try the product.
For this step, professional photo editing services are necessary. Dropicts is here to help you with your photography editing needs! Consisting of an experienced team and the latest technology, we always ensure the best photo results for your product catalog. Visit Dropicts and follow all of the 10-practices above to optimize your product catalog.
We hope this article helps you optimize your product catalog.
