In today’s digital age, having a good online presence is crucial for businesses of all sizes. An online catalog is a powerful digital tool that lets you showcase your products or services to your intended audience. Whether you’re a small business owner or a huge manufacturer, creating an online catalog can increase your reach and improve your sales. Not only do online catalogs display important product information in a user-friendly way, but they also make purchases easier.
If your business has a large product or service catalog, it might feel impossible to create a digital catalog. Our team at Dirxion wants you to know that no matter the size of your print catalog, we can help you create a professional and unique online catalog that will improve your business. Don’t let any concerns stop you from taking the digital leap.
We’ll guide you through what an online catalog is, and give you info on the step-by-step process of how to create an online catalog that effectively showcases your offerings.
What is an Online Catalog?
An online catalog is a digital or web-based collection of products, services, or information organized in a catalog manner. You might be familiar with typical print catalogs. Print catalogs can be presented at trade shows, sent during business deals, or can even be more consumer-focused and sent to somebody via mail. Traditional catalogs can be used for B2C or B2B purposes. An online catalog is a virtual representation of a traditional printed catalog. An online catalog allows users to browse and search for specific items using a computer, smartphone, or other internet-enabled device. Purchases can even be made through a digital catalog.
Benefits of Online Catalogs
Online catalogs have countless benefits:
Accessibility
An online catalog is available 24/7 and can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. This allows customers to browse at their convenience.
Increased Reach
With an online catalog, businesses can extend their reach beyond local customers to a global audience. It enables businesses to tap into new markets and expand their customer base more easily.
Easy Updates
Updating an online catalog is relatively easy and cost-effective compared to printed catalogs. Businesses can add new products, modify prices and make changes to product descriptions quickly, ensuring that customers have access to the most up-to-date info.
More Product Information
Online catalogs can provide detailed and comprehensive product information, including images, specifications, customer reviews and related content.
Search and Filtering Capabilities
Online catalogs can offer search and filtering functionalities, allowing customers to quickly find specific products based on their preferences. This functionality enhances the user experience and saves time.
Cost Savings
Online catalogs eliminate the expenses associated with printing and distributing physical catalogs. They also reduce costs related to inventory management and storage since products can be showcased virtually without the need for physical space.
Analytics and Insights
Online catalogs provide businesses with valuable data and analytics about customer behavior, preferences, and purchasing patterns. This information can be used to optimize marketing strategies, improve product offerings and personalize the shopping experience.
E-commerce Integration
Online catalogs can have E-commerce functionality, enabling customers to make purchases directly from the catalog. This integration simplifies the buying process, reduces friction and can increase sales.
Eco-Friendly and Sustainable
By using online catalogs, businesses can contribute to environmental sustainability by reducing paper usage, printing waste and carbon emissions associated with transportation.
Get an Online Catalog Created by Dirxion
Now that you know about all of the benefits that come with digital catalogs, it’s a no-brainer to turn your print catalogs into online catalogs. Creating an online catalog on your own is no easy task, and most of the work will fall on your shoulders.
An online catalog maker or online catalog software might help you convert existing PDF catalogs to a semi-interactive digital catalog, but if you want impactful and helpful features, you’ll need a team dedicated to making it happen. Rather than spending the time and money on creating a proper catalog internally, the team at Dirxion can take care of it for you.
We have an experienced team that specializes in creating and maintaining branded customer experiences that are a unique fit for your business.
Steps to Create an Online Catalog with Dirxion
Figure Out Your Structure
Before diving into the technical parts, it’s important to plan your catalog’s structure and content. Ideally, your digital catalog design is simply a digital version of an already existing catalog.
Consider who your target audience is and make sure the structure matches your needs and the needs of your audience. Is your audience potential clients? Are they everyday consumers?
Update Product Descriptions and Imagery
To make your online catalog stand out and be more accurate, invest time in updating product descriptions and product imagery in your existing catalogs. This is also a key step in making sure you have the most up-to-date product info.
Provide Dirxion with Your Info
Getting your online product catalogs started with Dirxion is as easy as sending us PDF versions of your catalogs.
This is why it is so crucial to have your existing catalogs in a structure you’re happy with and with the most updated product information. While it’s not difficult to update your catalog along the way, it’s always easier to start in the best shape possible.
Provide Extra Product Information
Once we have the PDF version of your catalog, you’ll need to provide more information. You should also send us a list of product SKUs. This helps our team create an interactive, fully-searchable and integrated catalog.
Determine the Additional Features You Need
If you have product videos you want to include, we can do that. If you want your products structured in a specific way, we can do that too. We can also add E-commerce functionality so that readers can make purchases directly from your digital product catalog. The more conversion-based experiences in your catalog, the more info it will provide.
Take Advantage of Dirxion’s MyCatalog
MyCatalog is a Dirxion-exclusive feature that will make your digital catalog unlike anybody else’s. The MyCatalog feature gives your customers the ability to create custom-curated lists of products to watch, compare and share. Users can then turn these selections into a PDF with a URL to use as they need.
With MyCatalog, your customers get a catalog experience they won’t find anywhere else.
Launch and Test
After we have created your new online product catalog, it’s important to test it out to make sure it functions the way you need and want it to. Once you’re happy with how it all works, promote your catalog through various marketing channels, such as email and social media, to attract visitors and drive sales.
Dirxion is the Industry Leader in Online Catalogs
Dirxion has been creating the very best online catalogs for over 27 years. Look at some of the digital catalog solutions we’ve provided to major companies.
If you don’t have the capacity to create a product catalog yourself, or you don’t know how to create an online catalog, Dirxion would love to help! It’s time to have a professional-looking catalog and give Dirxion a call.
