Being online is a very cool place to be, literally and otherwise. One of the most major reasons why people are on the internet is because they are buying something or involved in the process of eCommerce.
The most prominent reason why people believe in eCommerce and shop online is that they can shop 24/7.
A study suggests- in 2021, more than 2.14 billion people across the globe are expected to buy goods and services online.
Every passing day, more shoppers are reaching these online marketplaces to satisfy their needs, so it becomes a very sellable and profitable option for brands to sell in these online marketplaces.
While selling online, one comes across various challenges. To gain customer loyalty, revamp the sales techniques, have the online verification process done and manage inventory. These are just a few of the problems that might arise in the game of eCommerce.
One of the most monotonous and time-consuming hurdles in the process is managing the inventory and product display online. Your company might have hundreds and thousands of products to put up.
It then becomes very difficult for your company to manage this data, resulting in the data becoming messy and poorly managed. This problem can also lead you to poor product information which can be a major threat to sales.
To problems like these, come smart solutions that help us organize and manage data efficiently. A catalog management software to our rescue. Catalogs don’t mean those trendy and flashy paper booklets with product pictures in them, anymore.
They now have updated versions in content to eCommerce which makes catalogs a lot more functional and easy to use. It is essential to have all your product details in line to ensure the smooth functioning of the business. In this read, we will unfurl why catalog management software is the need of the hour, its benefits, the challenges while using it, and its solutions too!
Let us begin with a quick understanding of What is Catalog Management
About eCommerce, catalog management is a strategic approach towards organizing, managing and streamlining all the product-related information across all the channels. It is a vital component of setting up a brand online because it helps the target audience spot your brand distinctively when they search for specific products and services.
Not only that but, the information displayed also needs to make the customer feel comfortable and reliable, pushing them to buy the product from you. In terms of logistics, it also helps you track and keep a record of the inventory.
The software must be able to display the price of the product, the physical properties of the product, the country of manufacturing, etc. Now that we know what catalog management in eCommerce means, let us take a shift to understand its need.
Why Does Catalog Management Matter in eCommerce?
The whole idea of shopping online has taken over people’s mindsets around the world. People have become more accustomed to shopping online for everything they need.
Higher convenience, better prices, and a variety of products make them perpetually use eCommerce platforms to shop. But the higher the variety, the more difficult it becomes for the customer to come to a final purchasing decision.
This is the reason why it is important to give out all the possible product information so the customer feels at home and trusts in you to buy the product. The customer has to be made comfortable to gain that sale!
A poorly managed platform with inadequate information can be a serious problem. Unavailability and lack of enough information also damage the company’s brand image.
These are the cases where the need to have online catalog management and catalog management software comes into the picture. Online catalog management software makes it very easy for you to handle an online store.
All you have to do is to upload all the information and it automatically organizes it all. If you are selling B2B products or services, having a well-set product catalog helps you attract the right customers. Let us move ahead to understand the key benefits of having catalog management software for an eCommerce business.
Benefits of Having a Catalog Management Software
1. A centralized repository for all your product information
Your company might have a thousand different types of products. Maintaining various product catalogs for different customers, subscribers or affiliates can be a very heavy task.
With time passing by and new additions happening every day, having a catalog set manually and organizing it can be a pain. With the aid of great catalog management software, you can enter and organize the data with barely any kind of redundancy in the information.
The software allows you to collate all the enterprise data within a centralized repository which helps them as businesses to grow and be more visible to customers.
2. Easy editable access to all
Once a central repository is created in the catalog management software access should be passed to all the business users. To ensure that timely launches of the products are happening, catalogs will have to be designed perfectly in no time.
With an easy access system, all business users can centrally manage cross-channel sales and strategies across all the verticals that the business runs.
3. Setting up different images suitable for different market types
The millennials, when shopping online, need everything to be perfect. They not only demand a great shopping experience but also the right production information. A mismatched or irrelevant image along with the product name can be a major turn-off!
This might discourage them from shopping from your platform. An efficient catalog management software fits in the right image in the right places.
Once there is an input or collation of data on the software which means when all the product images or videos are uploaded, the software automatically assigns all the right images to their respective products. Appropriate, approved, and updated digital assets are steps to create a meaningful brand existence.
4. Classification and categorization of products
Maintaining the data of such a large number of products and organizing it can be very overwhelming and will require a huge effort in terms of time by catalog managers. Poor product classification can annoy the customers and reduce the chances of the customers coming back to your eCommerce platform.
Improper categorization also makes online searches tough and useless. Good catalog management software lets you overcome such challenges. It will ensure all the products are categorized under the right sections. With a comprehensive approach like this, customers get a better understanding of the various products on your eCommerce platform.
Challenges and potential solutions
These are a few of the benefits that online catalog management software can have for an eCommerce business. But along with the benefits come to a few challenges. Further are a few challenges that an eCommerce business can face along with its possible solutions.
1. Multiple sales platforms
For consumers finding thousands of products is now just a click away, but for businesses, it is a task to keep up with it. Your products can have more than one sales channel and in cases like these, keeping a tab on your products can be a very tough task.
Different sales channels might have different requirements for entering product information. It isn’t manually possible to remember every detail about every sales channel.
When sales are happening through different mediums, inventory is something that needs to be taken care of. So, a potential solution to this can be integrating an inventory management plugin or update which makes life much easier.
It will help you organize all the available products and track inventory. You can also set reminders for low stock and get reminded from time to time.
2. Building a reliable platform
Having a well-put catalog portrays a sense of trust. A proper online catalog management software will have to find out what your target audience is looking for, its needs, and wants.
To deliver exactly what is needed to the customer is the main aim here. In instances like these, there are two major things a catalog management software for an eCommerce business needs to take care of.
One is a very user-friendly experience built where customers fight their right fit. Two, being an interface they can freely navigate through, have a hundred options to choose from and surely buy one of them. In either of the cases, a potential customer will turn into a converted sale.
3. Inappropriate product tags
Product tags in an eCommerce store play a very important role. They help in identifying the product so it can easily be searched, found, and ranked. With improper product tags, sales can be majorly affected.
The solution to this can be to create a product tagging system that is automated. With all of your tags centralized in an automated system, customers will be able to easily find your product generating higher sales.
4. A standardized product catalog
A standardized product catalog can do a lot of good to the company. It opens up a lot of opportunities for companies, like attracting b2b customers. Without a standardized catalog, it will become very difficult to expand the business into new lines.
To get this done, a potential idea could be introducing the PIM-product information management. It will help you synchronize all the product data available and integrate it with other management solutions, which will give enhanced results to the company.
The Closing Phrase
That’s all about catalog management software, its key advantages, hurdles, and potential solutions. It is a perfect tool to assist B2B eCommerce companies with streamlined inventory management and efficient management of catalogs of all sizes.
