You spend weeks, even months, of your time putting together the perfect digital product catalog. It looks amazing and you are pleased with the final result. You compose a marketing email list, write a nice message, and hit send. Then you sit and watch the analytics, expecting to see the online traffic traipse in and the orders to come rolling out.
But…the response is mild at best. What happened?
The thing is, even the most informative and attractive catalog falls flat on its face if it is not laid out well and easy to navigate. A digital catalog that is difficult to use simply won’t make the cut. Consumers are used to hopping online to purchase what they need at a moment’s notice. B2B buyers, especially, come into purchasing with high expectations and specific needs. If they encounter a shopping experience that doesn’t facilitate their buying journey, it’s a quick goodbye as they move onto the next.
In this blog, we will explore how to build an eCommerce product catalog that attracts B2B buyers. Most importantly, you will learn of a few key ways to increase traffic and drive sales. Prepare to dive in and gain knowledge on how to create a digital product catalog that drives results.
Make Sure the eCommerce Catalog is Consistently Up-to-Date
Digital catalogs offer an amazing opportunity to showcase your products in style. And, in a time when consumers are used to hopping online, eCommerce and b2b product catalogs go hand in hand within the fast-paced world of online shopping.
Digital product catalogs have a major advantage over paper catalogs – they can be managed and maintained all year ‘round. That means major updates to product information, images, or prices that require swift updates are able to be updated from the back end of the digital publishing platform that hosts the catalog.
It’s not enough to list your products on the page, even if they are stunningly photographed. B2B buyers need detailed information that is accurate and up to date. Oftentimes, the tech specs and other information are at the mercy of manual updates. This leads to high error rates in product data, due to human error.
According to a statistic from Sagacity Solutions, human error contributes to a substantial 75% of data loss, highlighting the significance of addressing data quality issues. This issue disrupts business operations and also impacts the customer experience. Further, trust, sales, and business efficiency are dampened by product data quality issues.
To navigate around this issue, begin using a digital catalog solution for data accuracy. Use an innovative solution, like DCatalog, with automation tools that automate data entry. In turn, these tools reduce the need for manual intervention, and the potential for errors.
Manage B2B Buyer Expectations of the Product Catalog
In the B2B sector, customers have come to expect real-time interactions as a standard, not a luxury. Statistics show that 80% of B2B buyers expect real-time interaction when contacting suppliers. Such a statistic highlights a significant shift in customer expectations, driven by the rapid evolution of technology and the growing need for efficiency in decision-making.
It’s easy to be lulled into the idea that the digital catalog you create is efficient due to the fact that it is online. But, digital catalogs offer the look and feel of a traditional print catalog with the added convenience of browsing and shopping online. This means that customers need to be able to easily search the catalog to find what they need, tap or click on items and add them to their shopping cart or wishlist, and check out, whether from the catalog itself or by being directed to an online portal.
Whitecap, a a B2B one-stop-shop that provides tools and accessories to professional contractors, makes use of DCatalog’s Virtual Library Solution to provide their customers with up to date product information.
Their digital catalogs are organized under categories, which enables their customers to easily navigate through the ones they need, to discover the product information that is most relevant to their interests.
Unlike a traditional print catalog, customers expect online catalogs to be consistently up to date and full of real-time data. You can circumnavigate any customer frustration and enhance the buyer’s experience by knowing your audience and tailoring the digital catalog to your client base. This ensures that your customers know exactly what they can expect from your digital catalog, which increases sales and site traffic.
Use Engaging and Interactive Elements within the Product Catalog
High-quality images are essential to the success of your digital catalog, particularly content that is based on eCommerce sales. According to Trend Reports, image is everything. Contextual images showcase the product in use and provide customers with a practical vision of how the product will fit into their life or business.
Digital catalogs step up the display of images, from static to interactive and engaging. DCatalog’s innovative platform enables you to add multimedia elements such as video clips, audio clips, embedded videos, GIF images, and even image carousels to showcase your products and bring them to life.
Customers can zoom in on images, watch videos, and even hear voiceovers or snippets of music which sets the tone and mood as they browse through the digital catalog. They will experience an immersive shopping experience that helps them visualize the product fitting into their own life.
Optimize the Product Catalog For SEO and Mobile
With most people becoming very active online, it should be no surprise that both B2B buyers and consumers turn to Google when searching for a product or service. Most likely, they are on their phone so it is easy enough to search online and find what they are looking for in a matter of seconds.
Therefore, you should optimize your digital catalog for both SEO and mobile. Use target keywords throughout your catalog – and add those keywords to the DCatalog admin to enhance your catalog’s chances of being found quickly. If you’re not sure what target keywords are best to use, consider employing a free SEO tool like Ahrefs to audit your catalog for potential keywords.
Once buyers find your catalog, it needs to be optimized for mobile viewing. Luckily, DCatalog has you covered! Buyers can browse, search, and shop a mobile version of your digital product catalog as they would if they accessed it from a computer.
Employ Omnichannel Marketing to Reach B2B Buyers
Buyers source information from multiple sources – whether it is social media, Google searches, or reading reviews online. It is not enough to embed the link to your digital catalog on your site and direct B2B buyers to it, or to email them with the link.
Omnichannel marketing takes into consideration all digital channels. This encompasses social media, email, and website sharing. It is important to share your digital catalog on social media, which DCatalog makes extremely easy to do. Not only can you easily share it to your desired social media channels, but your consumers can as well – which increases the likelihood of more leads setting eyes on your catalog.
Create a customer-centric approach by managing and maintaining the product information with in your catalog and make it easy to share across multiple distribution channels.
Ready to Transform Your Product Catalog?
After reading these tips on how to build an eCommerce product catalog that attracts B2B buyers, you are probably ready to optimize your product catalog for your customers. The good news is that, with DCatalog, you can easily manage and maintain your content any time, anywhere with our intuitive back end platform.
But keep in mind that overhauling your catalog’s looks will only go so far. It’s important to take a data-driven approach by clearing up data inaccuracies, managing real-time data, using an omnichannel marketing approach, and optimizing for SEO and mobile. Paying attention to these areas will help you avoid costly mistakes down the road.
If you’re ready to overhaul your digital product catalog, or if you want to start creating one, connect with our Publishing Executives today.
Set up a demo, or sign up for a free trial to learn more!