If you’re reading this, you probably need to get your product catalog into Popcomms—fast. Maybe your sales team wants interactive demos that don’t make people’s eyes glaze over. Maybe you’re tired of clunky spreadsheets or slides that are out of date before lunch. Either way, you want your catalog organized, easy to update, and actually useful in live demos.
This guide is for you if you’re responsible for managing product content, building interactive demos, or just the unlucky soul who got “volunteered” for this job. I’ll walk you through the whole process—importing, organizing, and keeping your catalog tidy—without making you wade through buzzwords or pointless features.
Let’s get started.
1. Understand How Popcomms Handles Product Catalogs
Before you start dragging files around, get clear on what Popcomms actually does with your catalog:
- Popcomms isn’t a PIM (Product Information Management) or an e-commerce backend. It’s built for interactive demos and sales tools. That means you’re not trying to manage inventory or pricing here—just showcasing your products in a way that’s quick to update and visually slick.
- Your catalog is usually a spreadsheet (think CSV or Excel) or a set of product images and PDFs. Popcomms imports this data so you can build dynamic, clickable demos.
- Organization is mostly up to you. If your spreadsheet is a mess, your demo will be too.
Pro tip: Don’t overthink it. You don’t need every possible product detail, just what’s useful in a demo.
2. Prep Your Product Data (Don’t Skip This)
Here’s where most headaches start: messy or inconsistent data. If you clean things up now, everything else gets easier.
Minimum columns you’ll need
- Product Name (what people actually call it)
- Short Description (one or two sentences)
- Category (for grouping—think “Laptops” or “Printers”)
- Image Filename or URL (so your demo looks good)
- Product ID or SKU (if you want to link to other systems or avoid duplicates)
Optional but handy:
- PDF Brochure Link (for technical specs)
- Price (if your sales team wants it)
- Key Features (bullet points, not essays)
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mixed-up categories. Don’t use five different names for the same thing (“Laptop,” “laptops,” “Notebook”).
- Missing images. Broken image links make your demo look amateur.
- Unclear product names. “Model 1234A” means nothing to a customer unless you’re in heavy industry. Use real names if you can.
Quick test: If a new salesperson can find and understand a product from your sheet, you’re in good shape.
3. Import Your Catalog into Popcomms
Once your spreadsheet and images are ready to go, Popcomms makes importing pretty straightforward. Here’s the typical process:
Step-by-step import
- Log in to Popcomms and head to your workspace or demo project.
- Look for the “Import” or “Catalog” section. They don’t hide it, but the label might vary depending on your version.
- Choose your file type. Usually, it’s CSV or XLSX. Some versions support Google Sheets or direct integrations, but that’s not always worth the hassle.
- Map your columns. Popcomms will try to guess which column is which, but you’ll need to double-check:
- Make sure “Product Name” from your sheet is mapped to “Name” in Popcomms.
- If you’re missing a required field, fix your sheet and re-upload—it’s faster than fighting error messages.
- Upload images and files. If you’re using local files, you’ll probably need to upload them separately. If you’re using URLs, check that they’re accessible (no “file://” links from your desktop).
- Click “Import” and wait. If you have a big catalog, this can take a few minutes. Don’t panic.
What can go wrong?
- File too big? Split it up and import in chunks.
- Weird characters or encoding errors? Open your sheet in Google Sheets, export as CSV, and try again.
- Images not showing? Double-check file paths or URLs.
4. Organize and Group Your Products
Now comes the part that makes your demo actually usable.
Categories, tags, and filters
- Use categories for broad groups: “Printers,” “Monitors,” “Accessories.” Don’t get too granular—nobody wants to click through 30 subcategories in a live demo.
- Add tags for cross-cutting features: Like “Eco-friendly,” “Best Seller,” or “New.” These help your sales team filter quickly.
- Set up filters: Most Popcomms demos let you add filters so users can slice and dice the catalog. Make sure your data supports this (e.g., consistent values for each filter).
Rearranging products
- Drag-and-drop or manual sort: Most of the time, you can reorder products by dragging them in Popcomms. Put your bestsellers or flagship products front and center.
- Hide discontinued or irrelevant products: Don’t clutter the demo. If you have seasonal or region-specific items, set up rules or tags so you can hide/show as needed.
Pro tip: Watch someone else use your demo. If they get lost or can’t find a key product in under 10 seconds, your organization needs work.
5. Make Your Demo Interactive (But Don’t Overcomplicate It)
Popcomms shines when you use interactive features—just don’t let things get out of hand.
What’s worth adding
- Clickable product cards: Let people click to see more details, specs, or images.
- Download buttons: For brochures, spec sheets, or case studies.
- Comparison tools: If your catalog is big or your products are similar, this helps a lot.
- Links to videos or demos: Only if they’re short and actually show something useful.
What to skip (at least at first)
- Heavy animations or transitions: They slow things down and distract from the products.
- Overly complex navigation: If you need a manual to use your demo, something’s gone wrong.
- Features you’ll never update: If nobody wants to maintain that “3D product viewer,” don’t bother.
Honest take: Start simple. You can always layer on more features once your team is actually using the demo and giving feedback.
6. Test and Tweak (Don’t Skip This Either)
It’s tempting to call it done once everything is imported and looks nice. Don’t. The real test is whether your sales team—or customers—can actually use the demo in real conversations.
How to test
- Sit with a sales rep and watch them use it. Don’t explain—just observe.
- Find the “weird” products. See if they’re showing up as expected.
- Try the filters and tags. Look for mistakes or missing data.
- Open it on an iPad or touchscreen. If it’s slow or fiddly, simplify.
What to look for
- Broken images or links.
- Confusing labels or categories.
- Slow load times with big catalogs.
Fix these things before your team takes it on the road.
7. Keep Your Catalog Updated
A killer demo is useless if it’s out of date.
- Set a regular update schedule. Monthly is about right for most teams.
- Assign one person to own it. If it’s everyone’s job, it’s nobody’s job.
- Automate if you can, but don’t get fancy. Most teams end up updating manually—just make it part of your process.
Pro tip: Keep your “master sheet” clean and versioned (Google Sheets is fine). When you need to update, export and import—don’t try to edit everything inside Popcomms.
8. What to Ignore (at Least for Now)
You’ll hear promises about “AI-powered recommendations” or “deep analytics on demo usage.” Here’s the truth:
- Focus on getting the basics right. Clean data, good images, simple navigation. That’s what actually helps sales.
- Ignore advanced features until the team is using the demo regularly. Fancy dashboards don’t matter if nobody’s opening the app.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Keep Iterating
Importing and organizing your product catalog in Popcomms isn’t rocket science, but it does take some upfront work. Clean your data, organize logically, and test with real users. Don’t chase every new feature—get the basics working, then tune things as you go. The best interactive demos are the ones people actually use. Keep it simple, and don’t be afraid to make small improvements over time.
You’ve got this.