Publish or perish

Whether in print, on CD or on the Web, a catalog has one goal: to increase sales. The author guarantees a proper catalog will increase sales.

by Dick Coté

If you’re contemplating publishing a catalog, whether in print, online or on CD, there’s only one way to measure success: increased sales. A properly constructed catalog will increase sales as a direct result of a customer scanning a catalog, finding a product and deciding to place an order. This buying process must be supported by a catalog built consistently and displaying credibility. Inevitably, it will increase sales in all market segments (call center sales, counter sales, outside sales, Web site sales).

A properly built catalog is one that:

a) Uniquely positions the distributorship

b) Features products the user needs and wants

c) Merchandises product benefits and features along with the value-added services the distributor provides

d) Educates the user on the product’s capabilities and the distributor’s distinctiveness and range and depth of service

e) Links and cross-sells related products and services

f) Is authoritative

g) Serves as either the foundation or the vehicle that coordinates the distributorship’s marketing strategy.

Investment
Publishing a catalog that increases sales requires an investment of resources by the distributor and vendors. Suppliers are an important component to building a successful catalog (Or, for that matter a successful distributorship – but that is an article for another day.) The increase in sales will be directly proportionate to the investment by the distributor of appropriate management, staff time and financial resources. The allocation of resources determines not only cost but also speed of production. Using management and in-house staff, because of their other day-to-day obligations, can delay catalog completion and, while it may reduce cost, risks impairing a professional and proper look.

What medium/format
The ultimate user of the catalog, the distributor’s clients, should determine whether a printed catalog, a CD catalog, a Web-based catalog or a combination of these best serves the sales team. The user’s needs will also determine if catalogs require color, schematics, engineering details and other information. Distributors in the fluid power industry are more inclined to add CDs and Web catalogs to their print version, while clients of distributors in the tool industries and fasteners depend more on print catalogs.

The alternative types of catalogs involve different cost and time commitments. In every case, the information first must be built, assembled and composed. Whether using a catalog publishing service provider or in-house, building a catalog can be done with traditional desktop publishing software (Quark, InDesign) or with automated publishing systems (CMS, DAM).

Importing navigational tools will be identical for a CD or for the Web. So, if you’re developing a CD, you might as well post it on the Web because no additional production expense is required.

Content
The breadth and depth of a distributor’s client base will determine how many SKUs and which vendors should be featured. In the case of printed catalogs or CD-ROMs, it will also determine the number of catalogs required. The sales staff can usually help select products for the catalog. We recommend that someone from sales and marketing management (in a distributorship with sales below $50 million it could be the owner) be involved in the initial planning, supplier coordination and negotiations and making decisions regarding style. It is essential that one person be in charge both for internal organization, supplier coordination and for contact with an outside catalog builder or publisher. Usually, 20 percent to 30 percent of the distributor’s inventory represents the core of sales. Should the catalog be restricted to that percentage or be more extensive? The instability among vendors in terms of products and pricing should influence how long a catalog will remain relevant and when revisions are required. The number of catalogs required will be dictated by the new business development plan and the client base. You may decide to give several to some clients while others may not need or qualify for any.

Note: Many distributors are “penny wise and pound foolish” when deciding on quantity of catalogs to produce. Produce only what you need. The author believes that catalogs with 20 percent or more outdated or obsolete products or information decrease sales and should be sent to the recycling bin!

Pricing?
Should pricing be included? Absolutely. Why? Because pricing moves the prospect to a buying decision. If price is a consideration and isn’t published, you are sending the customer to another source. That is especially dangerous if the catalog is the only vehicle involved in communicating with the prospect. Different considerations apply for a print, CD or Web catalog. The life of a print catalog with pricing obviously will be shorter, but its usefulness will be greatly enhanced. While only one group of prices may be published, a range of discount levels could be created. In order to have the catalog as up-to-date as possible, the catalog builder should be able to input the prices via a database program as close as possible to the printing date.

Contrary to the advice given here, most (but not all) industrial distributors don’t include prices in their catalogs. Some forego including prices because they get hung up collecting data and aren’t willing to invest the additional time required to decide on pricing. In other cases, the project appears too intimidating, so they shelve the idea of a catalog altogether. That is why God invented consolidation.

Note: Presently, most tool and especially fastener distributors do not publish pricing.

The same considerations apply to a CD or Web catalog. Because the cost to produce a CD is much less than a printed catalog, distributors can update information more often. Indeed, on the Web, with the advances in software, it could even be done daily and at minimal expense. But even on CDs and Web catalogs produced using low-end or older technology, distributors can install price grids and discounts for different clients accessible by unique passwords for each client.

E-commerce
Less expensive alternatives to shopping carts are available for distributors who cannot or do not want to be tied down to 24/7 real-time e-commerce schedules in addition to the higher cost. These alternatives permit clients to inform distributors of their interest in particular products by simply clicking on individual part numbers.

Should distributors feature links to manufacturers? With or without links, it’s essential to include a line card or listing of manufacturers. Add links IF your distributorship has been assigned an exclusive sales territory. Otherwise, because vendors list all their sales outlets, distributors run the real risk that clients may search on the vendor’s site for other distributors.

Vendor sites are constructed differently and are not always user-friendly. It is cumbersome to link to one vendor, then exit, return to the distributor, and link to another vendor. Sometimes, it may even crash your system. Occasionally, once a client is on a vendor’s site, they may not be able to return to the distributor’s.

A more user-friendly system can accommodate end-users by adding navigational tools to a distributor’s catalog which enable the client to find vendors in the catalog itself by linking from the index or by a build-in search function.

In-house or outsource?
Unless your distributorship aggressively markets using collateral materials (print or electronic), and can keep at least one marketing communications staff member fully utilized, it is not cost effective to produce catalogs in house.

If you select an outside vendor to build a catalog either electronically or in print, review the samples provided and also contact previous clients of the catalog builder. The quality and professionalism of the catalog depends a great deal on the graphics presentation, which translates directly to the abilities of the personnel producing your catalog. Their length of service and qualifications impact the graphic presentation and ease of use.

It is important to know if the catalog builder has the experience to deal with print, CDs and Web site production. Even if you require only catalog format today (print or electronic), you may want the option to diversify in the future.

Note: Although we did not have the space to cover the subject of catalog funding strategies, it’s a topic that deserves attention. The ability to recover investment dollars in a catalog program often drives a management decision to go ahead with a catalog program. For a distribution company, the catalog may be the single largest investment in non-people assets that a company makes.

The author wishes to extend special thanks and acknowledge the contributions of Charles Klotzer, president of Focus Graphics, St. Louis, Mo., (www.focusgraphics.com) and Marlin Doner, managing partner of Toreion Corporation in Markham, Ontario (www.toreion.com).

Dick Coté is president of Focal Technical Consultants, which provides direction and management services to industrial distributors and agricultural retailer catalog publishers. By leveraging established relationships within the technology, print and design fields, Focal Technical Consultants reduces catalog publishing costs and increases efficiencies. Coté formerly led an industrial catalog publishing division of a $50 million North American printer. Reach him at (603) 964-5334 or dick.cote@comcast.net.

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2007 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2007.

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