PPB December 2020

thinking of, even if I forgot the supplier’s name. Also, when we meet with clients in our showroom, I like to have catalogs to back-up the samples we are showing.” While he likes getting catalogs fromall suppliers, he knows not all distributors do, and he suggests suppliers ask before they mail a catalog. For distributors who prefer them, print catalogs say something else about a supplier. “Tome, because catalogs cost money to create andmail, it shows me their commitment to the industry and I will gladly take a look at it,” says Philip Wilkinson, owner of P.W. Enterprises in Reading, Pennsylvania. However, he is sensitive to the cost and says he’d be equally satisfied with a high-quality printed brochure showcasing suppliers’ best sellers or sales items, instead. Producing a print catalog is a good way for suppliers to establish and promote themselves. Jennifer Katus, owner of Promomento in Avon, Connecticut, likes receiving print catalogs, especially from suppliers new to the industry. “Without it, there’s a good chance I’ll never find them,” she says. But what she finds even more helpful are websites with amazing product photos. “Great digital product photos, shot fromdifferent angles, are quickly becoming an absolute requirement for remote selling,” she adds. KimRoy, owner of Sutherland Printing in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, is also a fan of print and dedicates a section of her workspace to file them. “I reference these daily for different projects. I also use websites to look at things, but still like to refer back to catalogs. We also have customers that prefer hardcopy catalogs. We actually get some customers that will order froma catalog they received from us years back. You can’t do that with online websites or e-catalogs. Having something in front of themat their desk, we find is still the best return.” While Harry Parrish, owner of Harry A. Parrish & Associates in Kerrville, Texas, prefers print, he has amessage for suppliers: “Lighten up! Don’t waste somuch of your money printing 600-, 700- or 900- page catalogs. Who really uses those huge things?” Most of his clients are out of town. He will mail a 200-page catalog but says “those monster catalogs” weigh toomuch. Instead, he suggests printing an “essentials’ version” that highlights what really sells along with a few new items. “Let us go online for the rest, or we’ll call your customer service department for help.” Many of the distributors who contributed to this article think there’s a place in the industry for both print and online catalogs. Rodney Beebe, sales rep at Millstone Company in Salisbury, Maryland, says for most needs, a digital catalog works fine but from time to time he needs new ideas, and in that situation a print catalog is his go-to. However, he only uses print catalogs internally to look up details and get ideas. He rarely ever gives a catalog to a client. “I find some suppliers’ SAGE and online descriptions lack the full details that are sometimes needed, like item size or repeat costs. These suppliers’ print catalogs have much better information.” However, he’s not a fan of getting unsolicited catalogs, time to build when you are making the catalog but think of the time it will save everyone from calling customer service, searching sites or correcting orders. File Type And Size • While Excel or Word might be the way suppliers keep their information or how they download it from their servers, please don’t distribute your product line in an app. This is OK if you are providing current inventory on a list of products but putting your catalog into Excel means I have to load that app to view your products and there will be no good formatting. I love data but catalogs should be in a more universal presentation form. • PDFs are universal and can be read from nearly any device. Most operating systems have a way to print to PDF and there are third-party apps that can provide this feature when creating the electronic catalog. Also PDFs can be edited to create links. • Be aware of file size. There are ways to make PDFs smaller in file size without sacrificing picture clarity or the ability to search. If the PDF is going to be emailed or downloaded to share, file size is a consideration. Features And Advantages Of Electronic Catalogs Search: The ability to search an electronic catalog (or anything electronic like websites and industry databases) is one of the highest priorities. We should be able to search for “tumbler” or “bag” and jump to the next instance of that word. Because we all use this, when you are constructing anything electronic, remember to use words that we 2 3 I believe there is room, in this day and age, for tremendous improvements in the way electronic catalogues are developed and presented. The PDF flipbook is already quite dated inmy opinion, and in many cases not as nice as a paper copy in hand.” -GrahamMurray “ FEATURE | Catalogs 22 | DECEMBER 2020 |