Digital Catalog Transformation: From Print Catalogs to Multichannel Experiences
To retain their resellers’ loyalty—and make it easier for them to do business—B2B manufacturers must turn their product catalogs into multichannel efficiency tools.
For well over a century, manufacturers and B2B parts suppliers have relied on comprehensive printed catalogs to convey detailed product information to their resellers. In 1881, the venerable Hammacher Schlemmer catalog—now known mainly for consumer products and gifts—was originally a resource for hard-to-find industrial tools and equipment.
B2B catalogs must become one part of the multichannel ecosystem.
Today, there are thousands of such catalogs for every industry, as every CMO and marketing and advertising director is well aware. Like their glossy consumer counterparts, print catalogs contain essential product data, related products, and pricing. They also deliver helpful information in well-planned, visually effective pages, even when internet coverage is spotty. They also serve as a highly visible marketing tool for the brand. However, just like consumer catalogs, manufacturers’ B2B catalogs must become an integral part of the multichannel marketing ecosystem. They must also become the means for their resellers to become more efficient at ordering and using their products.
Keep the Printed Version—Ditch the PDF
Print catalogs still provide a significant marketing ROI.
To be clear, print catalogs are still essential to any long-term marketing strategy. People engage on a deeper level with print than they do with digital media, according to recent research. Printed B2B
catalogs have the same advantages. If they are produced with a data-driven design process, manufacturers’ catalogs still provide a significant marketing ROI.
PDFs are remarkably easy to create, of course, and they are almost universally readable on any device. But for today’s marketing teams, PDF versions of manufacturers’ catalogs have serious drawbacks. Catalog page replicas are very hard to read on smartphones, which did not exist when Adobe created the PDF format in the early 1990s! More importantly, product data on a PDF page facsimile is static and non-interactive, increasing the risk of using outdated information
Rather than attempting to make PDFs interactive, manufacturers need to create a singular, unified platform for reaching their resellers, making their brand top-of-mind, and above all, facilitating the reseller’s job of ordering their products.
Manufacturers must have a viable presence in every viable media channel.
It is not necessary to abandon the annual print catalog or any of its printed supplements. After all, print materials can easily connect to online resources via QR Codes. But a true catalog transformation means that manufacturers (like retailers) cannot ignore the use of digital catalogs in reaching and enabling their customers.
Step 1: Start With the Data
Manufacturers’ product information, images, and other vital data too often are stored in separate and siloed legacy databases.
Manufacturers’ catalogs have one advantage over their retail counterparts: they are the primary creators of their own product data, whereas retailers must accept most of their data from suppliers. That makes it easier, in theory, for B2B companies to control the quality and consistency of the data. However, in many cases, a manufacturer’s product information,
images, specifications, pricing, and other vital data are stored in separate and siloed legacy databases—or even on paper.
The first step is to consolidate all the information a reseller needs to know in a comprehensive product information management (PIM) system. Product images, spec sheets, and product-specific instructional videos must also be stored consistently in a digital asset management (DAM) system. Images and videos do not need to be the slick, sophisticated kinds used by retailers. However, they do need to be accurate and informative, showing each product from as many angles and magnifications as a reseller needs to determine if it is the right product.
There are many other data sources to consider, depending on the complexity and size of the manufacturer’s operations. Product pricing, inventory, warehouse location, and shipping logistics are examples of such databases. Each product may also
It is imperative that product catalog systems become more agile.
have multiple dependencies on raw materials suppliers and supply chain partners. The current uncertainty over trade and tariffs makes it imperative for product catalog systems to become more agile in handling complex data.
The solution is for such systems to adopt a single source of truth data model, where all the data are unified, instantly updateable, and repurposeable across multiple print, digital, and mobile channels. For manufacturers and B2B suppliers, Comosoft’s LAGO provides them with just such a data model.
Step 2: Automate to Accelerate
Data-intensive product catalogs, when produced manually, can create major business problems.
Printed product catalogs have always been complex, data-intensive, and laborious projects. Whether a product is featured by itself or listed along with others in a classified framework, each one involves multiple “bits” of information—such as the SKU number, name,
description, dimensions, parts, compatibility with other products, and more. Add to that the product’s image(s), installation video(s), spec sheets, and other assets, and you have the potential for three big problems:
- Unsustainable labor cost centers: No matter how accessible your product-related data is, it can take many, many hours to collect and place each item on a page.
- Costly information errors: Each time a production designer assembles a product listing from multiple data sources, there is a potential for mistakes that result in returns, lost sales, and damage to the brand.
- Lost business opportunities: The thick annual print catalog was a manufacturer’s mainstay, and still has value. However, a manual production process limits the ability to produce catalog supplements, product updates, and, most importantly, customized catalog versions that would help companies succeed in regional or local markets.
Automation is the key to solving all three business problems. By utilizing Comosoft’s LAGO Layout and Collaborative Workflow systems, planners and production designers can automatically locate and place all relevant product information on the correct
B2B catalog production automation is the key to solving all three problems.
page. During production, proofing, and approval management is also highly automated, drastically shortening time-to-market. Best of all, LAGO’s versioning optimization automates the creation of region-specific catalogs.
Step 3: Go Multichannel!
The customers of manufacturers and B2B suppliers are also in highly competitive environments. When a product or part is needed, they must find it quickly, determine if it’s the right one (at the right price), and order it immediately. To do so, they must have more than a printed catalog, however useful that may be. To become the e-commerce choice of their potential customer base, manufacturers must be able to promote and sell their products on every available digital channel.
Manufacturers must be able to promote and sell their products on every available digital channel.
Fortunately, LAGO’s digital publishing system also allows users to repurpose catalog or circular content for any digital channel. At the production design stage, LAGO can automatically create hotspot overlays and provide controls for gallery assets and multichannel text management. At any point, the
system can automatically generate XML and JPEG/PDF output for incorporation into web, mobile, or e-commerce apps.
Manufacturers’ catalogs are incredibly complex and mission-critical. Comosoft’s multichannel LAGO system allows them to be produced on time and on budget.
Ready to modernize your product catalogs? Book a demo to learn how a centralized content system can help you deliver faster, more consistent product experiences across every channel.
