What a B-to-B Catalog Should Be

I am a sucker for perfection—those things in life that cannot be improved upon. Examples include toothpicks, McDonald’s french fries, the Boeing 747, Avery labels, a Bombay Sapphire martini, Fred Astaire movies, Rubbermaid® products and business-to-business (b-to-b) catalogs that don’t waste my time.

The catalogs from Consolidated Plastics are good examples of the latter.

The Twinsburg, OH-based company produces four b-to-b catalogs: Plastics; Rubbermaid Commercial Products (right); Bags, Packaging and Shipping Supplies; and Commercial Mats and Matting. My favorite is the Rubbermaid book, which features bright colors, terse but perfect copy, absolute ease of navigation and no-hassle ordering.

The cover of this 8˝ x 10-1/2˝ book is a model of simplicity and elegance, showing a pristine loading dock with two giant Rubbermaid rolling Tilt Trucks piled high with trash, yet so beautifully balanced that a woman is depicted easily rolling one across the floor. On the cover are but two lines of copy: the toll-free number and “98% OF ALL ORDERS SHIPPED SAME DAY.”

Open the book and the first thing you see is the alphabetical index. No wild goose chase through the pages; you can turn to precisely the items you need.

Page Design

Each page is devoted to products that are similar to one another, such as wastebaskets, storage sheds, recycling containers, floor cleaning systems, plastic pails with covers, etc. Most items come in various colors and several sizes, but only two or three samples are illustrated with four-color photographs.

The entire line is then listed in close proximity to the illustrations. This means each catalog page can show a few items, but offer 20 to 40 or more SKUs. In the 52-page catalog, a mind-blowing 1,275 SKUs are offered for an average of 24.5 per page. Even the back cover sells.

Consumer catalogs cannot touch this for economy and efficiency!

Copy

I divide catalogs into two categories: discretionary and necessary. Rubbermaid’s commercial products are necessary. Either you buy them, or your office is a pigpen and morale drops through the floor.

For Consolidated Plastics, there’s no need to hype the brand, since Rubbermaid has been around since 1933—no need to waste selling space romancing the product.

Catalog officials have found that only the briefest explanations of benefits are needed—short, bulleted, single-sentence paragraphs that hit the benefits hard and answer questions in advance. For example, three lines of bulleted copy describe Rubbermaid Light-duty Totes:

• Totes are ideal for storing and transporting small or large items.
• Tight-fitting snap-on lids protect contents and allow stacking.
• Easy-grip handles provide comfortable lifting and carrying of totes.

Thus in a quarter-page (a roughly 4˝ x 3-1/2˝ space), five totes with lids are shown, and 10 SKUs are offered—five sizes, two different colors.

The Order Process

The bind-in order form is a little thing—just 5-1/2˝ x 7-1/2˝ with enough spaces to order just five items. My guess is it’s never used to order, but rather to conveniently supply all the information in one place about how to order and pay.

Orders can come via phone or fax. The fax number appears at the top of every left-hand page; the toll-free phone number is at the top of every right-hand page. Customers also are invited to visit the Web site (www.consolidatedplastics.com).

Payment options include credit card, check or “bill me.” And discounts are offered for quantity orders.

In short, the Consolidated Plastics book certainly is worth studying for its ability to offer a huge range of SKUs, its ease of navigation, pure design and its economy of copy. It also follows the old catalog rule: Make it as easy as possible to order.