B-to-B Insights: A New Toy to Play With?

Consumers are taking notice of digital catalogs. Many retailers have already experienced strong sales through their digital books, and some B-to-B companies are reporting the same thing. Shouldn't you be getting a piece of the action?

In the plainest sense, a digital catalog is an online PDF of your catalog. The pages digitally turn like a print catalog or they scroll; images and copy blocks are clickable. A digital catalog also links to the products on your website, enabling consumers to make purchases. Sophistication of the interface varies, including search, bookmark and zoom features. (If you plan to produce a digital catalog that's not clickable and not linked to your shopping cart, don't bother.)

Your digital catalog can be hosted a couple different ways, including via a third-party service that plugs into your website or a third-party tablet app that offers a variety of payment methods.

Many third-party web catalog services, such as those provided by Movada Media or printers, offer a fixed, per page fee for converting and hosting your catalog, along with other incidental fees. For most B-to-B catalog retailers, they're the best place to start. However, some of them don't fully support the Apple platform, so functionality such as the click and add to shopping cart features don't work properly on an iPad.

Finding the Right App on the Menu
Some tablet apps (e.g., Google Catalogs) are cross-platform, however, most tablet apps only accept B-to-B catalogs for products with consumer appeal, such as food, tools and uniforms. A few tablet apps are only available on the iPad, which dominates the tablet market. For payment models, Google Catalogs is priced right — it's free! Catalog Spree offers a couple of payment options, including a pay-per-click model; Coffee Table offers an affiliate, percent-of-sale approach.

If you're unfamiliar with catalog apps, download a few to your tablet. (If you don't have a tablet, it's time to buy both an iPad and an Android version for your office.) Some catalog apps are cross-platform for both types of devices. Depending on your tablet, you can download Google Catalogs, CoffeeTable, Catalog Spree and Catalogue by theFind.

Once again, these apps, as of yet, aren't for most hardcore B-to-B catalogers. If you sell cable to the electronics industry, for example, catalog apps are probably not for you. However, if you market business gifts, specialty apparel such as nurses' uniforms or coveralls, animal supplies, tools, or even office furniture, you'll want to look into getting your catalog included on these apps. Then start testing.

The primary benefit of having your brand's catalog included on a catalog app is that once a consumer downloads it, your catalog automatically appears on that person's tablet. It's like you've mailed a catalog to a known catalog shopper. Companies that could never afford to mail a catalog now have a circulation in the hundreds of thousands.

Of course these apps aren't targeted like a mailing list, and therefore aren't going to produce the sales of a mailed catalog. However, their pricing models are easy to understand so you can develop a return on investment projection as an additional sales channel.

How to Get Started With Digital Catalogs
If you already have a print catalog, converting it to a digital catalog is simple and inexpensive. If you opt for a third-party service or tablet app, you simply provide them a PDF of your catalog and your product feed, and they do the rest. The exception is Google Catalogs, which requires you to load and link your catalog on your own. What do you want for nothing?

The convergence of print and electronic media allows you to be much more flexible in producing your digital version. You can embed product comparison charts, warranty information and product reviews, for example. Some apps even allow for video.

If you're thinking about using a catalog for the first time, creating a digital version is much less expensive than creating a print version. Essentially you only pay the design, production and conversion expenses for the promotion of a digital catalog.

Digital catalogs also offer additional flexibility that you may not be able to afford in print. Your product density can be a bit looser (within reason) in a digital catalog. You don't have to cram products into every square inch of a printed page. If you only have JPEG images of your products, for example, these will work in a digital catalog whereas they won't work in a print version. If you've never produced a print catalog, contract the design services of a company that has. This relatively small expense ensures that you produce a professional catalog that sells off the page.

Regardless of whether you're converting an existing print catalog to digital or starting from scratch, you'll want to plan your promotional strategy for the digital catalog, including return on investment. For example, if you have different product categories that appeal to different types of businesses, you can create specialty catalogs that cater to those different niches. You also have the ability to quickly bring new products to market as a digital supplement. If you have a product line that requires more information to close a sale, you can create a digital catalog just for that. Develop a contact strategy for your digital catalog that presents an overview of your product mix, target audience, offers, marketing messages and promotional channels.

You'll also need to consider the venues where you'll display your catalog. Obviously you want it on your website. Placing a prominent icon with a call to action such as "Shop our Digital Catalog" is a simple and effective way to start measuring traffic. You'll also want to highlight any offers or specific marketing messages that make your digital catalog unique.

Digital catalogs also work very well when they are integrated with email campaigns. A visual link in an email campaign, for example, is a good first step to promoting your digital catalog. Schedule a series of emails to promote each version of your digital book or specialty catalogs.

As the price of postage continues to rise, it's time for B-to-B marketers to get out there and actively explore new ways to reach their customers who bypass the USPS. It's time to consider digital catalogs as part of your media mix.

George Hague is principal of HAGUEdirect, a full-service marketing agency. George can be reached at georgeh@haguedirect.com.