Turning Your Sales Catalog into a Valuable Resource

If your company produces a catalog of products that you have for sale, then you should be aware that your catalog is an invaluable resource.  Not only is it a way to market your products to the reader, but you can also include other information that will help your catalog to remain in the home as a useful interest.  The longer it is kept, the more likely someone is to read it.  Here are some design elements to consider when designing your catalog to be both resource and sales tool.

Use the Upper Right Corner Effectively

When someone is flipping through a catalog briefly, the upper right corner is where their eyes naturally wander.  The products in this position should grab their attention.  Then place one of your best sellers elsewhere on the page to encourage the reader to look at the entire page.  Another option is to use the upper right corner for coupons, customer testimonials, or tips about your products.

Don’t Hide Information

For your print copy, you should use the same type style throughout the catalog to make it easier to read.  Make sure that you choose a font that is large enough for reading, and use bolding or larger text to make special benefits or deals stand out.  If the product has a unique selling feature, make sure that this is included in the headline to help draw attention to the product.

Rethink Your Order Form

It used to be that catalogs were mostly mail order, and therefore an order form and mailing envelope was required.  If this is still the case for your company, then your order form should be easy to use and include an attached envelope.  However, more and more companies are using the internet, telephone, and other mediums as ways for their customers to place orders.  As your clients start to use other mediums for ordering, you can forgo the reply envelope.  However, you should always include an order form in the catalog, as this sets it apart from brochures.  Consider offering coupon codes that are redeemable online to encourage customers to make online orders.

Create a “Magalog”

One way to help your catalog to stand out is to have it be a “magalog,” or a publication that is half magazine and half catalog.  These are catalogs that include interesting articles, facts, tips, and beautiful pictures.  For example, if your company sells diet pills, you could include articles on weight loss, facts about healthy weight loss, tips for jump-starting your diet, and so forth.  The advantage to this strategy is that you have a catalog that includes extra information besides the products, making it a more valuable resource to the customer than a catalog alone will.  However, make sure that the information is related directly to the products you are selling or your catalog will become more of a newsletter than a sales tool.

If you can create a catalog that includes information, as well as the basic product descriptions, colorful pictures, and is eye-catching, then you will have a catalog that will be kept in a client’s home for months – resulting in more exposure and higher sales.

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