Why Use a Digital Catalog?

A print catalog is the cornerstone of many companies' marketing strategies, and for good reason. Catalogs let you share your business' product line with retail customers and wholesale clients alike. This allows prospective buyers to easily and conveniently browse through your offerings.

While there's no denying the tangibility of a print catalog, digital versions are becoming much more popular. They mimic the look of a printed catalog, with a similar layout and pages to virtually flip through.

But, utilizing digital channels can also provide additional benefits that a print campaigns can't. With that in mind, here are eight key reasons why adding a digital catalog to your marketing toolkit can reap huge benefits.

Digital catalogs work as supplements to print catalogs to reach more customers

1. Customers and clients can access your catalog from anywhere

A catalog acts as an important reference for your business. It allows potential customers to examine your products and services and reach a better understanding of what you can offer to them.

Of course, to optimize your catalog's impact, your prospective audience needs to be able to easily access it. With print, the customer must have the actual catalog in front of them. While that physicality offers benefits, one downside is the inability to review such catalogs remotely.

But you can access a digital catalog anywhere there's an internet connection. Whether at work, at home, or on the go, your customers will be able to view your catalog.

2. They’re more shareable than print catalogs

Word of mouth and customer recommendations are an important part of new customer generation for many businesses. Because digital catalogs are so shareable, they can also increase the number of new clients brought in by existing customers.

A link to your catalog can be shared via email, text message or social media. This allows word of your business' offerings to spread more quickly.

3. They can integrate a variety of multimedia, including audio and video

By its very nature, a print catalog relies on two elements: text and pictures. While these are important, many businesses could benefit from audio and video alongside those pictures and texts. With a digital catalog, that becomes a possibility.

There are many options with multimedia. You can include a sound clip illustrating the tone of an acoustic guitar. You could embed a YouTube video demonstrating how to use a pasta maker. Including multimedia in your catalog can increase its impact and effectiveness.

4. Connect your catalog with your web store or other online resources

Like audio and video, you can embed links in your catalog. An online store can help drive more business with little to no effort on your part. As customers peruse your information, they can simply click on the link to a product they like and order it immediately.

Beyond this, the ability to link to outside resources can help supplement what's in your catalog. Within a catalog, it's often more visually pleasing and easier to read to keep product descriptions short. With a digital version of your catalog, you can link a product description to a more detailed page.

5. They can be more easily updated than print catalogs

Once a physical catalog has been printed, no changes can be made until the next run. There is some benefit to this, as it allows your company's print catalog to act as a firm reference for your products and services.

But, sometimes changes occur between printings. A price might be updated, a new color added, or quantities of a particular product might run low.

With digital, updating your catalog to reflect these changes is simple. While not without cost, you won't need to wait until your next printing to make updates.

6. Print and distribution costs decrease

Every print catalog carries certain costs. This includes the price of distribution, shipping and the costs of printing the catalog itself.

Using a digital catalog to supplement your print one can actually help cut your advertising costs.

For example, instead of sending many copies of your print catalog, you could send single copies and direct them to your digital catalog for more.

7. Use your catalog to assess key customer data

Understanding what works with customers is key to getting the most from your marketing campaigns.

By utilizing data analytic tools, your business can tap into key information to understand customers better. You'll be able to see how long each user views each page, how many times they visit your catalog, and more.

By understanding which elements work and which don't, you'll be better able to optimize your advertising efforts.

8. A digital catalog should act as an extension of your existing print catalog

Of course, a digital version of your catalog can't completely replace your print catalog. Digital catalogs aren't tangible and lack the sense of urgency that are provided with physical prints.

By combining and intelligently balancing your digital and print catalog options, a digital catalog can help deliver more well-rounded messaging to your audience. By increasing the ways users can browse your products, combining print and digital is a smart move for businesses of all kinds.