Catalog Management Software: Why Prefer Digital Catalogs over Print Catalogs?

Instead of carrying print catalogs from one conference room to another, why not centralize product information and access them from any device? Even the most experienced salesperson can get fed up of carrying those bulky catalogs.

Here's why you need to choose digital catalogs:

1. Easy Catalog Updates

When you use an electronic or digital catalog, updating catalog is never a difficult activity,provided you use an appropriate catalog management software. Whether you want to add or edit product data, the software tool makes it easy to handle it. By using this software application, you can provide real-time product updates to your online consumers.

On the other hand, updating product content is a tedious activity in print catalogs. Once a print catalog is created, it is not possible to update it immediately. Users will have to wait for quite some time until the print catalog is reproduced. Print catalogs are not suitable for companies that frequently change their product prices and other attributes.

In today's times, new products are released frequently and prices change at a fast change. In such circumstances, a print catalog can become quickly outdated. Hence, using digital catalogs to run your business is a far better alternative to print catalogs.

2. Easy Accessibility

Say you are selling a range of office supplies and have an office supply catalog. If you choose a web-based catalog management tool, your consumers can access it from any device. They no longer have to depend on desktop PCs to view their catalog. A web-based catalog is accessible from anywhere as long as they have an Internet connection.

Online consumers can view your storefront catalog easily from their smartphones, tablets, etc. The ability to access catalog on-the-go can work wonders for your office supplies business. They can quickly access their catalog from anywhere and anytime, and make purchasing decisions.

Whereas accessibility is a major problem with print catalogs. You have to carry those catalogs everytime to show it to your potential customers. Hence, you cannot expect your business to thrive with print catalogs.

3. Resolving Issues

When it comes to correcting errors, digital or electronic catalogs are far easier to handle. Any spelling mistake or incorrect information can be resolved instantly. You don't have to change the entire catalog to make small changes.

In case of print catalogs, resolving issues can be an expensive affair. This is because any printing mistakes will require re-printing the entire catalog. For large catalogs, it make take several days to resolve small issues. Any misprint will convey the wrong information about your products and require human intervention.

4. Understand your Customers Better

Digital catalogs are equipped with analytics and reporting features that provide deep insights about your customers' buying behavior. Say, you have an IT product catalog. With analytics, you can identify their buying interests, what IT products are being searched frequently, and accordingly make changes in the catalog to boost sales.

With printed catalogs, it is difficult to keep track of customers. There is too much manual work involved, which can increase the chances of errors.

Many entrepreneurs find it difficult to display catalog on storefront when productinformation is being sourced from multiple suppliers. The answer lies in aggregated catalog that is created using a catalog management tool. An aggregated catalog combines catalogs from multiple suppliers to give a single-window view of product information.

An aggregated catalog makes it easy to search products coming from multiple distributors. It eliminates the need to browse each distributor catalog separately. This is particularly useful when you are creating quotes for your prospects. Just access the aggregated catalog to view product data from multiple sources.

There is little doubt that the demand for print catalogs has significantly dropped. The shift towards digital catalogs is noteworthy. Digital catalogs have gained a strong foothold in the market. Hence their usage is critical for promotions and to grow your business.

As compared to print catalogs, digital catalogs have a greater power to drive your sales. So instead of spending hours creating printed information, move towards the digital world and boost your marketing efforts.

Arnaldo is content contributor wrote article on VAR business management, eCommerce, B2B business and trending topics.