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Creating an Effective Business Catalog: 5 Design Tips and Tricks

 

Stores selling physical and digital goods have used catalog marketing for years to promote their products. In fact, using a business catalog helps companies cross-sell relevant products to customers who have already shown interest in their products. For example, let us say you recently purchased a product from Home Depot.

You provide Home Depot with your email address and they send you a product catalog with a wide variety of different products. On the other hand, you may have been sent an unsolicited product catalog in the mail. If you believe in this practice, you are not alone.

This guide will teach five important catalog design tips to effectively promote your products.

 

1. Your Catalog’s Design and Color Scheme Should Reflect its Contents

Consumers are naturally judgmental about the brands they work with. This means their first impression of your business means everything. With that said, if you are selling fancy winter clothes, your catalog’s design, color scheme, and typography should be elegant.

On the other hand, if you are selling power tools, you are better off using plain and unsophisticated designs. The target audience matters, and it is very important to appeal to their sensibilities rather than making your own design decisions.

2. Don’t Mix and Match Typefaces

Typography is more complex than you think. The more uniform your catalog’s typography is, the easier a customer’s eye can scan the collateral for the products they are interested in. Mixing different typefaces is frankly unprofessional and results in clunky text throughout your catalog.

Try to use only one or two font families in your catalog. When necessary, add bold and italics to emphasize certain text. It never makes sense to use Arial font for one page and Roboto font for another.

3. Photo Quality is Everything

It does not matter how convincing your catalog’s sales copy is. People will buy a product from a catalog based on how attractive the photo is. All catalog photos should be crisp, using a consistent background and lighting. It is also recommended to maintain a 300-dpi resolution.

To set a great first impression, consider hiring a professional photographer. Your investment will definitely go a long way towards boosting catalog sales.

4. Place Special Emphasis on Certain Products

Like any form of marketing collateral, there should be a special emphasis given to products either on sale or new arrivals. This cross-selling strategy is proven to place a prospect’s attention on your sales campaigns. Also, adding discounts to specific products can help increase their sales.

5. Keep Your Design Consistent

The design across your catalog should be consistent at all times. Again, if you are using a few fonts, they will need to be reflected throughout your catalog. This will help potential customers associate these patterns with your business and foster more loyalty toward your brand.

Need More Help Building a Beautiful Business Catalog?

Creating the perfect business catalog is an important aspect of catalog marketing. Having an effective catalog design can help in boosting your store’s profits. To learn more about how we can help, contact us today to speak to a sales representative.