a company without a catalogue??

[irishman]

I think my company is making a grave mistake

we are quite a small business in the garden sector selling solar lighting, solar water features and solar aquatics

for next year (2009) we have decided not to produce a catalogue!?

I think it is clear that the market requires one

Are sales channels are mainly sales agents who manage garden centre orders and an equal number of mail order customers

we do sell to 3 or 4 large retailers as well

apparently we are going to continue to use last years catalogue initially even though we are dropping nearly 50% of the products

sales presentations and now to be completely digital

I would like to hear your opinions

[fisicx]

How many customers used the catalogue last year to buy products?

How many customers used the website to buy products?

How much business was generated indirectly via the catalogue as opposed to other promotional ideas?

Calalogues are not cheap and if they cost more than the amount of revenue they generate then it's not too difficult to understand why they are dropping the idea.

[irishman]

sorry
my post was very poorly explained on reflection
let me explain better

we are B2B, and don't actually sell to end consumers

we don't sell through the website either

the idea for the website is for it to be an area where consumers can find retailers/garden centres that stock our products and also to provide customer support and product information

last year we produced 2500 but only 1500 have been distributed

the main use of the catalogue is as a selling tool for sales agents who sell into garden centres

it shows our range of current products to businesses who will potentially stock our products

[fisicx]

In that case I agreee, the company is making a big mistake by not providing up to date promotional material.

[KAVIK35]

Ok here is an option. Not knowing your companies budget nor current IT situation.

What about having your sales force utilize laptops or mini pc's to display their offerings to clients. If the company doesn't provide the sales force with the equipment perhaps the agents will do so on their own (if they are on commision) to increase their own sales quotas.

The benefit here is that each year (or at anytime) the product line can be updated or revised, while alowing a excellent display/ sales tool for your sales force to make B2B sales in a professional manner.

[BIZAL]

It could also be at the request of your clients i.e. it is far quicker to send new product updates by email than change a brochure.