A catalog template is a list of available goods that’s presented so that it’s quickly understood. A product catalog template or services catalog template is one of the most effective sales tools in the market. Creating one takes much effort and marketing specialists are aware of this. After all, a great catalog can make a huge difference in favor of your sales.

Catalog Templates

Formats of a catalog template

Before discussing how to create an effective catalog template, let’s first come to know the different catalog forms. Today, you can create a catalog template Word digitally though the final product may come in two forms:

  • Print
    This is still the world’s best and most popular sales tool. The paper-based publication has its own advantages:
    Constant exposure of your brand
    Customizing a free catalog template for your business gives you something concrete that you can keep on a desk or table, making it accessible and available when needed. Because of its cumbersome property, it keeps your brand consistently exposed to your customers, which coincidentally, is one of the fundamental principles of advertising.
    User-friendly
    We have all had the chance to view product catalog templates and we can easily conclude they’re user-friendly, meaning they’re readily available to consult by everybody.
    Readability
    Many of us have experienced consulting a catalog on an electronic device such as an iPad for an item, then clicking on the wrong place and find ourselves ending somewhere else. Moreover, if you want to examine the item in detail, you need to zoom in and this further increases your chance of clicking something unintentionally.
    Quick Search
    With printed catalogs, you can always use a handy bookmarker to easily go back to the page you want to see again in a matter of seconds.
  • Digital
    Most product and services catalog templates are now created with the use of digital tools and business companies use digital means when distributing and promoting their documents. Here are some of the advantages:
    They come in a convenient PDF format
    This is a fast and easy way of delivering information to customers. With some dedicated software, you can also create flipbooks. These are online, interactive publications that imitate paper magazines. When creating a flipbook, it’s necessary first to have a complete PDF of the document which you can later on convert into an interactive format.
    They’re cheaper
    Cost-wise, digital catalogs make a lot more savings in distribution and printing costs than its counterpart. Believe it or not, these costs for digital catalogs is close to zero. Furthermore, promoting and sharing the document is a lot faster because all you need to do is to upload the file on a website then share it.

Product Catalog Templates

Types of catalog templates

When creating a catalog template, you must organize the information to include in its pages so customers can easily consult it. In doing this, you can take into consideration many elements. For instance, it’s very useful to arrange the elements by product attribute or by category.

Free catalog templates with different purposes come in varying structures too. At times, it can be very useful for you to arrange your products intuitively using criteria that’s less strict and even mixing up the rules. Doing this can engage the customer more effectively. Here’s a list of the most popular catalog templates you may consider using:

  • Supply Catalogs
    The design of this type is to serve in various business-to-business relationships. In simpler lingo, you use a supply catalog to sell your products or services to customers and other businesses. Generally, the catalog contains your products, their respective item numbers, and any other detail specifications regarding the product.
    You can also include details like pricing, contact information, shipping information, minimum orders, and the like. In many cases, such a catalog can come with order forms which clients can use to place their orders. Also, you can feature pictures to help clients make their choices easily.
    One thing to keep in mind is to try not to make it look too fancy. The most important thing to consider is that you design the catalog with efficient products organization that could make it easier for clients to find what they’re searching for.
  • Retail Catalogs
    Businesses use this type of catalog when their products or services would cater directly to the public. For these catalogs, the design becomes crucial to capture the client’s attention.
    To achieve this, the retail catalog should have an “IT” or a “WOW” factor. High-quality images of your products or services laid out professionally in each page will impress clients into buying. Pay close attention to the important areas or “hot spots” of your catalog as these will help out your business in terms of selling your services or products.
  • Digital Catalogs
    With the fast advancement of technology today, it’s inevitable that we are now involved with digital catalogs. Having these for your products make it easier for clients to avail of products and services. Using the right apps, you can download your catalog fast, the view it efficiently.
    You can send a digital catalog to clients through emails with an option for online purchasing. With this, clients can now order products from you conveniently any day and time, and even in the comforts of their own homes.

Free Catalog Templates

Basic elements of a catalog template

It isn’t that hard to make a design for your own catalog template. First, do some research by going through different samples of printed catalogs. Make notes on the important features present in all of them. The most successful catalogs which sell products and services are those that can speak for themselves.

You can use these following elements as a guide when designing a catalog to promote the sales of your business:

  • Covers (both the front and the back)
  • Index
  • Table of contents where you mention the different sections included in the template
  • Product pages along with product descriptions
  • Different themes and section separators for each of the sections making it easier for readers to jump to the pages they want to see
  • Advertising section which promotes other businesses

Catalog Templates Word

Creating your catalog template

Catalogs are the best and most popular tools to showcase what you have to offer in the most effective way. A well-designed catalog template Word can reach out to thousands of customers by grabbing their attention. Following is a list that you can use as a guide in creating a catalog template for your business:

  • Gather product information
    Product information usually helps clients when making their choice before purchasing the product. When they open the catalog, they will look for this information.
    Gather and include all relevant information about each of the products. Images and text tell customers everything they want to know about a product before making that decision to buy.
  • Gather product images
    When someone opens a catalog, the images are the first ones they noticed. This is one great reason why you need to make sure that the images are clearly showcasing your product’s features. The images should be of a high-resolution and a professional photographer can do this for you. It may be a little more expensive but it will be all worth it.
  • Organize your layout
    You now have the information and the images of your products on hand. Now it’s time to create the layout of the catalog’s different sections. Again, if you have no experience doing this, hiring the services of a professional graphic designer may be necessary to ensure that you bring all of the pieces together to create a readable format.
  • Make sure you use attention-grabbing elements
    It becomes a lot easier for customers to get interested in and connect with your product if you use design elements and style trends that can grab the reader’s attention. You may want to consider these popular design styles to get included in your catalog:
    Still-life photos or images
    Vibrant colors
    Illustrative photos
  • Search for a printing company which offers wholesale printing of catalogs
    Look for the services of a professional catalog printing company. For sure, their past quality works will speak for themselves. This ensures that they will deliver a catalog that will be well-made. Consider printing companies who offer shining testimonials from customers, affordable rates, and reliable service.
    When creating the catalog, make sure that the designer includes a “quiet area” of 1/4-inches and a bleed area of 1/8-inches. This prevents images at the edge of the page from getting cut-off after you print your catalog.
    Again, recheck the layout, making sure that all of the images you’ve included in the template have a high-resolution. Print out one sample as an assurance that everything looks good.
  • Send your final, approved design to the catalog printing company
    Before sending the final design of the catalog for printing, perform one last check to see if you’ve ordered the pages correctly in one file. Give the printer enough time to deliver the final product.
    Also, make sure that you always plan ahead to ensure that the distribution goes as scheduled. It’s recommended to request a printed copy before you have everything printed. This saves you from unnecessary upshots.

Services Catalog Templates

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Tagged:BusinessCatalogProduct
TemplateLab April 29th, 2021