Between production delays, shipping issues, and staffing problems, it’s no secret that there are many different factors to consider and hurdles to overcome when it comes to accurately pricing products. With suppliers planning and designing their holiday catalogs, strategies for accurately communicating about price fluctuations are at the front of their minds – after all, accuracy is essential to removing friction in the sales process.

No one wants to have to go back to a customer and explain, hat in hand, that the quoted price is higher now. When it comes to physical catalogs, suppliers have tried everything from vague language to disclaimers to even stickers – all in an attempt to keep their prices accurate.

Thankfully, digital catalogs offer much cleaner solutions. So let’s look at some of our favorite ways suppliers have hacked together workarounds for fluctuating prices and learn how we can emulate them.

Price Hack No. 1: As Low As Pricing

This simple hack relies on the wording you use in your product copy. “Starting at” pricing or “As low as” language allows you to give your customer a general idea of the cost but leaves some leeway for adjustments. This is a good option if you’re expecting some fluctuation, but a dramatic jump in price could cause some whiplash.

Price Hack No. 2: Link To Your Site

Some of the major benefits of a digital catalog over its print cousin are the interactive features. With a digital catalog, you can leave out pricing altogether and link every product to the appropriate page on your website. This lets your customer see not only the most up-to-date pricing but also inventory and additional information that might not have fit in the catalog itself!

Price Hack No. 3: Reference Guide

Instead of listing prices on every page, create a price reference guide at the end of the catalog. There’s less chance of missing an important product with a reference guide because you’re only updating a few pages instead of every single page in a potentially 100+ page catalog.

Price Hack No. 4: Design for Updates

This hack is similar to number three: if you don’t want to make your customer jump to the back of your book to find prices, you can plan your page layouts to make updating the prices easier. Listing all of your prices in the same place on every page (like at the bottom), for example, means you’re not hunting all over the place for wayward pricing details.

Price Hack No. 5: Be Inspirational 

The simplest way to avoid inaccurate prices in your catalog is to forego prices altogether. Instead of worrying about costs and budgets, focus on inspirational books full of collections and idea generators. Keep in mind, though, that simple doesn’t also mean better. In our recent marketing survey, we found that this option is the least desirable option. For an in-depth breakdown of the pros and cons of unpriced catalogs, check out this article from February.

Price Hack No. 6: Integrate Your Data with ZOOMstudio

This isn’t a solution for your catalogs (yet), but you can connect your data to our tools to empower your teams and distributors to build their own marketing materials with your up-to-date pricing and product information.

Britney Godsey talks about integrating Gold Bond’s data with ZOOMstudio and how it has empowered their customers in her Going Digital interview. 

Better Pricing Through Technology

The pricing solutions you choose should, ultimately, be based on what works best for your distributors, but that said, there are ways ZOOMcatalog can make your life and the lives of your customers easier.

ZOOMcatalogs and ZOOMcustom catalogs can be updated at any time, so every time your customers visit your digital catalogs, they see the most accurate information possible.  You can even take it a step further: we have tools that will connect to your product data, allowing for automatic updates. 

We can’t stop pandemics or prevent boats from getting stuck in canals, but we can help mitigate your pricing fluctuation woes. Contact us, and we’ll be happy to walk you through options and find the solution that’s right for you.