How to Leverage Product Literature to Drive Conversions

When you think of eCommerce, what comes to mind? Most of the time, eCommerce companies are laser focused on product marketing alone to drive conversions. In addition, when we think of PIM, we tend to think product marketing automation. However, product information extends far beyond the reach of eCommerce. Today’s savvy buyers need to have more information than ever before in order to make a purchase decision. eCommerce organizations can harness powerful B2B PDFs as lesser known conversion drivers with the convert with PIM.

Instilling confidence in customers is crucial for buyer conversion. For B2B eCommerce, problems of conversion are usually solved by the information you provide to your potential customers. It’s in what you give that can change a customer from just visiting a site. No simply consuming information you provide to actually doing business with you. It’s all in the beauty of turning a visitor to a long term paying client or customer.

PDFs are not only a useful conversion tool, but a huge asset for customer retention. I will show you how literature documents can help you convert more customers so you can grow your B2B eCommerce business:

• Spec Sheets
• Sell Sheets
• Installation Guides
• Mounting Options
• Trouble Shooting Guides
• Warranty Documents
• MSDS Sheets

These simple, yet powerful, conversion and retention tools are essential for cultivating a brand image that not only provides a product, but an essential service. Read on to learn about the benefits of using literature documents to convert prospects into customers and customers into ambassadors.

 

Spec Sheets are Powerful Conversion Tools 

Product sheets are essential for the success of both internal teams and customer satisfaction. All in all, spec sheets are incredible lead and conversion tools. Generating more online sales leads with impeccable branding via spec sheets is one the best ways to prove trust and credibility. 

As a conversion tool, spec sheets provide customers with all important upfront information they would need to make a purchase decision. eCommerce B2B sales especially require additional consumer confidence in order to follow through with a purchase. According to Gartner, 77% of B2B buyers state that their last purchase decision was complex or difficult. Your organization can use spec sheets to eliminate confusion around your product and improve buying confidence.

Seven Elements of Powerful Spec Sheets:

1. Consistent Branding 
2. Head Turning Titles
3. Captivating (short) Intro Paragraph
4. Accurate Product Specifications
5. Highlighted Benefits
6. Clear Digital Assets
7. Clear Call to Action

Use Spec Sheets Across All Formats

Universally, spec sheets can be exported and viewed in almost any format. Whether it be PDF or Microsoft Word for online use, a simple printed copy, or a professionally printed catalog, spec sheets can be widely shared. For this reason, it’s important for your company to get spec sheets “right.” along with the seven elements of product spec sheets listed above, consistency is key.

This is where PIM really makes the process easier for your teams. Spec sheets are only as good as the quality of the data that they entail. With PIM, all teams have access to directly imputing data into a product. From there, marketing can utilize templates directly in PIM to create cohesive and consistent spec sheets across all products under your brand umbrella. PIM can then sync data to branded InDesign templates or export product information to PDF.

Internal Benefits of Spec Sheets

In addition, spec sheets are a powerful tool for internal teams. Product sheets can be useful for internal product development, marketing teams, sales reps and customer service purposes. A fool proof tool for ensuring all teams are on the same page with products details, up-to-date spec sheets are essential for brand consistency.

Ensuring consistent representation of a product throughout a company is crucial to maintaining customer relationships. Customer service reps need to know the specifications of the products customers need assistance with. Internal product developers use spec sheets to identify product improvements. Marketing teams need to ensure product details are consistent in all marketing materials. Sales reps need to provide the most up to date information to potential customers.

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Convert with Sell Sheets

There are amazing benefits when it comes to creating conversions with sell sheets, specifically in the B2B eCommerce realm. Making use of sell sheets in PDF format can be more valuable than you may think. The digital era also means potential customers are bombarded with high amounts of ads on their devices. PDF documents stand out so you can win their attention. A sell sheet gives you a chance to capture attention through captivating presentations that deliver content. 

What is a sell sheet? A sell sheet is a one page document that precisely gives a detail of how your product or service solves a specific problem that the potential customer is facing. It’s a visual page advertisement that should be compelling. It has to be compelling. With thousands of ads that your potential customer sees every day, your sell sheet must stand out from the crowd.

PDFs help you present your sell sheet in a neat format, easy to comprehend and coupled with fine persuasion. Sell sheets are the document that capture your potential client’s perception. As a B2B eCommerce organization, appeal to the factors that influence buying decisions which is the essence of creating great conversions.

Multi-Device Friendly

Sell sheets are wonderful because they include persuasively worded texts that are definite for call to actions which are maintained regardless of what kind of device your potential customer will use. For example, when you are making use of email marketing and attach your sell sheet, your texts, key elements that include images will be maintained on any kind of device. Your sell sheet is the tip of the spear that hits the target. It’s the offer that really creates the conversion. You definitely don’t want to send vague messages or documents that are not easy to view. PDF is your tool to capture and deliver value in a compelling manner.

This is so important because a simple one page document is an insight to your brand identity. The purpose of your product and is a demonstration of how professional your brand is. Through provision of informative, well constructed sell sheets, it demonstrates that your brand can be trusted to solve your problem. The last thing you would want is a distorted document.

Clear Data, Clear Communication

Sell sheets and conversions can be similar to dating. You can’t expect someone to just marry you when you first meet or even on the first date. You want to infuse with so much interest and enticement, the document that does the trick is your sell sheet. A flawless design is a must in order to create the right appeal for what you have to offer. PDF will protect you from any kind of flawed presentation. You definitely don’t want iOS users to complain of difficulties of viewing important images attached to your offer.

It’s the visual compelling presentations, neat formats and key texts that trigger a perception of value for your potential client or customer because sometimes prospects respond on the basis of how they perceive your products. PDF is definitely a tool to make use of for such great documents such as the sell sheet.

 

Conversion via Customer Experience

Convert with the Promise of Ease-of-Use

B2B products tend to be a bit more complex than consumer goods. For this reason, a large part of the buying process for decision makers is “how easily will this product solve my problem. Will it create more problems for me in the end?” This is where installation guides, mounting options and trouble shooting guides become more than just a tool to limit customer service calls. In fact, guides can act as a promise that things will go right if a product is purchased.

Three customer experience literature documents:

1. Installation Guides
2. Mounting Options
3. Trouble Shooting Guides

Installation Guides Increase Buyer Confidence

Have you ever bought a piece of furniture from IKEA? If so, you know how important an installation guide is. In the case of B2B products and tools, a manual guide is essential for buyers to be able to use products efficiently. Marketing products alongside installation guides bulk up your brand’s credibility.

Truthfully, no one knows your product more than you do. When you provide an installation guide, you improve the success of your product. Not only that, you’re more likely to get repeat customers when they’ve used your product with ease. Installation guides can be in the form of literature documents and/or video tutorials. At times, the use of tutorials is

Mounting Options Improve Market Reach

Including mounting options in your product design is one thing, using it to improve market reach is another. The benefits of marketing products based on versatility can be enormous. Savvy marketers should not only provide mounting option descriptions on spec sheets, but also in a separate document.

Making mounting options and instructions available on the product page and as a separate PDF or Microsoft Word Document cater to many buyer personas. Ensuring success for the old-school plumbing company who buys your products as well as the student painter company who uses your tools can be done through the same document in different formats.

Trouble Shooting Guides Enhance Product Experience

In the same sense, trouble shooting guides are much like mounting option documents in their purpose. Converting one time customers into repeat customers can be as simple as enhancing the user experience of your products. This can be done with trouble shooting guides. Tutorial videos can be an excellent resource for customers, but don’t underestimate the power of a simple trouble shooting guide.

Trouble shooting guides should anticipate any bend point a user may encounter when using a specific product. Simple and to the point, a trouble shooting guide should be written in plane terms and include pictures or illustrations. Housing trouble shooting guides on your website in a resource center or on a help page can be ideal for easy access. Better yet, include a printed document in the shipment of your product for a more convenient user experience.

 

Warranty Documents Build Trust

Fuel Customer Confidence

For B2B companies, warranty documents are a great way to create conversions for your business. By providing a warranty document you exhibit a great confidence in the product you have to offer. Showing confidence in your products is a great way to create a sense of trust within your potential customer. In other words it’s a form of upholding to the promise that comes with using what you have to offer for your prospects. Some of your clients deal similar offers and may be burnt out, leading to a high degree of skepticism. Your warranty gives a sense of safety for making use of their hard earned money. By providing a warranty document you help answer the question, what if something goes wrong with what you are promising, then what happens to me? 

No prospect wants to engage in a business transaction that feels as if they are more on the losing end, a one sided kind of deal. Warranty shows you have them covered in case your promise does not come to fruition; this ultimately builds more trust in your brand which is a great way to create conversions for your business. PDF has the benefit of making sure such documents reach your intended audience without any kind of flaw. When it comes to warranty documents, articulate yourself clearly with professionalism. All your formats, text and document elements should reach your target.

Create an Element of Trust

Trust is more of a perspective than a calculation hence it matters how you will communicate your message so your potential customers have the confidence necessary to become a paying customer. For B2B organizations, trust is the currency that allows movement of monetary value from one place to the other. By providing a warranty document, you allow monetary value into your business. With trust comes the gift of peace of mind for your customers when they decide to purchase your products. A customer with a peace of mind becomes likely to convert when there is a call to action on whatever you have to offer. PDF as a tool that ensures warranty documents are presented with clarity and safety to your potential customer.

Close the Deal

Warranty documents also help close the sale. Think about it this way, you are sometimes offering a service or product that your competitor is also offering at the same pricing. Your warranty document becomes a feature that helps your potential customer make a final decision about purchasing your offer. Prospects tend to compare brands with what they have to offer and your warranty document has to be concise on exactly what you have to provide as a guarantee if they decide to do business with your brand. This is where PDF comes to your aid through ensuring all document presentations are captured and delivered without any kind of distortion. PDF is a tool to rely on when distributing such imperative documents that can greatly increase your conversion.

Protect Your Reputation

Sometimes clients may encounter a flaw during an installation or during implementation and the last thing you need is to get a negative review. Negative review has an impact on your business, even if it’s just one negative review. Such reviews reduce the rate of conversions and by articulating how you will respond when something goes wrong with your product can help resolve such negative issues. It’s all in the warranty document that can help you reduce any kind of negative review. Because of communicating such provisions your brand can get referrals which are also a great way to get conversions from your potential customers.  Building a sound reputation comes with the beauty of having loyal customers who believe in what you have to offer with an understanding that if anything is to go wrong with your product or service their interests are met through a warranty document.

 

Pricebooks and Customer Specific Price Files

Ensure Pricing Always Up-to-Date

Having pricebooks and customer specific price files at the ready in an impressive, branded format can be a huge asset to the sales team. Preparedness can mean the difference between closing and losing a sale. For B2B organizations and wholesalers especially, creating accurate pricebooks is an essential part of your sales process. 

Up-to-date pricing is critical for enabling smooth sales processes. Imagine the frustration retailers have when they make a decision based on one price, only to have a company backtrack and say they misrepresented their product with out of date pricing. Pricing differences can be present for many reasons. Perhaps your pricing structure changes on a seasonal or yearly basis. Prices may even be different based on the geographic location of the customer. Whatever the reason, you’ll want to be able to provide prospects and return customers with the most accurate information possible. 

With a product information system keeping product information and pricing always up to date, your customers can have confidence they’re making a decision based on fact, not faulty process. In addition, customers will trust your organization more and become loyal customers when they know you provide a truthful shopping experience. Sales teams spend hours upon hours of their time to ensure their customers are taken care of. With a PIM ensuring accurate data, they too can be more confident in their sales approach. 

Empower Sales Teams and Customer Confidence

Make pricebooks easily accessible for distributors. Having accurate pricebooks on hand in accordance to customer specific price files can prove to customers that your organization is organized, responsible and trustworthy. Distributors and retailers don’t have the time to call into your company each time they want to make a new purchase. 

Gated entry to your most up-to-date price books or continuous updates of customer specific profiles is made easy with a product information system. When all of your product data is in a central ecosystem, sales teams are empowered to represent your products and customers have the tools they need to make a confident decision. In addition, pricebooks are easily customizable by customer profile with PIM’s pick and choose export options.

Convert with PIM

Not only does PIM ensure accurate data and access for distributors, but also ease of use for internal marketing and sales teams. PIM automates the process of creating price books with branded templates and a history view of price books. Your team has the ability to plug in updated information for a consistent catalog layout and brand recognition. 

As the go-to-guide for your clients, price books are perhaps the most valuable tool your organization has to convert prospects into customers and customers into long-term clients. PIM automatically improves the confidence of your sales team to empower customers to make good buying decisions.

 

Literature Documents Can Help You Convert

Literature Documents Educate Customers

Sometimes customers do not engage with what you have to offer because they are not aware of how relevant you are to the problem they are facing and how you provide a solution in the form of the products and services you give out. Literature documents give clear education of what it means to engage with your offer, and how it will help them deal with the problem they are facing. An overview of your products, literature documents provide your brand and why they should choose you over the other offerings coming from your competitors. 

Literature documents are imperative because they educate the customer on how relevant you are to them and they are more likely to make a purchase decision based on information provided. The deeper your literature documents the better conversions you can experience. People draw themselves to where they perceive security of their interest. Through a literature document you can demonstrate how their interests are safe when they engage with what you have to offer. 

It’s in the use of literature documents that customers can consume information that has the potential to create high conversions for you. It’s all about giving value before you ask, educating your customer, it’s about showing instead of telling that leads to conversions. Most people make decisions emotionally and defend them with their rationality. Your literature document can help create an emotional connection with what you have to offer. Such a connection can provide increased chances for high conversions.

Impressive Brand Representation

By making use of literature documents your customers are able to have a sound comprehension of your brand. As they have this understanding you are able to show them how you meet their needs well, ultimately increasing your chances of high conversions. I believe in today’s world it’s about creating inspiration to use your products and not making use of manipulative types of approach. Literature documents can give a sound understanding of what you stand for and why they should do business with you. 

Better comprehension leads to a feeling of safety from the perspective of your customers, remember they have lost money by using other products and you need to prove yourself. Your literature document becomes your best friend in creating an understanding of your importance. As you make use of literature documents you will increase chances of conversions especially when you capture such value.

Final Words

Literature Documents act as powerful conversion and retention tools. As B2B organizations with thousands of products, your brand has many opportunities to sway potential customers with extra resources. Your company can have a strong leg up over your competition when you go the extra mile for your customers.

A strong product information management (PIM) system is essential for creating these tools: spec sheets, sell sheets, installation guides, mounting options, trouble shooting guides, warranty documents and MSDS sheets. PIM automates spec sheets and enables your team to create custom catalogs on the fly. Moreover, PIM ensures accurate product data. Powerful product representation can be templated into impressive delivery and exported in PDF format.

Catsy PIM is purpose-built for B2B eCommerce. To learn more about what Catsy PIM can do for you, schedule a live demo or visit the website at catsy.com.