Product Selection Guides & Websites

Robert Johnson Miller, CSI, CCS, LEED AP BD+C | Senior Specifier | HGA | Minneapolis, MN

The manufacturer's Product Selection Guide is fundamentally one of the most useful tools for architects and specifiers. All of the manufacturer's products offered for a given category and that products' relevant data listed right next to one another in a single view, arranged in a simple table format, and ideally, in the very printable and shareable Portable Document Format (PDF) that can be marked-up and forwarded to project teammates.

Many manufacturers are dropping this from their available literature, opting for extravagant websites that try to lead us to the one right product without showing us the other options. Some of these websites have really clear and thorough menus, but we still have to click into every product page individually (right click Open link in new tab, right click Open link in new tab, right click Open link in new tab) just to understand and compare the products.

Some of these websites require us to enter detailed project information (square footage, energy requirements, fire-rating, attack-resistance, quantity/size, finish) that we as specifiers might not have readily available to us. And all too often a specifier's search will come to a conclusion at Contact Your Local Rep, which manufacturers understandably think of as an opportunity to provide relevant project-tailored assistance, but feels much more like a dead end to the specifier and their quest for quick answers. At times it can be very inconvenient and frustrating, especially at 1am when still trying to complete a noon deadline. We may only spend a couple minutes on the website before jumping over to some other manufacturer's site that offers this info in a clear format.

While it's understandable that a manufacturer might move towards online info only, to ensure consumers are looking at the most up-to-date info versus the out-of-date PDF's on our hard drives. But my message to the manufacturers would be this: You put together a really informative document that's so useful to me that I've downloaded it to my laptop and I share it with my colleagues, so I'm going to keep using it until the copyright date prompts me to check for a new one. Please keep it up-to-date and available online. (Yes, we always look at copyright dates on your documents.)

Here's how specifiers and their architect colleagues use Product Selection Guides:

For quick and easy product comparison when initially selecting a product. Specifiers are generally not afraid to get in-the-weeds when evaluating products. But we very much prefer to do this only on 1 or 2 products that we've identified as contenders, versus having to do the deep dive on several of your products just to weed out the noncontenders.
To get an educated start early in the project. We promise we'll call the product representative later in the project when we really dig into things. But at this moment, we just need some quick direction, and we're knowledgeable enough to make those selections on our own, often in the middle of the night, given the right information.
To get a picture of your full product range, not just the one product we were led to through a series of menus or project-specific questions. What if your other similar product is a better solution for our application, but we were never made aware that your other product existed?
If we're unfamiliar with the product type itself, a selection guide is the first clue to the range of product options typical to that product type. What's even offered out there? What questions should we be asking?
Sometimes a product selection guide is useful when a substitution comes through for a different version by the same manufacturer. That guide could actually be part of the product data submittal itself if it helps the contractor communicate that this similar-but-different product might be better suited for the project. (i.e. alternative chemistry intended for installation in cold weather or to withstand being exposed to UV for a longer length of time, a fire- or water-resistant version, a heavier-duty version, product that's actually intended for pedestrian foot traffic vs. a product from the same series that we specified just because we know it's durable, etc.)
Among the many other product characteristics and performance data that can be included, a product selection guide is a great place to clearly state what applications your product is suitable for and what limitations should be considered.
To help us navigate your immense and impressive product offering. Let's face it, giving a product a catchy name that's also informative and trademarkable is not an easy thing to do and you probably had to give in and start using alpha-numeric product names. Your website might feature a really complete menu covering all your products, but to keep it concise and all-inclusive, you've only listed the products by name without added description. How on earth is the specifier supposed to know the subtle and sometimes complex differences between your products simply by looking at your menu? Sometimes we need to see a product selection guide before we start to navigate your site.

Every now and then an architect colleague will ask me How did So-N-So Inc. become our typical Basis of Design? When I stop and think about it, sometimes the answer is simply because that manufacturer published their information in an easy-to-use format, either a Product Selection Guide or an easily navigable web design.

Manufacturers, please consider making your Product Selection Guide available online, ideally in PDF format, hopefully without registering or creating an account. If you've discontinued making such a document available, please reconsider. If you've never really had one and you're not sure where to start, try referencing that cheat sheet you put together for the new regional sales representative, it's probably a good place to start.

Contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.

Colin

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Colin Gilboy
Publisher - 4specs
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