What is your catalog, really? Do you see it as a list of products more for internal use, to help you keep track of what you’re selling? Is it a book your customers can use to order from you? Is it a guide your customers can use to get ideas that may lead them to buy products from you or someone else? Or is your catalog part of an integrated marketing campaign? Perhaps it should be.
The Life of a Catalog
Think about what happens when a catalog arrives in your mail. Obviously, if you have no interest in the products in the catalog, it goes straight to the garbage, but if you think there might be something in that catalog that you need, chances are it’s going to hang around for awhile. Maybe it gets shown to other family members, passed around to a friend, or maybe it just sits on a table, staring back at people as they walk by. In any case, it’s getting viewed, right up until the day it hits the recycling bin.
What People Use Catalogs For
The obvious use for a catalog is to find an item and order it, but that has changed a bit in the digital age. Now people might view an item in a catalog, and then go looking for it online, trying to gather more information or reviews, or perhaps find a better deal. With a good catalog marketing campaign, the catalog becomes a tour guide for that trip to the Internet. It can steer your potential customer toward your own website or another site you recommend instead of leaving them to wander the Internet on their own, perhaps finding false information about your product or buying it somewhere else.
Targeted Catalog Marketing
Of course, the real value in a catalog campaign comes from getting the book in the hands of the people who may actually be interested in your products, and presenting your information in such away that people want to know more rather than wanting to throw the catalog away.
A good catalog marketing campaign will help you to target specific households and demographics that are less likely to toss the catalog in the trash. It will help you choose between full catalogs and targeted publications that just highlight a few key pieces, encouraging the reader to seek more information on your website or in your store. In short, a good marketing campaign will get you more bang for your catalog buck.
For more information about the advantages of catalog marketing, check our article.
Are you ready to kick your catalog marketing campaign into high gear? The experts at Arandell are ready to help you put together the right catalog and surrounding marketing plan to bring your business to the next level.
