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Spring is a season of new life and renewal. So it’s a good time to re-examine the myth that “print catalogs are dead,” killed off by e-commerce, m-commerce, and other digital channels.
 
March 25, 2010 - PRLog -- Print catalogs: Still Vital in a Digital World.  

The truth is that catalogs are still a vital, vibrant, “human-scale” marketing medium that offers plenty of value to both consumers and business customers:    

·        People like the intimacy and immediacy of paper. A recent survey showed that nearly two-thirds of working Americans believe print is easier to read than digital. A like number are more comfortable reading something on paper than on screen.  Is it the tactile reassurance of having something real in their hands?  Is it the practical convenience of having something handy to grab from the mail pile when plopping down in an easy chair?  Perhaps it doesn’t matter, as long as catalogs are still effective.  

·        Not everyone has high-speed Internet.  The original retail print catalogs were started over a century ago as a way to sell to people in rural areas who didn’t have access to big-city stores.  Today catalogs are still popular with the third of Americans -- many in those same rural regions -- who don’t have access to high-speed Internet. (That’s assuming they have any Internet access – a quarter of Americans don’t.) Coincidentally or not, many people who live in rural areas are also seniors who prefer shopping and buying through traditional print channels.

·        Some working environments are still suited to print catalogs.  It’s true that more warehouses, shop floors, and other working environments have access to online catalogs via wireless connections and tablet devices.  And when it comes time to order, online may be the way purchasing managers go.  But there’s still a place on the desks of industrial purchasing managers for a dog-eared parts catalog.  It’s convenient, familiar, easy to carry around the shop, and it has contact information for other channels if they’re needed.  

So the issue isn’t whether print catalogs still serve a useful purpose in the digital area.  The issue is ensuring the optimal mix among the media you deploy in your multichannel marketing strategy.  Things to consider:

·        “Escort” your customers from your catalog to your Web site -- Customers that shop in catalogs and then buy online (45 percent of consumers, according to one poll) need to be oriented when they move from print to your Web site to make their purchase.  Your catalog should offer guidance about where to go on the Web site. Specials promoted in your print catalog should be prominently mentioned on your home page and on relevant landing pages. And the design elements and even the layout of both should complement each other as much as possible.  

·        Make your print catalogs more targeted and more economical -- Rather than sending customers a complete catalog, use dynamic database publishing techniques to economically generate catalogs targeted at specific regions, markets, and interests.  (You can always include hints and references in each catalog to the full product line being available online.) You’ll not only reduce publication and postage costs but also increase response through more focused offerings.  

·        Product information should be consistent across all channels -- Ensure that the product information in your print catalogs matches up with the information on your Web site.  That’s especially true for pricing: if the online price is higher, you’ll confuse or anger your customer; if the online price is lower, you’re giving the false impression that your Web customers get better deals than your catalog customers.  Using a common source for all product content in all channels – print, online, and in-store – will ensure that every channel is consistent.  

·        Trim mailing lists where you can -- Analyze several years of customer data to find buying trends and identify segments of your customer base that would perform just as well with reduced frequency of catalog mailings.  (Caution: remember that we’re in a recession – some of your recent data may reflect a temporary downward trend rather than a permanent change in the market.) For other insights in how to maximize the effectiveness of your print catalogs, please download this brief report on steps for ensuring sales success in a multichannel marketing economy.    

For other insights in how to maximize the effectiveness of your print catalogs, please download this  report on steps for ensuring sales success in a multichannel marketing economy.  Download Report >>>  http://www.pim-data.com/catalog_publishing

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