Catalog Doctor: Leveraging Your Catalog Assets Across Channels

PATIENT: "My internet marketing manager says she needs more budget for web, email, ads and social media. My store manager says he needs more budget for store marketing. But I don't have any more budget to give them. How can we stick with the budgets we have and still accomplish our goals?"

CATALOG DOCTOR: "You've already put the time and expense into building your catalog. Here's your chance to repurpose all those assets — photos, copy, offers, creative concepts — for your other channels. Here are 25 prescriptions that other catalogers are using successfully to leverage their catalog investments while also building a consistent brand experience."

Leverage Your Catalog Covers
Catalog front covers are iconic; they prominently display your logo, build brand recognition and are a recognized shopping medium that clearly says "We're open for business."

Here are six ways to leverage your catalog covers:

1. An email promoting your newest catalog will earn lots of clicks and help the catalog get more looks when it arrives in-home because consumers will already be familiar with it.

2. Refresh your homepage by adding your latest catalog cover to it.

3. Add your latest catalog cover next to the "Free Catalog" message on your website. This serves as a clear visual call to action. Do the same for your "Sign up for the catalog" page.

4. Add your catalog cover to web banner and behavioral ads to show "we're a catalog company." This adds credibility for some prospects and helps increase recognition when your catalog arrives in the mail.

5. Add your catalog cover to the bottom of store ads to let out-of-trading-area folks know there's another way to buy from you.

6. Add your catalog cover to in-store catalog sign-up sheets or kiosks as an instantly clear visual.

Leverage Catalog Product Groupings
Do you devise new catalog product groups to add in-
terest and pacing to your books, like "Gifts for Travelers," "Staff Favorites" or "All Things Pink"? If so, consider the following:

7. Add landing pages and navigation for those same product groups on your website to deliver new browsing opportunities.

8. Add cross-sells to landing pages from individual product pages that are members of the product group.

9. Send emails highlighting new catalog product groupings. Then link to the new landing page.

10. Post an item from a product group to your social networking sites. Talk about why that product is of value to consumers, with links to the landing pages for the group and the product.