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.

Leverage Catalog Editorial
Do you have editorial extras in your catalog — e.g., tips, recipes, news, awards, community involvement? If so, try the following:

11. Add tips, recipes, reviews, did-you-knows and how-tos to emails as extra bonuses. They add perceived value and give subscribers more reasons to click through to your website.

12. Add tips, recipes, reviews, did-you-knows and how-tos to your site. They add credibility and increase organic search results and time spent on your site.

13. If your business has been recognized with an award, include a mention of it in your web ads and on your homepage to increase credibility.

14. Post news such as store openings or community initiatives to your social media sites. Report it in a newsletter-style email.

Leverage Your Photos and Copy
15. Do you take detailed product shots for your catalog, like the pockets of a coat or the inside compartments of a suitcase? Add those detailed shots to your web product pages or use a rotating .gif to add visual interest on your home-
page, along with the primary image of that product.

16. Use catalog images and copy to create a postcard or small flier to drive traffic to your brick-and-mortar store(s) or website.

17. Create product-specific header cards for your retail displays, using images and copy from your catalog. This works well for promoting non-packaged products, and helps cut down on customer questions to staff.

18. Use catalog images and copy to create outgoing order inserts for web/catalog mail orders and in-bag inserts for store orders.

19. Use catalog subheads and other benefit copy as alt tags for your website images. You'll increase search engine optimization and provide meaningful copy to the small group of consumers without image access (e.g., images turned off, problems accessing images, image-related disabilities).

Leverage Your Catalog Offers
20. Send an email repeating your catalog offer to remind consumers it's out there as well as putting the offer in front of those who weren't mailed. You'll drive both email and catalog sales.

21. Send a follow-up email announcing that your catalog offer deadline is fast approaching. This will build last-minute urgency.

22. Some promotions can get buried within all your catalog pages. Highlight those catalog offers with email and homepage placements.

Leverage Catalog Assets Before 
They're Created
Before you begin building your catalog assets, think about how other channels might use them as well.

23. Many catalog products will be photographed propped. But your wholesale book may need an unpropped image. It's quick and easy to take a second shot with the props removed — and a lot cheaper than having two photo shoots.

24. Some catalog products work best when shot as a group (e.g., jacket, skirt, blouse, belt, shoes). Most websites require just one SKU per page, however. So when shooting, ask yourself if your group shot can be cropped several ways to show each product individually. If not, sometimes a simple camera angle change or product rearrangement will make the photo work for both channels. Taking another shot with one of the products removed (e.g., jacket off of the blouse) is another option to give you all the images you need for all channels.

25. Copy is basically the same for catalog and the web, but it needs to be structured differently for each channel. Have copywriters supply you with both catalog and web versions at the same time to minimize your copy investment.

Susan J. McIntyre is founder & chief strategist of catalog consulting agency McIntyre Direct. Reach Susan at susan@mcintyredirect.com.