Meet Your Buyers

“Martha! It’s here! It’s here!” Everyone jostles one another as they rush the catalog into the front room and sit down to read. “Let me read it first!”
“No, me!”
“Don’t wrinkle it!”

While they don’t say so out loud, I think many catalogers envision the above scene when their catalogs arrive in the homes of their target audiences.

And for a few of your better customers, this scene may not be too far off. Studies have shown that catalogs are more positively received by consumers than any other form of direct mail.

But assuming you’ve already covered all the basics (and so your catalog offers attractively presented, desirable merchandise at reasonable prices to a well-targeted audience), then you’re already selling well to your committed buyers. And if you want to raise your response rates, your catalog now must sell harder to your less-committed customers. Specifically, your catalog must sell better to people who are rushed, grumpy and don’t care much about your products.

Selling to Tough, Marginal Customers

“Mary, that catalog we always love so much has arrived! But look: They’ve improved it! The type is a lot easier to read, and now you can actually tell which copy goes with which picture. And the headlines are much clearer, too.
“We’ve been good customers for years, but with all of these improvements, this catalog is just way too clear, appealing and easy to use. Let’s never buy from it again.”

When I tell catalogers to sell harder to marginal customers, I sometimes hear: “But if I do that, I’ll turn off my core customers.” This answer always makes me wonder if catalogers really think their best customers will be turned off by clarity, offended by ease of use or irritated by organization.

In fact, many catalogers get their start by selling to a small, highly committed, niche audience—people who are so eager to purchase the cataloger’s products, they’ll buy despite lack of clarity, poor readability, a confusing layout and puzzling photos. But that doesn’t mean your core audience actually prefers confusion and lack of clarity; it simply means they’ve been willing to put up with it. If you build your catalog to sell better to tough, marginal customers, that same catalog also will sell well to your core audience.

Tips That Can Help

• To grab rushing customers’ attention, make one product on each spread very easy to notice.

• To grab the attention of lazy customers, create an instantly visible connection between copy and photos.

• Put your strongest products in your catalog’s best spots, so even casual skimmers will notice your bestsellers.

• Write layered spread headlines, group heads, product heads and product subheads, so even glancers will absorb a clear, compelling message.

Design by Deletion

“I much prefer this layout,” the cataloger told me.
“Why!?” I asked. “It has way too much white space. And the headlines are way too small.”
“Of course,” the cataloger said.
“And it’s totally boring. Every page looks the same. So why on earth do you like it?”
“It’s ‘clean.’”

When I see a catalog layout that I know will sell badly to marginal customers, the cataloger or catalog designer often will describe it as “clean-looking.” Unfortunately, a clean design can mean a page with a lot of white space, tiny product heads, little copy and a thin sans serif font used for everything from headlines to prices. This combination of design elements usually won’t sell well to marginal customers, because an excessively clean design makes them work too hard. There aren’t any clear headlines to orient rushing shoppers; no clear type treatment to guide hurrying eyes to the benefit line and price; no bestsellers with hero presentations to grab the attention of unmotivated customers; and no powerful copy to close the sale.

So why do many catalogers prefer an overly clean design? I think it’s because when they’re shown a complex layout they don’t like, they try to think of what they’d like better. Since catalogers seldom are designers, they ask that design treatments progressively be removed—until they end up with a sparse page.

But that’s the wrong solution, because it won’t sell well to marginal prospects. If you don’t like a layout your designer has devised, ask to have it fixed. Don’t just “clean it up,” or you’ll lose selling effectiveness.

Hurry-up Readers

“Harry, look what came! It’s a catalog I’ve never seen before, filled with products I’m only vaguely interested in, and I’m so busy now with other things! So I think I’ll sit right down and read every word of copy in this catalog!”

Another request I often hear from catalogers is to remove unnecessary copy elements from the page (e.g., spread headlines, and longer benefit-oriented product headlines). “Just use the product’s name above each copy block,” they’ll say, “Our customers will learn all they need to know from reading the body copy.”

They won’t. If you want to sell to more marginal prospects—and you do if you want to raise your response rates—provide readers with design elements they can use to orient themselves when skimming your book. You must endure some “unnecessary” copy elements such as spread headlines, internal subheads, prominent price lines and the like. Properly designed, these elements can be a natural and graceful part of each page. But they do need to be present and carefully planned to sell well to your marginal customers.

Susan McIntyre is president of McIntyre Direct, a full-service catalog agency and consulting firm based in Portland, OR. She can be reached at (503) 286-1400.