Channel Surfing

Differences in Creative

At Duncraft, a Concord, N.H.-based manufacturer and marketer of bird feeders and related products, there are two principal sales channels: a catalog and a Web site. "We want them to be harmonious, but each channel has its own nature," explains Sharon Dunn, Duncraft's president. "We produce only two editions of the catalog a year; therefore, our merchandise is pretty stable over a six-month period. With the Web, we have the advantage of how quickly things can be done and how soon you can post products. We use the Web to get new products up before we can get them in the catalog, so we can get advance sales. This also can serve as a test for how the customer responds to a certain item, which helps when we do the catalog."