Catalog Doctor: More Than a Look-Alike

PATIENT: My catalog’s in a fairly crowded market. All my competitors look similar and carry many similar products. Is that the best way to do it? Will I sell more being more like the competition, or should I work to be
really different?

CATALOG DOCTOR: Being different is better for your catalog, but there are some wrinkles, too. Learn the signs and symptoms of being too much like your competitors.

Do your customers get you mixed up with your competitors? If so, you’re losing out on building customer loyalty and higher response.

Sit back, let me tell you a story. Five competitive catalogs carried many of the same products at about the same price points. Their designs were so similar that if you covered up their logos you couldn’t tell which was which, and their names were indistinctive.

To break out of years of zero growth, one of those catalogers studied customer perception of its brand vs. the competition. The surprising result? Customers had the same perception of all five brands. In fact, some customers were shocked to find that they’d been buying from five different brands for 20 years, not just one! Those customers thought they were brand-loyal, but response rates showed otherwise.

The cataloger that performed the study reviewed its unique selling proposition. It then formulated a unique slant within its niche and developed a unique design and copy voice. Making the brand distinctively different increased response by 15 percent and got the book back on a growth path.

Are You No. 2, 3 or 4?
If your catalog is up against a strong, entrenched competitor, it’ll have a hard and costly time going head-to-head with the rival’s brand recognition and loyal audience. So instead, carve your own unique niche out of the market. Find that niche by looking for the unserved vacuum.

For example, is one of your competitors selling “the best” of your product category at the highest prices? Is another selling the cheapest? You may be able to carve out a successful market segment with moderately priced, solid-quality products that target a midmarket audience that wants neither the most luxurious nor the cheapest, but good, solid, midpriced value.

Remember, no competitor is getting 100 percent response. If your main focus is people who aren’t buying from the competition, then you can build a solid, loyal customer base catering to the unserved needs of consumers in that vacuum.

Passion’s Power Pitch
Catalogs with an in-depth understanding of audience needs can source/develop products that are right on target. When readers react to a catalog with, “Wow, what great products,” response rates soar, and a loyal customer base is built.

A team of entrepreneurs were looking around for investment opportunities and noticed a catalog product category that was growing fast. So they started a catalog with the specific “strategy” of copying the leading competitor. They sourced identical products and sold at about the same prices.

But those entrepreneurs were always behind the curve since early adopters had already purchased from the market leader. They also never had any unique products to offer because, unlike the market leader, this copycat team wasn’t on a mission to improve its customers’ lives with perfect products.

There was really no reason for folks to buy from the copycat entrepreneurs rather than the market leader, and they eventually folded the business.

If you’re trying to increase market share, don’t simply study the market leaders, check out their designs and think, “If only our catalog looked more like theirs, we’d capture some of their market share.” Customers may mix up your catalog with your competitors’ catalog, so you could lose your valuable customer loyalty.

Susan J. McIntyre is founder and chief strategist of McIntyre Direct, a full-service catalog creative agency and consulting firm based in Portland, Ore. You can reach her at (503) 286-1400 or susan@mcintyredirect.com.