How to handle your catalog’s midlife crisis

By Sarah Fletcher

3. Put yourself squarely in the eye of the beholder.
Take time to go through your catalog the way your customers do. For instance, if your ideal customer is female, 35 to 55, educated, likes reading and travel, is Latino, trendy, more chic than cheap, and a mainstream user, pretend to be her and go through your catalog and actually shop for something. Develop an information hierarchy of what you (she) need(s) to make a purchase. If yours is a gifts catalog, the first information hurdle is who’s she buying for? Therefore, make sure it’s easy to find gifts by recipient type.