5 Reasons Why Catalogers Struggle Selling Online
In order to grow, catalogers need to view web-only merchants (e.g., Amazon, eBay, shopping engines) as their competition, not other catalogers, LaPierre said. Catalogers drive business to these merchants every time they mail a catalog, he added.
There are five common failures that doom many companies to being stuck as catalogers, LaPierre said:
- obsession with their catalog/failure to think online;
- failure to develop web-only products;
- failure to drive customers online;
- loss of the "quest of product; and
- failure to acquire customers online.
The Most Dangerous Number in the Catalog Industry
The postage threshold weight of 3.3 ounces — the most dangerous number in the catalog industry, according to LaPierre — to qualify for the cheaper letter rate for catalog mailings often dictates the direction companies take. This is a major mistake, said LaPierre. The mentality that consumers only need 64 pages and 450 products to satisfy their needs is antiquated.
