Print-Plus: Who Killed the Catalog?

The Role of Catalogs in an Omnichannel Marketing Mix
Why is a printed catalog so powerful and important to an omnichannel marketing program? There are several reasons why you shouldn't stop mailing catalogs just yet:

• A print catalog is all about the brand. It supports and reinforces the image and elevates the status of your brand in the mind of the customer. A print catalog helps create brand loyalty, but most importantly, it exemplifies what "the brand" is all about and what it stands for. Print catalogs are all about targeting a specific audience — i.e., the exact market you're trying to reach. Catalogs are all about planning and executing your strategy properly and tracking the results accurately.
• Lifetime value (LTV) is an important consideration. A buyer from a print catalog generally has a higher LTV than a web-only buyer. If someone goes to a search engine looking for a particular item, they might buy it at the right price, but it doesn't mean they're ever going to buy from that brand again. However, if the buyer originates through the catalog, they're often more loyal. You're more of a "shopper" when you order from a catalog and an "item buyer" when you buy online.
• The cost to acquire a new buyer online can be less than acquiring a buyer from a print catalog. That's why LTV becomes so important; it's not about the initial order, but rather the number of orders the customer will generate over time. Years ago, I heard someone give the definition of a "buyer" and a "customer," which has stuck with me. A buyer is someone who purchased once; a customer is someone who purchased two times or more. All catalog businesses need customers, not buyers. While catalog brands need to be willing to invest in the acquisition of buyers in order to grow, they cannot survive long term on one-time-only buyers. Neither can pure-play retailers. They both need customers.
• Consumers don't shop the internet the way they shop a print catalog. They enjoy thumbing the pages of a print catalog, looking at every item. Many catalogs are coffee table pieces that get saved and reviewed again and again. Consumers often "dog ear" the pages so they can reference certain items of interest later. Internet shoppers are generally searching for a specific item. Online catalogs haven't gained much traction and cannot be compared with a print catalog held in one's hand.
• Catalogs are effective when prospecting for new buyers. Most consumer prospect names are selected from one or more of the cooperative databases. These are proven mail order buyers modeled and targeted to your particular merchandise offer. Prospecting via the internet is more difficult. For example, rented email prospect lists don't work for catalog offers. A print catalog increases pay-per-click and search engine optimization performance. Every time a catalog goes into the mail, digital marketing programs benefit. That's why it's important to coordinate web-based marketing programs with catalog circulation plans.
• The internet is another way to order; it's about how consumers like to place orders. Consumers now have a choice to order via a toll-free 800 number, by fax or mail, or by placing their order online. Just like the catalog is what inspires a consumer to pick up the phone to place an order, it also motivates him or her to go online to place their order. The internet is much more powerful, yet at least 70 percent of the time it serves as nothing more than an order channel which was initiated by a multipage print catalog.

New Life for Catalogs
According to the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA), the number of catalogs mailed in the U.S. peaked in 2006, then fell 31 percent from 2006 to 2011. Last year saw a slight increase in catalog circulation. The ACMA reports that the number of catalogs mailed in 2014 was 13.3 billion, which is down from 20 billion in 2006. Approximately 50 percent of all Americans make purchases based on the catalogs they receive. There are 9,284 catalog titles in the U.S., according to the ACMA.