Catalog Doctor: The Lost Art of Effective Cataloging
7. A Strong, Differentiated USP, Communicated Well
Does your unique selling proposition (USP) make your catalog and brand different from and better than the competition? Here's another topic for deep thinking: Once your USP is pinned down, communicate it in a customer-relevant way. This goes beyond an "About Us" page on your website. Thread your USP throughout your branding design and copy. If you're the best, your design and copy should look and read the best. If you're the cheapest, ditto. Don't shy away from short support editorial (e.g., recipes, histories, tips, backgrounders, designer profiles — whatever is right for your brand). "Horrors" some will say, "a misuse of space that could be used to sell products!" Wrong. If you can craft meaningful editorial that helps consumers buy your products, you're employing one more tool to lift response.
Susan J. McIntyre is Founder and Chief Strategist of McIntyre Direct, a catalog agency and consultancy in Portland, Oregon offering complete creative, strategic, circulation and production services since 1991. Susan's broad experience with cataloging in multi-channel environments, plus her common-sense, bottom-line approach, have won clients from Vermont Country Store to Nautilus to C.C. Filson. A three-time ECHO award winner, McIntyre has addressed marketers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, has written and been quoted in publications worldwide, and is a regular columnist for Retail Online Integration magazine and ACMA. She can be reached at 503-286-1400 or susan@mcintyredirect.com.