Advertise With a Multi-Purpose, Not Just Sales
With all the multi-dimensional forms of advertising, such as viral marketing campaigns, competing for consumers’ attention, it’s not enough for advertising to have one major purpose anymore. Print must act as the springboard to sales, interaction and advocacy, said Katie Muldoon, president of catalog consultancy Muldoon & Baer, in a presentation during the DMA’s Insert Media Day in New York.
“Most of us are used to ‘going for the order’ and, therefore, depend on a variety of proven techniques to achieve success in getting that order,” Muldoon said. “In reviewing inserts I created 30 years ago against inserts created today, strategies and tactics have not changed. While there is a lot to be said for relying on proven technique, today’s environment suggests that an advertisement needs to generate much more than just immediate sales.”
Citing a figure published in Catalog Success last year, Muldoon pointed out that nearly 74 percent of merchants sell goods in multiple product categories, up from 54 percent. They said finding and keeping customers is the most difficult challenge. “All advertising forms must incorporate customer advocacy, not just initial sales, as a major goal,” she said.
She offered the following suggestions to marketers using inserts.
*Find a way to better understand and cater to the way consumers are acting now by urging customers to both come to you and to want to stay. Do this by being humorous and interactive.
*Sell through truly useful print and Web pages that add real entertainment content.
*Support the electronic bandwagon by incorporating prominent links to parts of your site that offer fascinating tactics, such as useful and entertaining hints, guides, contests, sweepstakes, live chat and so on.
*Don’t just drive the order; let customers understand that ordering from your company will provide all the qualities they have come to expect from a top business while also give them the panache of ordering from a company that manages to combine fun and usefulness.
