Catalog Doctor: Intense, Competitor Analysis

SEVEN: Compile Qualitative Data

“Qual” data is subjective, so it needs a more experienced, analytical marketer or a team (e.g., a copywriter for copy review, merchant for product review) to accumulate. Qual includes:
■ Design: Is it good? Bad? Upscale? Downscale?
■ Copy: Is it clear? Confusing? Compelling? Long or short? What’s the voice?
■ What product categories are offered?
■ Is pricing comparable on perceived-comparable products?
■ Covers: Do they have impact? What characterizes the cover style?
■ Offers: Are they weak or strong? Communicated powerfully?

Have your team members compile a list of all the data points they feel are critical to your product line and customers.

EIGHT: Spot Strengths, Weaknesses

Now’s your chance to study, analyze and learn from all that comparative data. Analyze quant: “Our call-answering speed is a strength; we’re in the top 10 percent compared to the competition. Our shipping charges are a weakness; we’re high.” Analyze qual: “Competitor A’s front covers are stunning, that’s their strength and our weakness. But our offers pop more than almost all the competitors’ offers; we’re strong there.”

Efficiency hint: Search out competitors’ weaknesses. It’s easier to become strong where your competitors are weak than to try to beat your competitors head-to-head where they’re already strong.

NINE: Build Growth Initiatives

Remember our goal? Launch five new catalog initiatives. Options flow from your strength/weakness analysis. Here are several examples of growth initiatives:
Learning: Your service is tops, but your competitor’s service sounds better in its catalogs.

Initiative: Promote your service more clearly and powerfully.
Learning: Your product density is too low. You’d like to increase your products but also worry about increasing your out of stock, which is just middling.
Initiative: Create samplers of top sellers in each category. This means you offer new products, which can be built up from the in-stock items available.
Learning: You were impressed with credibility-building testimonials you saw in a couple of competitors’ catalogs.
Initiative: Create a regular program of customer testimonials for future catalogs.