Catalog Choice Launches New Tools to Benefit Merchants on the Web
New Orleans, LA – On May 4 at the Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants, Catalog Choice will unveil a set of new premium services that will enable merchants to better connect with consumers using customized digital tools and online distribution methods. These new premium tools allow merchants to create digital catalogs and portable widgets, which can be used to distribute product information across the Web and on cell phones. Within Catalog Choice, companies can now offer email opt-in to send messages directly to consumers who want to hear from them.
“Our premium services are designed to help companies migrate to new digital marketing programs,” said Chuck Teller, executive director of Catalog Choice. “There are more than one-million Catalog Choice members who are actively seeking paperless options to follow their favorite brands.”
The premium services give merchants more ways to connect with their customer base and Catalog Choice members, enhancing the customer experience with little IT expense. Merchants can offer email news to Catalog Choice members who choose to subscribe. They can also integrate a contact preference service into their own Web sites that lets consumers change their preferences without leaving the merchant’s site. With a new, product feed-powered Catalog Widget, merchants can tap into social marketing and reach new customers through smart phones and across the Web, from blogs to Web sites to Facebook and on CatalogChoice.org. Companies can also offer an eCatalog, an online version of a merchant’s catalog that is automatically announced to Catalog Choice members. These paperless tools are designed to be simple for merchants to adopt, saving IT budgets and making it easy for them to build up their presence online.
“We’re excited to use these new tools to maximize our online marketing opportunities and target the consumers who are most likely to buy,” said John Seebeck of Crate & Barrel. “As a merchant of products for the home, we’re always searching for convenient, cost-effective ways to reach our growing base of online customers.”
The premium services are an easy way to add additional value onto a basic Catalog Choice account. Catalog Choice has also enhanced its free basic service for merchants by adding the ability to accept opt-in and opt-down requests from consumers who wish to receive catalogs less frequently. Basic accounts let merchants post their catalogs in Catalog Choice’s Cool Catalogs area and send one-time confirmation messages to consumers with special offers, links to the merchant’s blog or other information.
“As a growing company, these new, low-cost tools really give us a leg up on our online marketing,” said Brian Hashemi, head of marketing at UncommonGoods. “We are already hearing from our customers that they appreciate the convenience of being able to select how we connect with them. They say that having this choice makes shopping with us an even better experience.”
Catalog Choice is a nonprofit service that helps consumers and catalog marketers work together to reduce unwanted catalogs and go paperless in order to save money and natural resources. Learn more online at www.CatalogChoice.org.
