Online Catalogs-What's the Message? (1,049 words)
The eventual impact of the Internet and e-commerce is probably beyond any of our current ideas or thinking. I say this because while some currently view the Internet as another technological advance, others, myself included, see it as a major watershed in human history.
To really understand the Internet one should recall Marshall McLuhan's postulate from his book "Understanding Media." In it, McLuhan writes the line he's most famous for: "The medium is the message." That is how we need to look at the Internet, and how it will affect cataloging. It, not the content, is the message.
I suspect that if McLuhan were alive today he would be yelling to the hills about the Internet and how it is being interpreted by most observers. People see it as just a channel, when that is not what it is.
The 'Net: More Than a Distribution Channel
Just look how most people describe the Internet. E-commerce, they claim, is just another distribution channel, almost as if it were another common carrier or chain of stores. In just viewing its "physical" attributes, they miss that the Internet is not a channel, but a new medium—one that is unlike any predecessor. You have to go back to the invention of moveable type to find a working analogy of its impact, in my opinion.
The trouble is that to understand the Internet, one must view it from a philosophical standpoint, and they don't teach a lot of philosophy in business schools. They do teach a lot about distribution channels. Therefore, we constantly see the industry, the media and scholars trying to pigeonhole the Internet into a convenient category rather than looking at it as new.
The Internet is a medium that is different from any other we have ever seen or experienced. True, it has elements of others, such as television in that it transmits images, and the Internet facilitates communication by wire like the telephone and fax. However, never before has a single medium combined so many communication elements, thereby creating a situation where one plus one equals more than two.
What does this mean to us as catalogers? It means we need to understand not how the Internet fits into our current marketing mix, but how it changes our business fundamentals.
Advantage: Catalogers
Fortunately, catalogers should be the biggest beneficiaries of Internet success, as many of the tools to effectively use this medium, such as database marketing, are already in place at catalog companies. However, too many catalogers still treat it as just another communication with the consumer or business customer. Why should catalogers stand above all others in benefiting from the Internet? Because the commerce portion of the Internet is just a new level of remote shopping, and no other business understands remote shopping better than catalogers.
Catalogers are already engaged in trying to get the customer to buy something sight unseen. True, in a paper catalog there are photographs and descriptions of the items, but until customers buy and receive the package, it is rare that they have had an opportunity to physically touch the item. Thus, the buyer has to trust that the company's written description and graphical depiction are accurate and that there will be no surprises when they open the package. But as catalogers well know, this is not always the case, and some people have a higher degree of hesitancy to buy remotely than they do in a store.
Presenting a catalog item means more than just taking a picture and writing some copy, as too many failed catalog companies attest to. First, there is the process of selecting merchandise to be presented and displayed on a catalog's pages—and not all products are appropriate. Then there is the presentation of the merchandise; again, no simple task.
It takes knowledge and skills to properly depict an item photographically and describe it in writing. Next come the taking and fulfillment of the order, and if necessary, the handling of any customer service issues.
While that describes briefly the production of a catalog and the physical processing of orders, there is also the issue of how to get the message in front of the right prospect. Every successful catalog has all the knowledge and staffing to accomplish this. It is through the message that catalogers can overcome the prospects' hesitancy and get them to commit to purchasing an item or service.
The same thing will be true on the Internet. It is a cataloger's knowledge of remote shopping, and what is needed to satisfy the prospective customer's fear, that should be a cataloger's edge. However, to take advantage of this knowledge, catalogers have to embrace the Internet and not treat their Web sites like just another mailing.
Using a new medium requires developing new skills and techniques. This means the medium, not the past, is the guide.
Success lies not in how to process orders, but in how to get them in the first place, and get more of them than in the past. Another key to success is learning to communicate with the customer in a different medium. This requires using what you know, backing off and studying how you can do better in the new medium.
Bill Dean is president of W.A. Dean & Associates (www.dean-assoc.com), a leading catalog-industry marketing research firm. It assists companies and investors in finding the intelligence needed for informed decision making. In addition, it publishes The Dean Report, a strategic and financial newsletter of cataloging. Dean can be reached at (415) 512-7305.
Clicks-to-Bricks Analytics
Tapping into your new customer base can be done using analysis products already on the market, such as c-Discovery, an analytic application for e-business created by Digital Archaeology of Kansas City.
The "clicks-to-bricks analytics" application is an advanced software system that integrates and analyzes marketing data across traditional channels, such as catalogs, and e-commerce channels. The product takes existing catalog buyer data and integrates it with your e-commerce buyer data to provide behavior profiles that include segmentation, demographics, shopping and purchase behavior, and most importantly, information on the effectiveness of your advertising and promotion. c-Discovery provides a comprehensive view of the customer so you can identify, measure and target business strategies for increased profitability and improved customer affinity.
For more information on c-Discovery try www.digarch.com.
- People:
- Marshall McLuhan
- Places:
- Kansas City