Catalog Doctor
PATIENT: Doc, 20 years ago, I launched a new catalog successfully. Now I’m thinking of launching another one. But I’ve been out of the business for a while. A lot must have changed in the last 20 years. What’s different about a launch or spin-off today that I need to know?
CATALOG DOCTOR: Many of the old prescriptions for a launch or spin-off still work. But there are also new, complex combination treatments because of today’s postage costs, paper costs and the growth of the Web.
Kitchen Table Still Usable?
Launching a brand-new catalog from your kitchen table is still a theoretical possibility. Then again, so is winning $20 million in the lottery. I don’t advise betting the farm on it, however. Yet, there’s still plenty of room in the market for new catalogs. And there are ways to reduce both cost and risk.
Whether you’re launching a brand-new catalog or a spin-off from your existing book, consider testing on the Web first. Although Internet buyers don’t precisely mirror catalog buyers, a Web launch gives you pretty good insight into whether or not your concept works.
While testing Web-only enables you to build an initial buyer list — a big advantage when it’s time to add the print catalog — it also means you need not invest in printing, paper or postage, which are huge costs for today’s cataloger.
Build on an Existing Business
If you can add a catalog channel to your existing business, the risks will be lower and your chances of success much better than starting one from the ground up.
If you have a retail store, you already have inventory, an idea of what sells, a facility to warehouse and ship products — at least on a small, start-up scale — and customers coming into your store who may sign up for your mailing list.
If you’re a manufacturer, you already have products, a warehouse, and a call-center staff that’s been trained on your products and taking orders from your wholesale customers. And if you have hangtags or product packaging printed with your 800 number and URL, you also have a way to get end-users to sign up for your mailing list.
If you’re a Web retailer, you have about everything you need to launch a catalog except printed, mailed catalogs. Adding a catalog will not only deliver a new sales channel, it’ll also drive more sales to your site.
And if you already have a catalog and want to add a new one, you have practically everything you need, including catalog experience. A new catalog has lower risks and a much greater chance of success if you can leverage existing products, mailing lists and facilities.
6 Guidelines for Starting Anew
PATIENT: Doc, all this has me wondering if I should consider a new catalog at all?
CATALOG DOCTOR: Let’s look at some classic launch guidelines and crucial questions to ask yourself, all of which are still true today. Then you decide.
1. How special are your products? Products are still king. Are your products unique and not “me too”? Are they better looking, of better quality, more functional and/or lower priced than similar products on the market? If you answer “no” to all those, your catalog’s chance of success is low. If, however, you answer “yes” to one or two, your odds of success are better. If “yes” to three or more, your chances are pretty good.
2. Do you have enough of them for a catalog? Thirty or 40 years ago, mailing a line of six jams and some apple butters in a trifold flyer might have generated a profit. Today, as a minimum test, plan to have at least enough products to fill a 16-page catalog — 24- or even 32-page books are even better.
Once the test tells you if the new catalog concept is working, then try to add more pages. The more products you offer, the more reasons customers and prospects will find to buy from you.
As for how many products you need to fill a 24-page or 32-page catalog, look in other catalogs with categories and prices similar to yours. Use those as product density guidelines. Oriental Trading’s catalog product density will be right for some lines, while Pottery Barn’s density is right for others.
3. Is your current catalog spin-off-worthy? Do you already have a catalog of B-to-B products you feel can be repositioned in a B-to-C catalog or vice versa? Those are low-risk initiatives with fair chances of success.
Do you already mail several catalogs with products that would combine well into a new, targeted title? That’s also low risk with a fair chance of success.
Or, do you have a big catalog, where a subset of its products could be the perfect fit for a select audience? Also good.
4. Can you define and find your target audience? Who will want to buy your products? It’s best if most of your customers come from lists already available on the market. Examples of targeted lists include these:
• people who love to read;
• baby boomer women who need moderately priced sportswear; and
• guys who love cars.
These are easy to find through traditional prospecting. But if your product line is perfect only for left-handed redheads who collect matchbooks, even if there are a lot of them, they’re going to be hard to find among rented lists and package inserts. Product lines for such specialized audiences may be better on the Web, where customers will search for you.
5. Have you crunched all the numbers? A catalog launch or spin-off is not something to jump into lightly. Printing is still affordable, but paper and postage costs have gotten so high that launch costs are greater than ever. Does that mean you shouldn’t do one? No, it just means you must have all your ducks in a row, so do a lot of up-front analysis.
You better be very confident that you’ve identified the right products, the right audience, the right price points and the right positioning. You should also make sure your infrastructure’s ready to support the new catalog. Examine all the processes carefully. Crunch the numbers over and over. You can’t be as casual about a launch as you could 20 years ago.
6. Can you do everything well? There’s a sure way to multiply your launch or spin-off catalog’s chances of success: Do every part of the process well. It’s a simple rule with a demanding process.
But those who follow it are the same companies who are still doing well in today’s tough times. From your catalog’s eye flow to your customer call center, and from your pricing to your picking and packing, when every part of your marketing and operations is thought through and held to high standards — with the goal of giving your customers a great experience at every point — that’s the best prescription for new catalog success.
Susan J. McIntyre is president of McIntyre Direct, a full-service catalog creative agency and consulting firm based in Portland, Ore. You can reach her at (503) 286-1400 or susan@mcintyredirect.com.
