The 50 Best Tips
✱ Spend time on the phone with customers who are online.
Teach customers how to deal with any online order problems, so the (Web) self-service option gains relevance again. Spending that kind of teaching time on the phone can show how much you want to support the relationship and participate together. It’s well worth the labor and phone cost if you successfully complete the transaction instead of having an abandoned online shopping cart.
— Liz Kislik, Liz Kislik Associates LLC, “Upselling, the Multichannel Way,” April, Catalog Success
CREATIVE
✱ Use copy effectively on the back cover.
Use a strong, bold headline on the top to set the mood and get prospects interested in the catalog’s unique selling proposition, special sales, etc. Look to sell a hot or new product, and offer some different price ranges. Write teasers in other product categories and throw in a strong call to action to say it’s fast and easy to order.
— Carol Worthington-Levy, LENSER, Copywriting column, “Long or Short Copy? What’s Right for You?” May, Catalog Success
✱ Rewriting the rules, again and again.
In this age of YouTube and the never-ending feast of information to be had on the Internet, our reading patience levels have become shorter and shorter because we’re all in such a rush to click to the next page. That’s forced catalog copywriters to tighten up, particularly when they’re writing sales copy for the Web. Lengthy, romantic interludes about products can’t succeed the way they once did. Cut to the chase, give a brief description, spit out the benefits and get out of there.
— Paul Miller, Catalog Success, “Rewriting the Rules, Again and Again,” June 27, Catalog Success’ The Corner View
✱ Engage your customers.
Customer knowledge is power. The more you know your customers, the more you can sell them. Use words customers use; listen in on CSR telephone conversations, search terms, text audits; provide relevant content, such as recipes, tips, how-tos; create a dialog; bring your customer into your office; use customer-provided content; and form a cross-functional customer experience team.
