THE PAST HOLIDAY SEASON brought its usual torrent of catalogs. This time the post office delivered them in bunches, so that many appeared one day and none the next.
More than ever, catalogers needed to stand apart from the pack. Here are some ways they tried to do this in 2001.
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Tweaked catalog’s format. Petals’ 8-inch-by-8-inch 20-page “Last Minute Christmas” edition promised, due to its small size and few pages, to be a quick read and possible fast solution to gift-giving. As most catalogs stick to a variation on the 8-1/2-inch-by-11-inch format, changing its look — even slightly — will draw the curious.
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Promoted serious savings. Eddie Bauer and Bloomingdale’s catalogs arrived in the same batch. Bauer had a “Save $15” sticker on the cover, Bloomie’s a huge headline: “Save 35%-60%.” Guess which one I opened first and paid the most attention to? These are days of low, low prices. And, for the most part, the only retailers that did well this past season were the discounters. However, always test to see what strategy works best, as we once learned that a 55%-off promo did better than higher percentages. Some felt the deeper discounts were unbelievable and ignored the offer. Bloomie’s solved this problem by promoting a range of bargain prices. If you offer percentages off, consider reinforcing the savings by showing the price before and after the deduction. On its “Holiday Gift Guide” cover, Critic’s Choice featured top seller “Shrek,” listing the retail price in black and the sale price in red.
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Remembered to be caring. Giving a percentage of profits or sales to a good cause often has more than paid for itself and now, more than ever, people want to do good. Jackson & Perkins made its cover wonderfully seasonal and almost impossible to resist with the Holiday Miracle Rose plant, from which a portion of the proceeds goes to help homeless children.
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Displayed real numbers panache. “Over 60 new items!” “More than 130 items under $50!” These messages rang out from catalog after catalog. While I’m a big advocate of using actual figures, number redundancy is taking hold. We need some new approaches. Blissout, a spa beauty catalog, had a super example: The inside back cover showed individual items and noted exactly how much of “the stuff that seems to keep on satisfying” had sold. A grand guide, it helped consumers feel assured about their gift choices.
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Were competitive on their Christmas delivery time. No doubt it’s a wise idea to include, on the cover of your last drop, the final date orders can be placed for guaranteed Christmas delivery. But be certain you’re competitive or you’ll be guaranteeing customers will turn to those with later cutoff dates for those last-minute gifts. Most cutoffs were for Dec. 21, with some even including the last hour for ordering on that day. But one cataloger (Horrors!) noted its cutoff as Dec. 17. That’s way too many lost ordering days.
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Sold a right-for-the-season product smack on the cover. Home Trends not only featured vinyl seat covers at four for $26, but added urgency with an expiration date. The item perfectly reflected the book’s product mix, so it got customers into the catalog based on a promise the cataloger could deliver. Plus, it provided the ideal home product for a time of increased family entertaining.
Home Trends also did something that should be a must when an item is shown on the cover: It noted the page number of the featured product to save customers time. On this inside page, Home Trends displayed other, similar products as well. A smart cross-selling technique.
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Didn’t hide their customer service. Yes, we’re all being a little kinder and more patient these days, but that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten how to be demanding. Consumers don’t just want great service; they expect it. If you’ve been wise enough to anticipate your customers’ needs, shout it.
Williams-Sonoma intelligently used its entire back cover to promote “Catalog Quick Shop” easy Internet ordering. Under the banner “Gift Giving” were corporate gifts, monogramming, gift certificates and wrap, while “Gift Shopping” simply listed shopping times and methods of shipment.
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Understood the geographic area where the catalog was being sent. Christmas in my neck of the woods is in the high-70-degree range. Williams-Sonoma geographically adapted its catalog with a “Warm Wishes” sticker that referred the recipient to the book’s back cover. Here an ink-jetted message told of the local store that offered a “new outdoor selection” just right for those of us living in warmer climes. It was a most distinctive message that felt personal and thoughtful.
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Hit ’em with a “one-two punch.” Tantalize with headings such as Gardener’s Supply’s “Favorite Gift Ideas.” Then make those gift ideas really easy to find. Gardener’s “Can’t-miss stocking stuffers” section was right in the middle of the catalog by the order form, where it automatically opened to those little priced-right items. This was an excellent example of a cover that teased, and then delivered. Gardener’s also helped increase its average order by giving a 10% discount when a customer bought “two or more of any item on these pages.”
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Created a bold, enticing cover. Hardly an effortless task (and few were to be found this past holiday season), but Sephora managed just fine. A catalog of beauty products, it showcased a striking blonde model in gold-striped body paint, purple smudge eye shadow and rhinestone twig lashes. The model held a purple bit of fluff that just happened to be the powder-puff bow that goes on each golden package wrapped at Sephora.
Now that’s nice brand reinforcement — not to mention a keeper cover.
KATIE MULDOON is president of DM/catalog consulting firm Muldoon & Baer Inc., Tequesta, FL.
