The Profitability of Catalogs

Catalogs are important drivers of sales. Having certain components is essential for a catalog to be successful.

These components include having the right audience and the right merchandise, and implementing well-crafted messaging, visual appeal, and customer circulation strategies.

Fitting in a clear niche and emphasizing brand image correlate with sales. An inconsistent brand image raises doubts in the minds of customers, which leads to lower response rates.

Given below are the essential components of profitable catalogs.

Catalog Images

Images play the central role in catalogs. It is not always easy for images to tell the whole product story, especially when product features are hidden. An image cannot demonstrate how good something tastes or sounds. To make up for this, images have to be high-resolution and powerful. For selling services too, visuals are very important.

Products can be shown in a set, or from different angles . For instance, in their catalog, Yves Rocher, shows products in a set, encouraging customers to buy more than one. The idea behind this is that buying products together helps customers save money.

Engaging Product Descriptions

Images should be augmented by captions, call-outs, and product descriptions. Descriptions can be short, creative, and SEO friendly.

They can also be oriented towards explaining the technical specifications of a product in text format. This type of description can be useful in catalogs for electronics and building material businesses.

Longer product descriptions can give a more sensory impression, and comment, on the advantages of a product and its distinguishing qualities . There should also be a balance between text and visual resources.

Product Videos

For online catalogs, it is a good idea to invest in videos. Videos have become a standard format for attracting attention on the internet and social media platforms.

Videos can be made personal by having someone show and talk to a potential customer about a product.

Product explainer videos also increase the relatability of a brand for its customers. Naturally Curly uses the hashtag #haveyoutriedthis in its product video, which encourages users to interact on social media.

A video with an adorable child that is less than 15 seconds in duration will be popular.

Interesting Buying Categories

Due to the ‘cross-pollination’ between online, direct mail, and social media channels, brands can send more precisely targeted media to people.

For instance, people who have embraced the WFH lifestyle might get pages of sweatpants, stationery, and desk accessories. In this respect, it would be productive to think outside the box.

Other than having categories like men’s, women’s, or kid’s, categories can have titles that show benefits or suggest a need to buy.

For instance, the Magellan’s travel supply catalog has categories like ‘What if’ for emergency items, and ‘Rise and shine’ for items like clocks and bathroom kits.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO and Founder of 5W Public Relations. Torossian is also the author of leading PR Book ‘For Immediate Release’.