The best customer to target with a print catalog is your existing customer - the customer who shops at your store on a regular basis. If you don't have a web site, you are behind in satisfying the needs of these customers already. Add a web site and send a print catalog to drive your existing customers online, making it more convenient for them to buy your products (which they are already spending money on), then you focus the rest of your marketing efforts on gaining new customers. This strategy can increase your profits while cutting your costs so you win on both ends of the profit-cost equation.

And you don't have to spend a lot of money on a catalog. A small catalog that is attractive and used effectively can be produced for about $2 per catalog. And you don't even have to mail it. Give one to your best customers the next time they visit your store and tell them to visit your web site. You'll be surprised at how quickly they convert to online shoppers, saving themselves time and, in many cases, spending more money.

A magalog is similar to a catalog and can be even more effective, even making you money on its production. Some retail businesses can benefit tremendously from this high-powered and effective marketing tool.

It is much like a catalog except that it also includes some editorial copy, like a magazine, and some advertising from noncompeting companies.