Create a Catalog to Supplement Your eCommerce Business
By Craig A Smith

Multi-channel marketing is the tactic of reinforcing your brand message by utilizing numerous channels to sell to customers. Not just for large retailers, small to medium eCommerce businesses can reap the benefits of multi-channel marketing and should examine strategies to do so.

As Multi-channel marketing has become “par for the course” in online retail, retailers need to serve customers in multiple channels to stay competitive. Due to rising customer expectations, retailers must provide a consistent experience that allows customers to shop via the method that they feel most comfortable. Whether the method is over the phone, by mail, online, or at a brick and mortar storefront – retailers that facilitate customers to shop via multiple channels typically get a higher level of customer value.

The numbers speak for themselves. In a cross-channel study by JC Penney, the company found that internet only shoppers spent $121 per year, retail only spent $194 per year, catalog only spent $242 per year - while a customer who shopped all three spent over $1000 per year (source: ebusinessiq.com).

In a separate study of over 500 retail and enterprise businesses, consulting firm The Aberdeen Group found that 38.4% of respondents classified “multi-channel customers” as significantly more profitable.

So where to start?

So multi-channel consumer behavior generates incremental profits - but where do you begin if you are a small online retailer? How do you progress your online business towards this new opportunity and take advantage of these developing trends?

The first step for an online retailer would be to evaluate the creation and distribution of a print catalog. A print catalog and an online store work extremely well with each other, as the strengths in each channel complement the other’s weaknesses. Consumers typically browse the catalog as they shop for products and then frequently go online to purchase them.