7 Advantages Of Selling Your Product In Mail Order Catalogs (written November, 2007)
Find out why mail order catalogs are lucrative tools for marketing your product!
- You sell to a large market. U.S. catalog sales are now over $100 billion a year. Approximately two-thirds of all consumers have made a purchase through mail order in the last 12 months. With the right product a company can go from absolutely nothing to several million in sales – just through catalogs.
- You compete more easily. Catalogs offer a level playing field for the big corporation and the smallest start-up. With few exceptions, products are judged and sold on their merits, not on the reputation or size of their manufacturer.
- You need just one product. Unlike some distribution, manufacturers don’t need a “line” of products. Catalogs evaluate one product at a time. So the one product company is not at such a disadvantage as when they are trying to break into a department store.
- You save on packaging. Unlike point of purchase sales where the package helps sell the product on the store shelf, the package has no bearing on the sales of an item in a catalog. So you don’t need an expensive 4-color box. In fact, the simpler the packaging, the better. A plastic bag is often sufficient.
- You keep your risk low. A few catalogs now require a nominal advertising fee to sell your product. However many catalogs still won’t charge you anything to advertise your product.
- You get national exposure. Catalogs offer start-ups and small companies exposure to millions of potential customers all over the country. When your product appears in a recognized catalog, your product and your company enjoy instant credibility.
- You test the market. Catalogs provide an ideal opportunity to find out how well your product sells. In addition, when you place your product in specific niche catalogs, you can test different segments of the marketplace. Naturally success in catalogs can lead to success in other marketing avenues.
The author of this article is Larry Costello, President of All-American Print & Mail, 2200 Wilson Blvd #102-57, Arlington, VA 22201.