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Informative Articles

Direct Mail
A simplisitic look at direct mail and what to expect. Where does junkmail come from? Junkmail is the result of businesses sending out advertisements to a select group of people in the hope that at least a small portion of those people will...

Increase Repeat Business and Referrals with Direct Mail
So you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for the last few years. You have a pretty big database of customers and hopefully you have been getting and keeping full contact information for them. An organized database is the first key to...

It's In The Mail - Direct Mail is Alive and Kicking!
Compared to a lot of companies in our field we do a lot of direct mail – postcards, sales letters, promotions, announcements, lead generation. Between client business and ours, we’re averaging one campaign every two weeks; about 1500 pieces per...

Quick, Helpful Tips for Direct Mail
Make Your Offer Irresistible - All good copywriters will tell you, the secret to great copy is to make it impossible to say "No"! Find the Good in Everything - Rather than try to hide negative sides to your product, try making them known with a...

Using Internet Direct Mail To Increase Your Company’s Profits
“I want to sell my company’s products on the Web, but how do I get potential clients to visit my site,” a client asked recently. The answer is a strategy that has proven extremely effective for many different businesses…Internet Direct Mail. ...

 

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Catalog Tips For Business-To-Business Direct Mail Marketers

Can your business sell its products to other businesses using a mail-order catalog? Probably. And make a profit? Maybe, as long as you follow some proven guidelines. Here are a few of them.



Niche and grow rich

Your catalog needs to fill a specific void in the market. All of the successful business-to-business (B2B) catalogs target a narrow slice of a larger market. In the home workshop marketplace, U.S. General Supply sells tools, nuts and bolts. In the business products marketplace, Chiswick sells packaging supplies. If you try to produce a catalog that sells everything to everyone, you will sell nothing to anyone. You need a niche.



One way to niche

If your current catalog sells many products to many audiences, consider producing a mini-catalog that sells just one line of products (laptops, for example) or that sells multiple products to just one audience (laptops, desktops and servers to banks, for example).



Target the decision makers

In B2B catalog sales, you are often selling to more than one person. Often, someone influences the buying decision, another person authorizes the purchase and yet another person places the order. Make sure your copy meets the unique




needs of each audience that your catalog must reach.



Use even prices to suggest premium quality

Murray Raphel, in the book 2,239 Tested Secrets for Direct Marketing Success, says even prices suggest higher quality. I agree. You don't increase sales of a $10,000 automated payroll system by offering it for $9,995.



Make it a keeper

Add how-to articles, editorial features, industry news, user tips and other helpful information throughout your catalog to give it added value as a reference guide--one that customers keep longer.



Keep it fresh

Prevent prospects from thinking that your latest catalog is the same as the old one they already have. Change your cover graphics with each new catalog, and display a prominent banner that says "38 New Products" or "10 More Pages" or something similar.





About the author:

Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers attract new clients using direct mail marketing. Sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy .com/newsletter