Catalogs for Shopping FreaksBy Viojieley Gurrobat
Norin fusses with samples of foundation makeup in a department store. She smears some onto one cheek. Too dark. She wrinkles her nose. The second sample doesn’t look right, either. The saleswoman at the cosmetics counter cleans Norin’s face with a tissue and applies another tone. She turns to her friend, who just shrugs. For the next sixty-five minutes, Norin fingers makeup boxes, dabs lip gloss and gazes at her tanned complexion in the mirror, searching for a new face that will give her a new identity.
With Norin’s actions it is evident that people, especially women, are very particular with what they want. They would stop at nothing just to get the right color of lipstick or the right tone of makeup. This is one of the reasons why the need for a better marketing scheme is important for every business. It is important to create name recognition and brand awareness so people would be enticed to purchase their products, thus, reducing the time customers spend in shopping.
Catalogs can be one of the most important sales tool for showcasing your products and services. They can be the tool you can use in announcing to the market what your business is all about. They can be mailed or handed out to prospects and customers. But just like any other marketing material it is essential to create a catalog that best represents the business that you have. Color choices, paper quality and printing techniques are a few of the things you need to consider in producing a good catalog.
You also need to humanize yourself and your catalog by making it seem like the catalog came from friendly and helpful people. This way your prospects will easily trust you and avail of your products. A harmonious layout can also help in creating a professional elegant look to your catalog. And including enough variety can keep the readers interested instead of becoming bored.
Likewise, the photos that you will include in the catalog need to be effectively shot. Good product photos are more than of an art than styling. Remember that readers are likely to keep away from products that they can’t even recognize in pictures. So make an effort to produce pictures that tells the readers what they need to know about the product. And make sure to throw in some extra in your catalog to make your customers happier.
And if you send Norin and other ‘Norins’ out there your catalog, perhaps the next time they think of shopping they’ll have a look at your catalog first and decide if there is something they want there before enduring in another long hours of testing and dabbing tons of makeup in their face.
