Posts By Jim Tenzillo

A joint MDM-Real Results Marketing survey revealed that for distributors who have successful catalog operations and e-commerce channels, a majority believe their catalogs help drive online sales. They recognize that using the Web in concert with print efforts can provide benefits on both fronts. In this article, the authors examine the synergies between e-commerce and catalogs. They look especially at how utilizing both channels can result in efficiencies in product data, greater recognition of brand and increased sales.

This is the third in a three-part series of articles examining the state of catalog marketing and e-commerce in wholesale distribution.

Catalogs and e-commerce are critical individual components in distributors’ marketing arsenals. Distributors that have taken advantage of clear synergies between the two are reaping huge benefits, including cost savings in product information management and marketing. What’s more and, perhaps most important, they are making buying easier for their customers by allowing them to purchase when and how they want.

Results from a recent MDM-Real Results Marketing survey highlight the potential benefits of taking an integrated approach:

A joint MDM-Real Results Marketing survey revealed that more than 65 percent of distributors still view catalogs as an effective marketing channel. But there are some that view print as dead or dying. The authors of this article examine the use of catalogs by distributors across sectors and what’s driving attitudes about print marketing in an increasingly digital age.

To view all graphics in this article in pdf, download this issue.

Is print dead? Do distributors need to stop producing paper catalogs? Not so according to research conducted by Real Results Marketing with Modern Distribution Management. The results of a recent survey showed that over 65 percent of distributors (see Figure 1) who produce a catalog for their customers find that the catalogs are an effective channel.

Distributor measurements of catalog effectiveness primarily include return on marketing investment, customer retention and lifetime value, and secondarily include share of wallet and internal rate of return, according to the survey. Nearly 80 percent of distributors reported …

Not a subscriber? This report is now available in the MDM Store as a downloadable pdf. The report includes The State of Distributor Catalog Marketing, The State of E-Commerce in Distribution, and E-Commerce and Catalogs: Fast Friends. Learn more or download now.