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Article Contributed by Jemima Meyers

You might think that with all the e-commerce going on print catalogs would be better suited to holding up that wobbly table leg than being used as a product marketing tool – well, think again. Catalog marketing is most definitely not dead and, in fact, the print catalog industry continues to see steady growth every year.

Printing plays a substantial role in the U.S. and worldwide economies, and while print marketing and mail order catalogs hit a lull during the recession of the late 2000s, there has been a resurgence of this type of marketing in recent years.

Print is here to stay as an effective and important marketing tool and it can be utilized in a variety of ways, most notably in the arena of niche print catalogs that drive business to well-designed e-commerce websites.

Product placement

According to Statista IKEA printed catalogs topped 213 million copies in 2015. Their catalog printing has steadily increased since the 1950s and that figure is a nearly 53 million increase in printed catalogs per year in just the last decade alone. As someone who has been personally roped into visiting my nearest IKEA outlet after leafing through their printed catalog, I can say, with all sincerity, that this kind of marketing strategy still works.

Not only does IKEA use the catalog to organize their products in a way that we can understand, it helps us visualize the products in our own home better than browsing digital marketplaces. When we’re sitting on our couch or in bed leafing thought a catalog, it becomes easier to visualize wanting to bring those products or items into our own houses: the products are, in a way, already in our own homes.

Print catalogs are also easier to share with others in offline situations – think parties, meetups, religious gatherings, office break rooms, and other places where crowding around a computer tor hand-held device is just not practical.

Multi-channel marketing strategy

Retailers need to understand the complex relationship between stores, internet, and catalogs. With multichannel marketing you push and pull customers from all sides to the point of sale. This is especially true for niche companies that want to help people identify with a brand.

While the internet does offer unlimited space for promoting products and services, the catalog is still an integral part of a comprehensive marketing strategy and, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), catalog mailings reached 11.9 billion in 2013.

Catalogs tend to stick around with a current or potential customer long after the products may be discontinued or refreshed. Having that physical presence in their lives is a constant reminder that the company exists – and customers are more likely to seek out the products again when they need them.

Even prosperous and diverse companies like Amazon are working with catalog-on-demand partners to bring PDF print catalogs of seller products back to the masses. Many businesses are interested in using the catalogs with their local mailing lists and sales reps. Other companies like Dell, and those that started off on the internet, like eBay, are also working along similar lines.

Niche-oriented catalogs

The more in-tune you are with your customers, the more likely they are to buy from you. That means not only offering them quality products, but quality content as well. Successful boutique brands are now branching into the world of magazine creation, where they give their clients more tips, help, and inspiration – the things they need in their day-to-day life – all while selectively marketing their products.

This works especially well when breaking up a large company catalog into smaller niche catalogs that specifically address certain customer segments. The more that you can prove that you understand your target customers, the better your sales figures will be.

Driving traffic to a website

While the mail order call center model may have migrated online, revenue from catalogs is still constant. Print catalogs now help drive customers to the internet and the two media have a very symbiotic relationship. Understanding this relationship and creating complementary content on both types of platforms will ensure that you see a massive return on your investment.

As much as big companies like Google are pushing for a digital revolution (with a vested interest in a growing digital economy) printed media is here to stay. Not only is it better for us, from a health perspective, to take breaks from our screens, but the sales potential for integrating print and other platforms means that these “old-school” catalogs will be a mainstay in retailer’s toolboxes, and customer mailboxes, for years to come.