Marketing CirclesPrint catalog customers are no longer different from mobile customers or online customers: they are often the same customer. Keeping them engaged as they move among different channels is crucial to keeping their business.

It’s sometimes easier said than done, of course. A report from Cisco, Unifying Customer Experience in a Multichannel World, says that “the economic climate has driven customers to become highly mindful of their product consumption, and more critical of substandard products, services and interactions with businesses.”

This critical view means that the businesses that can seamlessly meld marketing and purchasing channels together are the ones that will see the highest success rates. In the catalog industry, there are many ways print and digital catalog editions can support one another.

The print edition, certainly, should be maintained as the foundation of the entire shopping experience for the customer. There are numerous ways you can optimize the digital experience to complement print:

  1. Encourage print readers to “read more reviews online” or “be the first to review this product.”
  2. Provide value, relevance and even guidance for readers by using QR codes.
  3.  Point online readers back to the print catalog by including special promotions, exclusive offers and other incentives available only in the print edition.
  4. Use your data to create and deliver unique brand experiences for each customer.
  5. Use technology to develop a single view of individual customers and their cross-channel transactions — even as they see you in different channels.

Think of cross-channel marketing as a marketing circle and you’ll be able to think of your own ways to turn your print customers into digital customers — and vice versa.