Merchandising Wizardry
by Katie Muldoon

One of the most important aspects to catalog success is merchandising. Here are a few tips to navigate the rough waters.

Get the right analysis
You must have price point and category direction to avoid spinning your wheels while you're out in the market.

Think add-on
Using your best seller as a guide, consider the products that might work with the item (not more of the same but in addition).

Review again and again for cross-selling opportunities
This helps overcome consumer indecision because it takes the guesswork out how to put things together.

Make something out of a product that it wasn't before
For example, gardening rocks that were only rocks, but with the addition of a clever saying, are now considered "decorative assets."

Extend a product's use
Some catalogers have taken cafeteria-style stoneware and presented it as a "new" alternative to traditional tableware.

(Taken from Direct, The Magazine of Direct Marketing Management)

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