Direct marketing catalogs can be an excellent way to promote your product or service. Direct marketing catalogs can multi-pronged in approach, and can simultaneously achieve several marketing objectives. Direct marketing catalogs can be used to increase brand and product awareness, brand recall and sales. If done correctly, it can cultivate a top-of-mind awareness among your consumers. Direct marketing catalogs can also be used in conjunction with sales and promotions to great effect.

However, considering the costs of producing direct marketing catalogs, it would be prudent to develop an effective distribution strategy before embarking on the campaign. Producing direct marketing catalogs can be a costly affair. There are many costs associated with producing a good direct marketing catalog, and these costs can balloon easily.

Inevitably, cost is an issue. But great care needs to be exercised when corners are being cut. It would be a mistake to distribute a poorly produced catalog. A poorly produced marketing message can be a bad touch point for consumers. Such messages speak poorly of the product, service and the company. Whenever you make a brand contact with a consumer, it is important that the information transaction occurs entirely on your terms. All elements need to be carefully thought out and well executed.

Sometimes, the medium is the message. A poorly printed, poorly designed catalog carries negative brand messages. On the other hand, a well-designed, well-printed marketing catalog, wrapped in embroidered silk leaves a long-lasting, positive brand message. Such an intricately prepared and produced catalog may even be kept far beyond its duration of relevancy, merely for its high production value. This helps to encourage top-of-the-mind awareness. Whenever the consumer sees the catalog, they're reminded of your brand, product and service, thus effectively turning a simply catalog into in-home advertising.

Now that we've examined the possibilities a good catalog can bring, we need to get these catalogs into the hands of the correct consumer. To successfully run any marketing campaign, it is crucial to obtain as much consumer information as possible. This information is needed to successfully craft a message that will resonate with the beliefs and values of the consumer. For direct marketing catalogs, knowing your consumers' geographical demographics can be especially important.

There are several options available to you when you deicide to disseminate your message. You can outsource the work to a postal or marketing company, or you can do it yourself. Regardless of how you decide to do it, it is important that the disseminator has a well formed list of consumers to target.

Knowing the consumer is half the battle. A good mailing list can act like a strategic map. It may be able to show you the possible locations and consumers that you may want to target.

Despite the advances in information technology, consumers are still swayed by direct marketing efforts such as direct marketing catalogs. Placing your message in a tangible medium for consumers to touch can be a very powerful method of communication. But placing your message into the hands of the correct consumer is even more so.