Another Digital Catalog Tested and Approved

It’s always nice to see people blabbing about your products and/or services. Here is a new blog post from last week that gives a very favorable review of the National Parts Depot Catalogs that we create online using our latest technology, EdgeClix.

Great Online Catalog
National Parts Depot
Posted by MilesSpeed

Finally a online catalog that is easy to use.

I went on National Parts Depot’s website to check out some parts for my Mustang and I was really pleased with how easy the website was to use. I have looked for parts online before and had really bad luck with some of the other websites out there.

The search function works great. Somehow, on other sites, I can enter “Camaro door” and get NO results! Aside from the great search function, the page views are just like the catalog. You can click and zoom in on any part of the page for more information. The shopping list view is helpful too when keeping track of your favorites.

Check it out for yourself!
NationalPartsDepot.com

Thanks for the recognition, “MilesSpeed” We love free press.

Post via Popular Hot Rodding

Ho! Ho! Tweet!?! Social Media & Holiday Shopping

The holiday season is already here. It’s time to call up loved ones for gift ideas and begin combing the Sunday papers for the best deals. Wait. This year when I say “call up loved ones,” I actually mean go to their Facebook page, and by “Sunday paper” I mean Twitter.

The graph below shows the results from eMarketer.com’s study on social media use this holiday season.

Also reported:
- 27% of online shoppers will use social networks for gift ideas. According to eMarketer
- 45% will “use social networks to research items, compare prices and look for offers.” According to eMarketer
- 17% of all Christmas shoppers will use social media to aid their efforts in one way or another this holiday season. According to Deloitte

Since last holiday season, networking giants Twitter and Facebook have been consistently proving their promotional value to businesses. In the last 12 months, their power to share information in real-time has substantiated them as the fastest and most cost effective way for retailers to connect with potential customers. With the majority of people planning to use social media this holiday season to find discounts, coupons and sale information, I’d expect to see many creative social media-driven promotions this holiday season.

If you have already seen promotions like these, feel free to share them with us on facebook.com/dirxion or twitter.com/dirxion. We’d enjoy hearing about them.

Shoppers will do more of their holiday buying online this year

News from the E-tailing Group last week … “55% of frequent web shoppers plan to shop online this holiday season, up from 49% last year, and e-commerce will account for a 26% share of holiday spending, up from 21% last year.”

How about giving your customers something that’ll make their lives a little easier during the holidays? Create a digital edition of your Christmas catalog so your customers can shop from cover to cover online!

Long Live the Catalog

Advertising Specialty Institute®, the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, just recently announced results of an end buyer study that shows paper catalogs drive 93% of purchasing decisions. Also mentioned is that paper and online catalogs are not only effective sales tools, but also assist buyers in sparking creativity, discovering new products and realizing the importance of customization.

We at Dirxion think that the components of a printed publication cannot be beat: the attractive layout, the vibrant images and the aesthetics neatly blended with content. And well, buyers agree. While everyone may appear to be going online to purchase, it’s still the look and feel of print that gets them there.

What Marketers Want

Since the introduction of moving type, never has the world of publishing seen so much refinement. Even if that may be a little exaggerated, you’d think it was true by the constantly breaking news and blog reels spinning out of control with stories of new websites, applications and devices that will change the way people read forever.

If you were following the events of the last month, you’d probably think the publishing industry was going to make a complete about face away from paper. It almost seems logical with devices like desktops, laptops, iPhones, smartphones, the kindle and a slew of new tablets and e-readers being introduced what seems like everyday. On the surface, it seems like the publishing industry could start saving the truck loads of money it costs to print and deliver mountains of books, magazines and catalogs to their large audiences. But what many articles aren’t considering is the actual driving forces behind print - advertising.

Subscriptions to magazines aren’t a publisher’s main source of revenue. It’s the advertising inside. Marketers believe that those physical pages of a magazine continue to prove enticing to potential customers in a way that computer text and images cannot. In the same way, catalog publishers keep showing statistics that by paying the price to mail catalogs they are actually helping advertise and drive more sales to their web sites. One study showed that consumers who received catalogs from a retailer spent 28% more on that retailer’s website than those who didn’t receive catalogs.

We believe that print and web are two elements that, when working in harmony, are stronger than the sum of their parts. Why not mail a catalog or magazine to subscribers, but also make yourself available in the same outstanding visual quality on the internet. A digital edition is the perfect medium between a printed magazine or catalog, and a website or e-commerce site. It brings the reader and/or customer that same intuitive look and feel that you spent such resources designing and editing, while providing them with a fully-integrated, media-rich web experience.

It’s finding that right balance between digital and print that’ll maximize your audience and appeal to advertisers like never before.

Customer Spotlight: Ballard Designs

Ballard Designs is the most recent of Dirxion’s clients to get a monitor-sized boost to their brand. In 1982, the home furnishings retailer got its southern roots in Atlanta as a one-woman start-up and has since become a premier multi-channel retailer of unique, European inspired décor.

Not unlike our other clients, Ballard Designs came to us seeking a different way to connect with their customers. What we created for them was a digital edition that mirrors the experience of their printed catalog while giving them the interactive bells and whistles of a website.

Ballard Designs is another great example of a digital strategy done right. Their catalog isn’t just a link to some eye candy. By making good use of our information rollovers (which on a mouse over highlights products and gives shoppers the ability to click on product images within each page), their customers can now more intuitively shop by flipping through their catalog and yet still go straight to their e-commerce site to place orders.

They also wasted no time in doing their viral marketing. Last Friday, Ballard Designs broadcasted the arrival of their new digital catalog with an email to customers and through the usual social media outlets:
From Ballard’s Facebook Fan Page:
“Attn: Ballard Fans! We are very pleased and excited to announce for the first time we now have an online version of our catalog! This is a great interactive online version that allows you to click on an item where it will then take you to the item on …our website. We appreciate you as fans and wanted to share this with you first! Enjoy and let us know your thoughts!”

Our work with Ballard Designs was a classic case of taking two channels of retail marketing, a website and a catalog, and no longer making the two mutually exclusive. Our digital edition was the only real way to offer their same unique look and feel while tying in the ease and interactivity of their website.

See Ballard Design’s digital catalog here.

Walking the Talk

Dirxion customer and lifestyle footwear leader, SKECHERS, has a new product initiative called Shape-ups. How out of the loop I feel after having learned a little bit more about these so called Shape-ups …

As of September 21, the Skechers Shape-up shoes had hit #4 on the list of best-selling shoes on Amazon.com, having spent 79 days in the top 100. Shape-ups are also featured in the October issues of both Shape Magazine and SELF Magazine and even celebrities like Charlie Sheen and Melissa Rivers are checking them out! And just recently, Bonnie Hunt gave away pairs of Shape-ups on her show!
What are these Shape-ups you ask?

Shape-ups from SKECHERS are designed to get you fit while you walk, work, shop, and more. Used regularly.  Shape-ups will enhance the way you feel and look; muscles get toned, calories are burned and your posture improves.

A pretty neat idea if you ask me. Way to go SKECHERS.

If you feel out of the loop like I did, why don’t you take a peek (here) at these best selling shoes using SKECHERS’ interactive catalogs. Here, you can view all of their catalogs online, browse their pages for the hottest SKECHERS footwear, and buy your favorite styles… all in just one click.

Skechers Shape-Ups Digital Catalog

If you’re not quite sold yet, do a little research on Shape-Ups. Praise for these shoes is widespread in the blogrolls. Here are a few opinions.

Mom Logic
“Comfort? Less stress? Compliments about thinness…? What’s not to love?”

Bargainist
“…it’s really hard to find time to work out these days, what with the kids back in school, work, errands… We get exhausted just thinking about it! That’s why we were so excited to see the new line of Skechers Women’s Shape-Ups at Finish Line Sports.”

Fitbottomedgirls
“…they are super cushy and fun, and I loved wearing them. They spice up a walk just by making it feel different. And yes, I really do think they work your muscles in a slightly different way than your usual shoes….”

Some comments from blog readers about Shape-Ups:

“I was unsure of these as well until I bought a pair for my wife. She wears them on her normal three mile walk and she has fallen in love with them.  She definitely feels it in her legs and rump and has put her other walking shoes on the shelf.” - Larry

“I’ve used the shape ups for a month and I love them. I feel results already. It is perfect for my busy schedule. Me and co-workers go on Shape-Up walks for 30 minutes and wear them as we do our normal walking also. Try them before you knock them. Be consistent with it too. Just like any other work out, of course.” - Donna

A Mutual Appreciation…

At Dirxion Digital Publishing, we try to make a concerted effort to ensure our customer’s experience is as pleasant as possible. We always hope we are meeting or exceeding their expectations. Even still, it’s humbling when someone takes time out of their day to acknowledge that our work is appreciated. We recently received this great compliment from Davidson Titles, who sells a wide range of literature from Children’s books and Instructional to Financials and Career Planning.

“Davidson Titles has looked at utilizing interactive catalogs for several years, but the choices were just too cost-prohibitive. Recently we had noticed an increase in the use of interactive catalogs in the publishing industry, so we started investigating our options again.
We were actually very close to going with another company when, strictly by chance, we discovered Dirxion and their perfect solution to our interactive catalog needs. Dirxion offered much better features and customizable options that were just what we were looking for. After a few quick phone calls the process was underway, and within two weeks Davidson Titles had its interactive catalogs online.
The production team at Dirxion knew just what we were looking for in the finished product and delivered it exactly as we had envisioned. I don’t believe we could be any more pleased and would like to thank everyone at Dirxion for a job well done. Personally, you’ve made my job much easier and made me look good in the process. I look forward to a long relationship with Dirxion in the future.”

-Scott Reeves
Graphic Design/Marketing, Davidson Titles, Inc.

Scott and everyone at Davidson Titles, we’d like to thank you for your kind words and also for being a customer of Dirxion. Sometimes jobs can be hard work, and then you receive a compliment like this and it keeps you going.

Davidson Title’s digital publishing uses a great looking multi-publication interface, custom background and the new catalog library search.  They also went through the effort of redesigning their website to give their new digital catalogs a more significant presence.

67% of Shoppers Spend More Money When Their Facebook Friends Give Them The Green Light

At Dirxion, we like to think that we have our finger on the pulse. We cashed out with Bernie Madoff like 2 years ago. In 2003, we popped our collars at least a month before everyone else caught on. Not the best examples, but it makes my point about us having some foresight. We not too long ago introduced our social sharing feature aimed at our customers with digital catalogs, travel guides and magazines. Without fail, a study recently came out from the E-tailing Group, Inc and it proved us right again.

The report states that 83% of consumers who shop online are keen to the notion of sharing their potential purchases with their Facebook and Twitter friends. On top of that, 67% admit that they end up spending more money online if they receive their social networking friends’ seal of approval.

Also discovered through this study:
62% of online shoppers are more likely to return to a retail website that offers social tools.

Twice as many shoppers say they prefer the recommendations of their friends in social communities rather than that of the retailers.

41% of people say they would be interested in being a part of online communities that share information about shopping and their favorite products.

Social networks are continually proving to be a valuable business resource. If you aren’t using these sites for all their marketing capabilities you could be missing out on some potential revenue. So here’s an idea … publish a digital edition of your publication. Use the social media features to circulate it to your customers, and then let your customers start circulating it for you. That’s working smart.

Retailers Finding New Touch Points With Digital Catalogs

It is widely accepted that one of the keys to success is the ability to adapt. The retail industry, customarily driven by brick and mortar stores and weighty catalog mailings, has been profoundly affected by present-day circumstances. The current harsh economic climate coupled with the rampant growth of online shopping and social media has caused many companies to take a step back to reevaluate their strategies. The retailers that have done the best jobs to adapt and start using these “threats” to find new marketing opportunities are starting to reap the benefits of their versatility through increased revenues.

The catalog has been the flagship of the retail industry for decades. Even with the recent increased shipping costs and decreased sales, it’s still hard to turn a blind eye to its proven track record and ongoing performance. Data shows that on average, catalogs can still generate $7 in sales for every dollar it takes to have them published and mailed. And how do you give a value to the catalog’s unmatched ability to show off a retailer’s well polished image? For most retailers it also goes unequalled in its skill of generating new business. It would be a drastic lapse in judgment to simply abandon it in an effort to cut costs.

Unwilling to sacrifice reach or branding, the adaptive retailers have been finding that the solution to reducing these expenses doesn’t have to be touching fewer customers, but instead changing how they touch customers. Besides the traditional means - decreasing circulation, trimming the size of catalogs and using less expensive paper - a company can take a portion of their savings to reinvest into Internet marketing. In the retail industry, online marketing and digital catalogs are growing in popularity and are much less expensive alternatives when compared to the traditional print forms. Statistics show that for every dollar a retailer spends doing online marketing they have a $45 return.

So in situations where it may be adapt or perish, those who allow themselves to evolve to the changing circumstances will grow stronger. The retailers who are quick on their feet and can find that harmonization between the tangible and digital can not only survive but thrive in a desert-like economy.

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