The Key Catalog/Multichannel Issues survey conducted by VoviciEFM recently showed that 96% of respondents agreed that their print catalogs generated sales on their website. Many respondents saw a 20- to 50-percent increase in online sales immediately following a catalog mailing!
What does this have to do with museums, you might ask? Although most museums aren’t selling nearly enough product in their gift stores to warrant a catalog, I still believe the buyer behavior will transfer. The theory is that the print piece is easy for a customer to carry to his or her computer to place an order. Using this technique will allow you to capture sales from people who may never have come into your gift shop while doing their holiday shopping. Even if you can only afford to mail a small postcard this holiday season, go ahead and try it to see if your web sales spike. The nice thing about using print and the internet in tandem is that everything is completely trackable, so you know whether it is a successful tactic worth repeating.
Even if you don’t have a gift store, consider a mailing to promote donations, memberships, or gift certificates as holiday presents.
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