Strategy: Colour Me Canadian
What to Expect
Based on the fact that the Canadian population is about one-tenth that of the U.S. population, a U.S. catalog company should be able to generate 10 percent of its annual sales in Canada. Naturally, it’ll take several years to generate this amount of revenue. But it’s a good goal.
The chart “Canadian vs. U.S. Prospect List Results” (click thumbnail below to enlarge) is a comparison of typical results, e.g., response rate and average order size, for Canadian vs. U.S. response rates from prospect lists in Canada, which often are 25 percent to 40 percent higher. Response rates tend to be higher for several reasons: Canadians haven’t yet been inundated with catalogs; there aren’t as many catalogs to choose from; and there’s a favorable currency exchange rate right now. If you have a good merchandise offering, response should be strong.
