Industry Eye: Prospecting - Crutcheze.com, OfficeMax, Sears, J.C. Penney
Crutcheze.com Leans on Search
for Growth
• Leveraging search engine optimization (SEO) driven by a keyword-heavy website, Crutcheze.com's prospecting efforts have taken a decidedly cost-effective approach, yet yielded strong return on
investment. The niche retailer of durable medical equipment — performance and comfort gear for crutches — launched its site in January and has been in growth mode ever since.
The Westminster, Colo.-based company prospects for new customers in three ways:
- SEO powered by the small business web platform provider OnlyBusiness.com;
- 25 independent retail dealers who sell Crutcheze.com goods; and
- social media, most notably via YouTube.
Crutcheze.com has devoted even more attention to the cost effectiveness and ROI of its prospecting efforts due to the down economy. "You're looking at inexpensive marketing techniques that we're using online," says Amy Vicioso, founder/president of Zoetic Technologies, the parent company of Crutcheze.com. "We focus on our keywords and drive business based on that." —Joe Keenan
OfficeMax Targets Women With New Catalogs, Campaign
• Driven by research that shows women either control or influence more than 85 percent of purchases in retail and B-to-B channels, office supply giant OfficeMax has begun targeting women in earnest.
As part of the national "Life is Beautiful, Work Can Be Too" campaign launched earlier this year to focus on women, OfficeMax has overhauled its Maxi Catalog.
The 1,100-page tome has been revamped into a stylish, magazine-like publication featuring tabbed stickers (similar to Lucky magazine) to mark favorite items; bright and colorful section tabs; and flower, vine and butterfly designs among an assorted array of product pages. It also contains ideas from Peter Walsh, a professional workspace organizer.
OfficeMax also has published another women-focused catalog called Occupation with Style (see image on top). This 32-page catalog features OfficeMax's private label products and has a stylish, professional female on the cover. —Melissa Campanelli
Joe Keenan is the executive editor of Total Retail. Joe has more than 10 years experience covering the retail industry, and enjoys profiling innovative companies and people in the space.
