Special Report: More Web, More Print or Both?
How much is enough? Con-sidering that the percentage of orders being placed online is in excess of 70 percent for some catalogers, “many still aren’t putting enough emphasis on having a strong enough Web site,” LaPierre says. “They’re not putting enough emphasis on converting customers once they get to the Web.”
5 Pointers From Industry Experts
Rick Fernandes, CEO of Webloyalty; Jennifer Lukasiak, director of marketing and research at Quebecor World; and Bill LaPierre, senior vice president of list brokerage at the Millard Group, offer myriad tips for catalogers to maximize their marketing budgets.
➜ Decrease shopping cart abandonment, increase the price point (values) of every transaction, maximize on post-transaction activities. — Fernandes
➜ Focus more heavily on your data. Track your optimal marketing mix, accurate metrics for comparing ROI across all channels and profitability when acquiring and retaining customers. — Lukasiak
➜Rely on merchandise, not flash. “The catalogers having the most success out there right now are still the ones whose chief focus is always on two things: the product and its relationship to the customer and the customer’s needs.” — LaPierre
➜ Dig deep into your inactive files. Because of the high cost of acquiring new customers, dig deeper into your base of inactive names and figure out ways to activate these files. — Fernandes
➜ Avoid offers and gimmicks. Catalogers rely too heavily on offers, such as free shipping, 10 percent off or trying to become the biggest supplier of a product just so they own all the market share, as opposed to trying to figure out what actual products their customers want. — LaPierre
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.
