STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE: Catalogers Sound Off About 2007

To get a sense of how 2007 could play out on catalogers’ pocketbooks and growth aspirations, Catalog Success asked a few catalogers what they expect for the coming year.

Catalog Success: How will your implementation of multichannel marketing strategies change this year compared to last?

Tim Kiss, director of enterprise direct marketing, HoneyBaked Ham: We’d like to test dual channel offers. Most of our catalog and Web customers buy HoneyBaked as a gift. We’ll test discounts for money off when you buy for your family at one of our stores and send HoneyBaked as a gift.

Phil Minix, president, Astral Direct: Our multichannel strategies probably won’t change at all. We’re a typical, two-channel business: catalog and Web. We’ll still be doing catalogs and outbound e-mail. If we do get a full customer database going, we’d like to better tie our mail file to outbound e-mail campaigns. We’d like to do “look for your catalog in the mail soon” e-mails. Right now, we don’t send those kinds of e-mails because those data sets don’t exist in the same place.

Gary Chinn, president, Garrett Wade Co.: We don’t have the brick-and-mortar channel, but our sense is that people are more used to working on the Web. Our potential initiatives this year include improving our site by making it easier to use and search through — and with more information on it. But these are costly. We know we have to go that way; it’s just a matter of pace.

Catalog Success: How in tune with the shift to multiple channels are your customers, and how significant is that to your business?

Kiss: Many of our customers perceive us as a multichannel company that allows them to provide meals for their families and gifts for their friends and family. Typically though, customers shop for themselves in the retail stores, and shop for others through the catalog and Web.