Database Marketing

A headline of the July 5, 2006, edition of USA Today reported that we are now a nation of 300 million people. By 2025 the U.S. population is projected to reach 350 million; 400 million by 2040. With the population growing, why is it more difficult to prospect cost-effectively, and why aren’t universe counts increasing? This month, I’ll discuss ways to expand your prospecting universe, even when the print catalog market size doesn’t seem to be growing. According to Abacus, catalog households are declining as overall households are increasing. With more buyers ordering via the Internet (not necessarily the driving media), the count

As has been its annual custom, B-to-B list firm MeritDirect’s annual co-op event in White Plains, N.Y. on July 12 was kicked off by a provocative and entertaining presentation by catalog veteran and futurist Don Libey. Having heard Don speak plenty of times in the past (and despite his frequent speaking appearances, rarely does he repeat a single concept, strategy or idea), I’ve long since learned how to filter through his motivational pep talk and the meat of what he delivers. While always entertaining, his shtick is always chockfull of meat, but it often looks beyond tomorrow. And after all, we all want to

This week, Catalog Success welcomes its newest Web columnist, Terry Jukes. A veteran of the catalog business who served as president/CEO of H.R. compliance materials cataloger G. Neil. and president of Misco, Terry heads B2B Direct Marketing Intelligence, a B-to-B consulting firm. Terry will address B-to-B catalog/multichannel issues every week and invite and encourage your questions, thoughts, ideas and insight.
Recently, I’ve had several discussions regarding “name” vs. “site” management. One, in particular, started as I discovered that more than half of a client’s prospecting volume was being mailed to “new” names at existing buying sites (on the surface, a very logical

This week, I attempt to address one of our reader’s security concerns. Below is the comment I received recently that I think needs some addressing (or address correction as the case may be). John Johnson (johnsoncrew@gmail.com) wrote:

Jim, I have a question not related to any of your current posts that I think is worth some discussion. Abacus was bought by Epsilon, who in turn is owned by Alliance Data Solutions. Alliance Data Solutions was recently bought by a private equity firm, The Blackstone Group. The Chinese government then bought a $3 billion position in The Blackstone Group. My question is:

This is my 21st go-round attending ACCM, the Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants (did I get that whole thing right?), being held May 21-23 in Boston. For my first 18, I was part of the assorted parent companies that co-sponsored the event with the DMA. But for the past two, as a press attendee and not a part-host, I’ve picked up a different perspective on this event as well as on some other conferences. Actually, I take that back: This year, I’m sort of a part-host again on the other side of the partnership since I was recently named chairman/editor of the

To help maximize profitability: You can do so through the use of optimizing prospect circ, and 12-, 24-, and 36-month lifetime value calculations. This includes decisions about sales vs. profit growth and improved “managing” of reported profits. For company valuation calculations: 1) to tell the “catalog opportunity story” when raising growth financing — whether from a local bank or equity/debt source; 2) when buying another company —to help define purchase price and secure financing; 3) when selling part or all of a catalog business; 4) for customer list valuations in deal-making — or for your local banker, who won’t increase your line of credit without strong, analytical explanations; and 5)

In my last Catalog Success column, “What Acquisition Due Diligence Reviews Can Teach You” (February 2007, pg. 37), I explained why catalogers can benefit from embracing and using the analytical models employed by acquirers and financing sources in this industry as they decide which catalog/Web marketing businesses to pursue. Now, onto the use of due diligence methodologies in catalog deal-making. These are some of the key analyses you should use in most of your seasonal circ plans and your annual strategic plan. Furthermore, and of no small importance, these are the same metrics and analyses your local banker should be using when deciding on

At the turn of this century, cataloging — and all retailing for that matter — was revolutionized by the emergence of e-commerce. Shopping at home became easier than ever, and consumers warmed up to the concept of wielding their purchasing power with the click of a mouse. Today, so many orders are coming in online that it’s becoming difficult for some catalogers to recall the times when they were all but completely reliant on their call centers for order-taking. Your Web site, however, isn’t just a vehicle through which orders can be taken and processed more efficiently; it’s a powerful data-gathering tool that an

As a heads-up for catalogers, let’s note some challenges you need to watch for: 1) The 2007 postage increase is much more nasty than one can imagine. Not only will it decrease your reported profits, but it will also increase your prospect breakeven. And it will, of course, shrink the size of your economically available, mailable prospect universe. Investors already have determined that higher postage will retard catalog business profitability in 2007 and beyond. So catalog company valuations already have begun to shrink for sellers, buyers and growth financing sources. 2) By having to report shipping and handling revenue you receive (from customers) in your top

It’s perhaps surprising to see people so attentive to their work at a company known for emptying out when there’s good surf to be found at a Southern Californian beach not five minutes away. But a walk through the Ventura, Calif.-based headquarters of Patagonia reveals a close-knit staff readily engaged in designing, testing and marketing this outdoor cataloger’s apparel and gear. Then again, perhaps it’s not all that surprising, given that the catalog’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, in his book “Let My People Go Surfing,” (The Penguin Press, 2005) wrote: “Work had to be enjoyable on a daily basis. We all had to