Management

The 1st Catalog Success Latest Trends Report on Multichannel Mailing & Marketing Practices (October 2007)

The 1st Catalog Success Latest Trends Report on Multichannel Mailing & Marketing Practices (October 2007)

The 1st Catalog Success Latest Trends Report on Multichannel Mailing & Marketing Practices (October 2007)

These days, if you look hard enough, you can find some catalogers who can offer a nice bargain. But as we all know, by in large, catalogers have a tough time competing with retailers on price. Otherwise, it’s the product and service, stupid! Before you even consider offering top quality service, however, you better put your customers and prospects at ease, particularly when it comes to your Web site. Assure them that they’re dealing with a reputable company they can trust. Historically, the direct marketing business — later, to be joined by the e-commerce business — has always been plagued by fly-by-nights, leaving consumers

Profile of Success, Catalog Success magazine, September 2007 Interview by Joe Keenan Catalog Success: When was the catalog established? Rob Johnston Jr.: The catalog was started in 1973. I was the original founder at the age of 22 when I started the catalog on a farm in New Hampshire. CS: What is your primary merchandise? Johnston Jr.: Seeds. From vegetables, flowers, herbs and farm seeds for covering crops. Vegetable seeds make up 70 percent of our business. CS: What was your biggest initial challenge? Johnston Jr.: The biggest challenge was the day-to-day operations of running a business. The creativity or the energy to do

Rule of thumb: A catalog company can’t break even on the initial orders generated from prospects. Catalogers must be willing to invest to acquire new buyers to grow, or at least maintain, their 12-month buyer count. This month, I’ll cover the cost to acquire a new buyer, why it’s important to invest in prospecting and why you shouldn’t expect to break even on the initial order. Catalogers tell me they don’t want to prospect below the incremental break-even point. That’s a nice goal, but it’s not realistic. Today’s economics, such as postage costs, paper prices, etc., combined with lower response (an ongoing trend

BACKGROUND: Rob Johnston Jr. founded the Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalog on a farm in New Hampshire when he was 22. He spent most of his life on farms, and is now in his 34th year running the business as its chairman. BIGGEST INITIAL CHALLENGE: Unfamiliarity with the catalog business. “The biggest challenge was the day-to-day operations of running a business,” Johnston says. “The creativity or the energy to do the work was never an issue. Not having run a business beforehand was the biggest factor.” HOW HE OVERCAME THAT CHALLENGE: “I gradually grew the product line itself, which allowed me to hire people to run the

Back in the fall of 2005, Larry Gaynor enlisted the Gallup Organization to work with his company. The founder and president of B-to-B salon supplies cataloger The Nailco Group (TNG) had read about the firm’s extensive business consultancy, most notably The Gallup Path, a method that connects employee performance with a company’s bottom line. With annual sales of $85 million and a talent pool of 315 (at TNG, you’re not an “employee,” you’re “talent”), TNG is considerably smaller than most of the companies Gallup works with. Gaynor, however, believed that Gallup’s guidance on employee and customer engagement would benefit his team and, ultimately, the

NEMOA at 60: ‘Small’ Event Yields Big Ideas This month’s NEMOA conference in Portland, Maine, Sept. 19-21, marks the 60th anniversary for what started — and remains — a small specialized trade group. For many long-time members, NEMOA is all about conferences. The group holds semiannual conferences each March and September designed for catalog/multichannel marketers. “The main value of NEMOA is being able to get together and network,” says 20-year member Dan Walter, president and founder of Eagle America, a woodworking tools and accessories catalog. “You learn tricks of the trade from the people you meet, whether it be from a high-powered speaker

I recently toured a long-standing B-to-B catalog company and was struck by the aura of its offices and people. As I walked through its call center, telephone reps were smiling and happy. They graciously said hello to me as a visitor (when they really had no clue who I was), and were courteous, polite and respectful of each other and themselves. Their body language spoke volumes.
Happy to be there, they worked productively with their friends, serving customers in the best way possible. They were eager to support, assist and compliment each other. The environment was professional and clean, and you could tell