The 1st Catalog Success Latest Trends Report on Multichannel Mailing & Marketing Practices (October 2007)
Omnichannel
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 rapid development of sophisticated technologies has been tantalizing. So much so that itโs been suggested companies can improve efficiency by replacing expensive, variable-cost human labor with incredibly efficient hardware and software, both fixed costs. Such promise has led to change in the call-center business, beginning with call-routing menus and leading to sophisticated, interactive voice recognition systems. Despite countless horror stories of customers lost in โpromptland,โ most of this technology has been developed with the best intentions. Yet numerous studies have shown this promise often has remained out of reach. A recent Aspect Contact Center Satisfaction Index survey found that 55 percent of customers
AB-to-B catalog marketing staff had a problem. Its housefile count was experiencing double-digit growth, but its response numbers were shrinking. How can these two metric trends coexist? Internet-savvy consumers, who often operate small, home-based businesses, buy product via this catalogerโs Web site. These small office/home office (SOHO) businesses didnโt need to repurchase the way this catalogerโs traditional business customers typically did. So, housefile response fell, while marketing expenses went up. If you suspect this is happening to you, hereโs how to fix the problem, improve your response and reduce marketing costs. Begin by analyzing your housefile for SOHOs and consumers. Then follow these steps: 1. Run address
In the September (print) issue of Catalog Success, I discussed the opportunity catalogers and multichannel merchants have to aggressively pursue the older end of baby boomers, some of whom are now in their 60s. In Portland, Maine, on Sept. 20 for the fall NEMOA Conference, I was taken by the opening presentation given by Claire Spofford, senior vice president and chief brand officer for the Orchard Brands unit of Golden Gate Capital, (formerly AppleseedโsTopCo). Having joined Appleseedโs earlier this decade to bring a retail and brand accent to the mature womenโs apparel cataloger, Spofford now presides over a thriving multititle multichannel business thatโs as
Consumers are increasingly drawn to rich Web content โ information thatโs engaging, visual and intuitive. And online retailers and brand marketers are responding by building dramatic, fun and innovative marketing micro-sites, as well as interactive product displays to meet this desire. According to Forrester Research, the largest interactive marketing firms are growing at annual rates between 20 and 40 percent. Thatโs the good news. The bad news is that even the leaders often fail to make commerce a seamless part of these interactive marketing experiences. Instead, customers usually are faced with a disjointed experience where they browse and interact with the brand in
A recent Forrester Research survey shows that more than 60 percent of commercial Web sites waste their investment in search by not backing up their marketing with landing pages to create visitor engagement. Landing pages are the most important element of a campaign, says Sue Chapman, director of merchandising solutions at Mercado Software, who along with Brian Beck, CEO of Broadspan Commerce Brian Beck, CEO of Broadspan Commerce, hosted a recent webinar presentation, โA Soft Landing Creates an Easy Sell.โ Chapman and Beck provided several pointers on how to make landing pages more effective. 1. Make it quick and easy for the consumer. Consumers
Remember those old TV announcements, โItโs 10 p.m., do you know where your children are?โ Those have come to mind lately as my son Marc, 17, enters his senior year in high school. He, my wife and I have hit the ground running searching for colleges. Like any parent, to me it seems like he grew up practically overnight. But itโs the college search thing thatโs really hit home with me lately โ namely, that a generation has passed. This column isnโt about him; itโs actually about my generation. See, my thought process seems to naturally flow from this, โWow, youโre growing up; youโre
Rule of thumb: A catalog company canโt 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, Iโll cover the cost to acquire a new buyer, why itโs important to invest in prospecting and why you shouldnโt expect to break even on the initial order. Catalogers tell me they donโt want to prospect below the incremental break-even point. Thatโs a nice goal, but itโs not realistic. Todayโs economics, such as postage costs, paper prices, etc., combined with lower response (an ongoing trend