Omnichannel

Many metrics are used to run a profitable catalog business. For example, an apparel company may set a goal for its overall return rate of 22 percent, while a gift mailer may strive for less than 6 percent. But one thing is universal among catalogers: The ideal metrics or ratios are those that lead to profitable income statements. After all, if you manage by the ratios, the dollars will take care of themselves. Remember, dollars go into the bank, not percentages. Key metrics to calculate and watch include service levels (e.g., how long customers wait in your contact center’s queue), response levels (e.g.,

I’ve been in direct marketing for 40 years. I got into the business when direct mail was king and off-the-page advertising was queen. Little telemarketing was done. Certainly there was no DRTV. And e-mail was just a gleam in the eyes of a select few. Today, direct mail is still the workhorse of direct marketing — the most efficient way for a marketer to reach those potential customers with the right demographic and behavioral patterns. As a result of our starting the newsletter WHO’S MAILING WHAT! (now Inside Direct Mail) and running it for 15 years, I’d estimate that more than 200,000 mail packages

Timing tests, list tests, cover tests, select tests — testing can do wonderful things for your catalog, and carefully thought-out tests should be in every circulation plan you create. However, that “carefully thought-out” part can get embarrassing. But They’re All Getting the Same Thing A national business-to-business cataloger wanted to test how mailing one less catalog per year to each buyer segment would impact sales. Executives split a large buyer segment into two unequal parts, mailed the usual number to the larger segment (control), and one less to the smaller (test). In each flight (single mail drop) where test and control both got

One of the aspects of cataloging that I’ve found useful is that everything you do from a circulation and marketing standpoint can be tracked to a specific source, or key, code. When a marketer runs an image ad (non-direct-response) in a general interest magazine, for example, it’s difficult to know the effect the ad has on sales. But when you, as a cataloger, run a direct response ad or mail a catalog, most of the orders can be traced to a source, so your marketing and circulation efforts can be measured. This month, I’ll offer examples of the common list results you

You must prospect for new buyers to grow your business. But prospecting can be expensive. Most catalogers prospect at an incremental loss*. Even so, acquiring new buyers is important to the health of your business. This month, I’ll explore ways to prospect cost effectively for new buyers. Why It’s Important There’s a certain attrition rate associated with a typical catalog housefile. People die, others move, and some become dissatisfied. It’s important to add new buyers to your housefile to maintain a certain level of revenue and/or to grow your business. Rule of thumb: The percent increase in revenue growth will approximate

Selling to the U.S. government, which includes federal, state and local governments, can be a sweet deal for a cataloger. There are more than 70,000 government jurisdictions in the United States, and they buy $2.5 trillion for goods and services each year! The funds usually are spent through specific contracts, or they constitute discretionary purchases. The latter is spent on small purchases (called micropurchases) through purchasing, field and regional offices. It’s spent by government credit card users (Federal government and some state governments), and others who must acquire goods quickly. The use of SmartPay, the federal small-purchase credit card (formerly known as

Until two years ago, George Michie made his career teaching high school students the basics of economics, math, physics and government. Of his move into the catalog field, Michie says, “I was ready to do something different.” Working the analytical side of marketing seemed a logical fit for his background in numbers. At Crutchfield, Michie was hired to help the company re-think the metrics for its customer-acquisition efforts. “We had been relying on numbers with foundations more historical than analytical,” Michie recalls. His assignment: To figure out if these really were the numbers the company should be following? He says the ultimate

An often-forgotten part of the marketing and circulation plan for a catalog company, especially a small- to medium-sized catalog, is public relations (PR). Although the PR, or communications, department is an important part of many corporate structures, it rarely has any formal structure within smaller-sized catalog companies. But PR can be a very effective tool, if used in conjunction with the other components of a comprehensive marketing plan. Capitalizing on PR opportunities takes dedicated effort either by someone in-house, or through an outside PR firm. Although the media exposure itself might be free, you’re going to have to spend some

Liana Toscanini, vice president of insurgence (yes, insurgence) for Sure Fit Slipcovers by Mail, challenged authority seven years ago when she started a catalog and Web site for the 87-year-old slipcover manufacturer. Retail and wholesale distribution has been Allentown, PA-based Sure Fit’s focus. It has sold its product, ready-made slipcovers, to retailers like Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target, as well as to cataloger LinenSource. With an 85-percent share of the ready-made slipcover market, Toscanini told company president Bert Shlensky she believed direct marketing to consumers was an avenue for growth. Shlensky, a promoter of innovation and creativity among his employees, told

Channel integration is a hot topic these days—and for good reason. Effective marketers successfully are leveraging their retail, catalog and Internet efforts against one another. They’re learning that their best customers are those who interact with them in multiple channels. Examples of multichannel integration include e-mailing to customers coupons that can be redeemed in your retail store, notifying customers via e-mail of an upcoming sale catalog going out to them, and enticing print catalog shoppers to visit and order from your Web site. This list is limited only by your imagination. (I do, however, hope to see an end to Web-only,