Gilbert Direct Marketing

One thing you can do to generate additional revenue between now and the end of the year is to make use of a postcard. We talked previously in this series about using postcards before and after a catalog drop to enhance your catalog’s offerings and increase revenue. We also talked about finding room in your mail schedule to drop an additional catalog.
Now, here’s another way to use a postcard.
Instead of an extra catalog, do a postcard mailing to select groups of customers. Determine what part of your customers and/or prospects would respond to a postcard. Consider mailing to older customers who

OK, I must admit it. I watch a lot of TV. Probably too much if I let myself think too hard on the subject. Lately, though, I’m getting a bit bored with the whole “CSI”/”Law and Order” police procedural genre and have been looking to branch out.
By accident, I found a new show on AMC (American Movie Classics) called “Mad Men” (Thursdays at 10 p.m.). If you haven’t heard of it, check it out immediately.
In a nutshell, its about the advertising business, Madison Avenue ad men specifically, and is set in 1960 — arguably one of the most important

I dedicate this week’s column to the memory of all of the people who lost their lives on 9/11/2001 and their families. — Jim
When you get busy living, working and playing in your life, time does fly. Since I started writing this Web column for Catalog Success, a whole year has passed.
I’ve tried to make my column unique and hopefully let a bit of my personality come through in my writing. I try not to take things too seriously, and I’ve tried to imbue some of my humor and a touch of irreverence in my writings to you.
But mostly, I’ve

Last week a reader asked an important question:
Many of our customers ask why they continue to receive more catalogs from us. “I just throw them out” or “Take me off your mailing list” are two of the usual comments we hear. The especially savvy ones also will say they know they’re just getting the same book with just a different cover. Do you have a good answer to give back to these loyal catalog buyers to keep them happy and loyal?
Let me first answer your question with a question: Why are you getting so many requests to be taken off your mailing

Whereas the overwhelming majority of Catalog Success magazine readers are, first and foremost, print catalog marketers, our e-newsletter and Web site reach myriad marketers, from brick-and-mortar retailers to wholesalers to pure-play Web merchants. I devote this week’s column to the pure plays looking to launch a catalog channel.
Oftentimes, non-catalog companies hesitate to break into the business because they lack the expertise or the internal time and resources to get the job done. But there are some fairly quick and easy ways Internet marketers can break into the catalog business.
For starters, follow the 40/40/20 rule. Put your efforts into choosing the right

This week, I offer you a simple, easy to clip (or print out) checklist of ways to convert prospects to customers. It’s my goal for you to come away with two vital ways of thinking and planning:
1. Think beyond the catalog mail schedule, and
2. Think about the customer lifecycle (prospects, one-time buyers, multibuyers and customer advocates) and how to move them higher up the food chain.
Although it’s pretty much self-explanatory, I’ll follow this up with some commentary in the coming weeks.
Checklist: Customer Lead Conversion
(based on LTV and ROI analysis)
* Add prospect to catalog schedule, mail X number

Last week, I told you I had a former student ask me what list he should buy to grow his new business. As promised, this week I’ll tell you why that question is the wrong one.
First of all, if you’re new to the catalog/multichannel business model, you don’t buy lists; you rent them. Rentals are for one-time use only. In fact, the list industry works very hard to police each list it rents out by seeding names to find out if list renters are using it correctly.
So, if you mail the same list more than once, it’s likely you’ll get

It’s July in Florida, that wonderful time of year for electrical storms suggestive of primordial weather. The sky is black and hurricane season is underway. We lucked out last year after getting slammed by the likes of Wilma, Charlie and others the two years prior. I hope our luck holds this year.
Elsewhere in the country, there is flooding, wildfires, an earthquake near San Francisco and record heat waves. Then stir in our Department of Homeland Security chief’s vague warning about his “gut feeling” that some terrorist action is coming soon, and you have all of the elements necessary for my annual disaster planning

Since last September, we’ve discussed printing, merchandise and catalog creative execution. Over the next few weeks, I’ll serve up some suggestions and insights regarding the list side of the catalog business.

Always remember, the 40/40/20 rule of direct marketing states that list selection can impact 40 percent of your direct marketing efforts.

For starters, you’re probably paying WAY too much attention to your merchandise and creative efforts! That’s O.K., it’s only natural. You’re a merchant in a product driven company and you want your products and your brand image to represent the sum of your hard work. Besides, your products and image are the calling

The following is a true story. The names have been changed to protect, well, me.

Some time ago, I was hired to run, actually turn around, a consumer mail order company that sold apparel and accessories. The company sold high-quality products to a niche market, and prospecting wasn’t so easy. Sales and profits were declining despite the fact that the company’s industry was seeing a growth spurt.

We decided, as part of the overall turnaround strategy that the catalog’s image needed a makeover.

Frankly, the catalog looked horrible, so we hired a great catalog agency to fix things.

The agency re-did everything from our logo to