Gilbert Direct Marketing

By Jim Gilbert There tends to be a collective mind-set among customers that the return process always will be a giant hassle. Anyone who has bought a product via mail has at least one horror story about returns. But I've also heard the opposite. In fact, I've heard people brag about how easy the return process is when they've had a good experience. A clear, concise return policy, with exceptional customer service, is a must if you want to compete today. And that return policy needs to be seamless throughout all your channels, no matter where the purchase was made. So where

By Jim Gilbert Your most strategic asset is your outgoing product package. It's one of the customer touchpoints that can build a powerful brand identity, and be used to convert new customers into multibuyers. But I've often found this asset to be under-utilized — from not inserting any marketing collateral, to treating marketing materials placed inside as an afterthought. People love to get the products they've purchased. It's like opening presents during the holidays. When an individual opens the box, the enclosed items are seen in a positive light — even the marketing materials. That's why most catalogers place bounceback catalogs in the

In a business model where many of us strategically lose money when acquiring new customers, cross-selling and upselling are critical to managing that loss. And these marketing techniques, if done right, can help speed your return on investment of acquiring that buyer in the first place. Cross-selling entails selling a product that’s complementary to what a customer already is buying from you — something he or she also would have a clear affinity towards. Offering a customer a complementary item at the time of purchase is an art and science that can greatly enhance your average order value (AOV), increase your margins and help pay

By Jim Gilbert In a business model where many of us strategically lose money when acquiring new customers, cross-selling and upselling are critical to managing that loss. And these marketing techniques, if done right, can help speed your return on investment of acquiring that buyer in the first place. Cross-selling entails selling a product that's complementary to what a customer already is buying from you — something he or she also would have a clear affinity towards. Offering a customer a complementary item at the time of purchase is an art and science that can greatly enhance your average order value (AOV), increase your

By Jim Gilbert In a business model where many of us strategically lose money when acquiring new customers, cross-selling and upselling are critical to managing that loss. And these marketing techniques, if done right, can help speed your return on investment of acquiring that buyer in the first place. Cross-selling entails selling a product that's complementary to what a customer already is buying from you — something he or she also would have a clear affinity towards. Offering a customer a complementary item at the time of purchase is an art and science that can greatly enhance your average order value (AOV), increase your

The list broker you choose should go the extra mile for you and work out list exchanges, test discounts and net-name arrangements wherever possible. You also can ask for rental fee discounts on your marginal lists. Remember, everything is negotiable in the list business. Rather than lose out completely on rental income on a list that's marginal to you, some list owners will approve a discount to the rental fees in order to keep you mailing their names. —Jim W. Gilbert, president, Gilbert Direct Marketing