McIntyre Direct

By Terrell Sellix A matchback is the process of matching order records back to mailing-tape records to determine the actual source of those orders. Matchbacks have been used for years on a limited basis to try to pinpoint the source of unknown orders: typically 5 percent to 20 percent of orders. With the advent of the Web and the increase in multichannel marketing, understanding where your orders and customers are coming from has become harder to learn — and yet more critical to know — than ever. The shift has brought matchbacks into the limelight of customer order-tracking and results analysis. This Special

Testing front covers is one of the easiest and most important tests catalogers can do. Front covers are the doorway into your catalog, so your cover must entice customers to open the door and step through into the wonderful world inside. Testing will help you learn what it takes to get your customers to open that door more often. “Copy destroys the graphic integrity of my cover design.” Magazine designers love a lot of copy on the front cover, but catalog designers hate it. “I’ve been designing catalogs for years. Trust me, I know what sells,” said Maurice, the catalog designer. “All those words

“Give me a place to stand and rest my lever on, and I can move the earth.” —Archimedes No doubt you’ve heard the phrase “starry-eyed,” but have you ever seen it? I did, in a young married couple I’ll call Mary and Joe. They dreamed of owning a catalog, and when they came to see me about a launch, their eyes sparkled in anticipation. ”We’ve done lots of research. We’ve built a business plan and sales projections. And we’ve saved enough for the initial investment.” A good start, I thought. These folks have a realistic plan. They’ve got a chance for the stars

Can you tell good design from bad? Most people would say “yes.” But for most people it doesn’t really matter, because their jobs don’t depend on being able to tell the difference anyway. But for you it does matter — a lot. Great design is part of that subtle calculus that can boost or depress your catalog’s sales. And the reality is, most people can’t tell good design from bad, at least not if we define good design as that which appeals to the most, and offends the fewest, people in a catalog audience. So if you’re one of the design-impaired, how can you

Cataloging usually is a predictable world. We track everything, study it, place data in spreadsheets and end up knowing pretty well in advance how things will work out. In fact, if businesses had human personalities, cataloging would be your Aunt Matilda and Uncle Gus: safe, predictable, no surprises. But then there comes a day when Uncle Gus calls to say he has flown to Rio with his secretary, and Aunt Matilda has joined the circus. What do you do when the predictable becomes, well, unpredictable? The Mystery of the Rotten Rollout After several years of slow growth, the mid-sized niche cataloger decided he needed

How long does it actually take to produce a catalog? The answer depends on if you’re trying to do it the textbook way or the other way … March 20th. The phone rings. New cataloger: “Hi, I just printed my first catalog, so now I need some lists. Can you get me some lists so I can mail my catalog by the end of this month?” “You want to be in the mail in 10 days, and you’re starting the list process now?” “You bet. I wanted to leave you plenty of time.” Producing a catalog basically is a two-part process,

In an era of computerization, it’s easy to imagine that all your competitors’ tasks are fully automated. Such a thought can make you, an individual cataloger, feel a bit embarrassed about your many manual tasks. But no matter how many computers you buy, you’re still going to find yourself forced to manually perform certain tasks simply because cataloging comprises many activities with ever-changing components that resist computerization. But manual tasks don’t mean inefficiency. One key to profitable cataloging is knowing how to perform manual tasks well. “Congratulations! You’ve paralyzed every phone in the company!” A national gift cataloger (that also has

“This copy is confusing.” “I go to the trouble of calling, then end up in voice mail.” “Ordering from this company is just too much work.” Are your customers making similar complaints about your catalog? It’s surprising how many catalogers make their customers work too hard. From your catalog’s design to your contact center’s operations, whatever forces customers to work will reduce response rates. But when you do the work for your customers, your response rates go up. “If customers have questions, they’ll call.” I interviewed Connie, a career woman and mail-order shopper, about how she

We had finished analyzing the catalog’s product sales. The unit sales, revenue and square inch reports all pointed to the same conclusions. “The big winners are those cute resin figurines,” I told the catalog’s owner. “Every time you add one, sales go up. You should add more this year. And the big loser is the expensive hand-signed pottery. Those should go.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve decided to discontinue all the resin. I don’t want resin in the catalog anymore.” “But why?” I asked. “Your customers love them.” “They’re tacky. I’d never have them in my house. I’ve signed a contract with the pottery

It really is possible for catalog design costs to occasionally approach zero, without sacrificing sales. And doing so can be a stimulating challenge. All in the Family We’d been going over the catalog budget estimate for hours, line by line. I was familiar with how tight-fisted this client was, and I’d already cut his estimate to the bone. But he kept probing for tricks to cut even more. “Why is design so high? It’s just putting photos and copy on a page. My nephew who knows Quark can do that,” the client said. “Well, there’s more to it than that. It takes