Salary Expectations in the Catalog/Multichannel Business: An Insider’s Perspective

In last week’s blog, I discussed salary levels in the catalog/multichannel business as they relate to other industries. I got a pretty strong reaction from Wendy Weber, president of the direct marketing recruiting firm, Crandall Associates.

For those of you who have missed the blog the past few weeks I’ve been discussing hiring practices in direct marketing. (You can find them and all past posts on the CatalogSuccess.com Web site.) This thread started with a poll stating that the direct marketing industry was having a tough time finding strong talent. So for this week, I asked Wendy to weigh in with her thoughts on why the good candidates were hard to find. —Jim

Wendy Weber Chimes In

With catalog and online marketing talent in short supply, many companies are having a difficult time in finding the talent they need. This is especially true for traditional catalog companies.

Most are seeking catalog marketing professionals who can also handle circulation and the traditional marketing functions, as well as internet marketing responsibilities. The online marketing skills — search engine optimization, Web merchandising, affiliate marketing, to name a few — are in high demand.

The practitioners of those skills have career options in a variety of fields, and their salary expectations are beyond what many catalogers are willing or able to pay.

The expenses for catalogs are higher. Taking into account the rising costs of postage and paper, the profit margins are leaner than those of Web-driven businesses. Catalogers are under pressure to keep all costs, including salaries, under tight control.

Even Internet companies are encountering challenges in securing and keeping talent. Here’s a little secret I haven’t seen much talk about: Although I don’t endorse it as a way to build a career, job-hopping is rampant in the online marketing community. And job-hoppers enjoy salary increases with every new position. It’s not unusual to see an online marketing professional with six jobs on a resume in the span of five years!