A Chat with Eduard Bjorncrantz, Vice President, Direct Marketing at Day-Timers, Inc.

CS: What are some key points to your success in cataloging?

EB: I’ve been involved with a number of companies at a senior management level - Sears, Lab Safety, Moore Medical, Quill, J.C. Whitney, my own consulting business, and now Day-Timers. While there are many factors that contribute to catalog success, I think having an intense customer focus and an in-depth understanding of the market is essential. You can’t be effective in managing a catalog business by just having exceptional direct marketing skills, but you clearly need to understand the specific market of which you’re a part. I think one of the mistakes that Sears made is that if you were a buyer of tires, you could be just as good a buyer of women’s foundation garments. And that’s just not true, because you have to really understand the market inside and out. With an intense customer focus, you not only understand what they’re buying, but why they’re buying it.