Almost two years ago, L.L. Bean began to move investments from infrastructure and staffing to prospecting and advertising. The results are just now coming in

By Reported Donna Loyle

But we have to be out there with a very aggressive message. We have to go out and find our customers; we can’t wait for them to come to us.

We recently ran an eight-page insert in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. We wanted to have some fun and to advertise our pricing changes. That was a big deal for us. The customer has to know the value we’re offering. We’ve done a lot of testing, and this insert is one of them.