Contributions to Profit The 40-40-20 Rule

Many companies see their creative as their calling cards. But the true experts in catalog marketing know that by banking on "good creative" to drive business, you're putting the cart before the proverbial horse.

I once had a client who hired a new team of managers from the retail side of its business segment. They immediately decided the catalog looked shabby and needed to be significantly upgraded in look and feel. They nearly doubled their catalog costs to upgrade the brand image. That meant they needed twice as much revenue to break even. The catalog's loyal customers reacted immediately — many did not order. Prospects also stopped ordering. Why?