Gear Up for Holiday Sales
It’s September, and as a cataloger and e-marketer, you know what that means — the all-important holiday selling season is just around the corner. In this issue we offer several strategies that may help boost your sales during the fourth quarter.
Consultant Alan Rimm-Kaufman offers practical tips for testing offers in your online sales channel, including keeping test notebooks, checking one variable at a time and assigning unique tracking codes. See his “E-commerce Insights” column.
And if you’re thinking about prospecting via insert media programs, don’t miss Associate Editor Matt Griffin’s feature “Do’s and Don’ts to Help Boost Response.” In the article, several insert media professionals share their best strategies, including requesting unlisted selects, using brevity in your creative and not being tempted by a one-size-fits-all solution.
We trust you will find these and the other practical strategies we offer this month — indeed, every month! — to be useful in your holiday selling initiatives.
And even if yours is not a business-to-business catalog, don’t miss our cover story profile on Galeton. This merchant of work gloves, apparel, footwear and industrial safety supplies is using its merchandising mix to grow its customer list. And the strategy seems to be working. Galeton was one of only a handful of catalogers — consumer or business — to make our Catalog Success Top 200 list for two consecutive years.
Staff Notes
With this issue we extend a hearty welcome to a new staff member here at Catalog Success and a fond farewell to another.
Nicole Rollender comes on board as managing editor, a brand-new position for the magazine. Previously, Nicole worked as an editor at The Journal of Commerce, a magazine for the trade and transportation industries. And she holds a master’s degree from Penn State.
I’m sure all of our readers join me in offering Nicole a warm welcome to the catalog industry family! Feel free to drop her a line at nrollender@napco.com. She would love to hear from you.
And last month we said “goodbye” to Barry Futtersak, one of our ace advertising sales representatives, who retired after almost 12 years with the Target Marketing Group, which includes Catalog Success.
In all, Barry sold ad space for various publications for an impressive 35 years. I will miss Barry’s jokes and funny stories that lightened the sometimes-stressful days that publishing brings. We wish him a much deserved rest from the work-a-day world and best wishes for the next exciting chapter of his life.
