On the Web, Show Prospects You’re a Real Company; Not Simply a Fly-by-Night

These days, if you look hard enough, you can find some catalogers who can offer a nice bargain. But as we all know, by in large, catalogers have a tough time competing with retailers on price. Otherwise, it’s the product and service, stupid!

Before you even consider offering top quality service, however, you better put your customers and prospects at ease, particularly when it comes to your Web site. Assure them that they’re dealing with a reputable company they can trust. Historically, the direct marketing business — later, to be joined by the e-commerce business — has always been plagued by fly-by-nights, leaving consumers leery of doing business with all nonretail merchants.

With this in mind, I’ve developed at least two pet peeves over the years: 1. The amount of time it often takes for catalogers to send out catalogs to those who call up specifically to request them, and 2. Multichannel marketers who don’t clearly tell you who they are. I chose to tackle #2 — online — this time.

I recently sifted through some Web sites of companies that are, first and foremost, catalogers. My goal was to see how clearly they described who they were, where they were and what they were all about. I specifically targeted slightly below-the-radar companies, avoiding household names, such as Lands’ End and L.L. Bean and the like. That’s not to take anything away from the names and reputations of those I surveyed, but I felt these ones still need to educate consumers who are considering doing business with them.

Below, I rated five catalogers’ Web sites on the job they do in explaining who they are, what they’re about, where they’re located and how to contact them. And what the heck, it’s back-to-school time so I even gave each a little grade. Once you finish reading this, I encourage you to see the assorted links for yourself, click on the “Submit a Comment” link on this page and let me know if you agree or disagree — and if any other catalogers come to mind that might be worth reviewing in a next go-round.

Overall, I found it gratifying to see that unlike some pure-play marketers, who for whatever the reason prefer to remain somewhat anonymous with regard to who they are, most catalogers handle this pretty well. See if you agree…

Not Quite a Household Name

Blair (www.Blair.com), which sells apparel and domestics, is certainly a well established name in the industry. But it’s not quite a household name in the mainstream, being that it targets a mostly mature audience and that it doesn’t operate a retail chain (although it does operate a store at its Warren, Pa., headquarters and two factory outlets nearby).

So it’s a good thing Blair does the nice job it does to inform customers and prospects what it’s all about on its Web site. All I needed to do was to scroll to the bottom and click on “About Blair” (www.blair.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/LandingPageView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&landingNavigation=true&landingPage=StaticPages/about_blair). There, I found a choice of links, including The Blair Story, which gives a thorough run-through of how John Blair first developed the company nearly 100 years ago; Career Opportunities; Visit Our Stores and Spotlight On Our Hometowns. The last link focuses on the towns in which Blair’s facilities are located, which is a little unusual, but certainly a nice piece of comfort food for consumers unsure they’re dealing with a reputable business.

In my book, the other key ingredient to letting consumers know they’re dealing with reputable companies — particularly online — is to clearly show your headquarters address and phone number. Show them you’re for real, that you have a physical address, that you’re established. Blair also handles this pretty well right on the bottom of its homepage, showing its full address.

As far as a contact phone number is concerned — and I don’t mean the toll-free order line or customer service line — you have to click on the stores link to find Blair’s headquarters store phone number. But all in all, it’s not difficult to see that this company has a soul. I give it an A.

Strictly Business

As a B-to-B cataloger of generators, heaters, pressure washers, snow-blowers, and automotive equipment, Northern Tool + Equipment (www.northerntool.com) certainly is strictly business, as many B-to-B marketers tend to be. But that doesn’t mean this cataloger neglects to show its online customers where it’s from or how it can be contacted.

You simply need to scroll to the bottom of its home page to find its “Company Info” and “Contact Us” links. That’s obviously nothing unusual, however, some companies don’t offer a lot when you click on these links. But Northern Tool offers a fair amount of information. In the “Company Info” link (www.northerntool.com/companyinfo), the company briefly explains the various ways you can order: Web, catalog, retail stores and overseas Web sites.

The “Contact Us” link (www.northerntool.com/contactus) is adequate. It consists of an e-mail form, which some marketers think is enough (I don’t). But ah, Northern Tool gives complete details of its main headquarters and phone number, as well as several other key contact details.

My only bone to pick with Northern Tool is its “Our Story” link on the upper right side of its home page (www.northerntool.com/companyinfo/story.htm). It’s a short and clever letter from CEO/Founder Don L. Kotula, but hardly tells much of a story; it’s more of a mission statement:

It’s Not About Having the Right Tools for the Job...

It’s about finding the right job for the tools. Northern Tool + Equipment is known to carry everything needed to build and repair stuff. That’s why Northern is the place where warriors prepare for battle, with tools and equipment as strong as they are.

And we know YOU are one of those warriors. The guy with the skills to handle a 180 Amp MIG welder with expertise and precision. The guy who finds joy in the power of a 1/2” high-torque impact wrench. The guy who knows his way around the jobsite, garage and workbench. Northern Tool + Equipment powers your workbench, with all the tools and equipment to get the job done right!

Don L. Kotula

CEO + Founder

It’s B-to-B, but overall, it’s lacking a little. Northern Tool gets a B- .

Not Enough Info

The children’s toys cataloger HearthSong (www.HearthSong.com), which is division of 1-800-Flowers.com, doesn’t flaunt its considerably higher-profile owner — for better or for worse. It doesn’t hide this fact either, placing in small and very light type at the bottom of its home page “Our family of brands,” a list that also includes sister catalogs, 1-800-Flowers.com, Ambrosia Wine, Cheryl&Co., Fannie May, Plow & Hearth and The Popcorn Factory.

As for HearthSong’s “About Us” (www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong/about/index.asp) and “Company History” (www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong/about/history.asp) links, both tell a fairly thorough story that’s plenty convincing for the most skeptical of shoppers. But I was a little put off by the “Contacting Us” link (www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong/service/contact_us.asp), which I could only find upon clicking on the “Customer Service” link. It only includes an e-mail form and an 800 number.

On other pages, HearthSong also offers a “Need Help? E-mail (which is hyperlinked) or call us at 1-800-533-4397.” But nowhere could I find a specific company address and corporate office phone number. So if I’m not overly familiar with this company, I’m still coming away a little unsure about it and thus I give HearthSong a C+ .

Play Up Your Parent?

Then I got to the athletic shoe merchant Eastbay (www.Eastbay.com) and I went “ahhh…,” because this company really gets it right. Scroll to the bottom, find the “Company Information” link (www.eastbay.com/content/custserv/help--contact/Q--2/), and bingo, you get a write-up on what this company is all about, what it has to offer and its history.

Some companies prefer to keep their parent ownership low-key. But Eastbay openly discusses its 1997 sale to Woolworth (which later changed over to Foot Locker), how “an era ended” in 1999 when its co-founders retired, and so forth.

And right there, at the bottom, you get President/CEO Dick Johnson’s name, address and (local) phone number, as well as Foot Locker’s Chairman/President/CEO Matthew D. Serra’s complete contact information. Eastbay gets an A+ in my book.

The consumer electronics catalog distributor DBL Distributing (www.dbldistributing.com) has a different approach, but for the most part, does all the right things. When you click on this B-to-B cataloger’s “About DBL” button on the lower left side (www.dbldistributing.com/index.php?main_page=information_manager&pages_id=7), you get a company mission statement, a big photo of DBL’s headquarters and paragraphs below it, which cover such key customer service features as product selection, delivery, pricing, fulfillment, and the fact that there are no minimum order sizes. When you click on the “Contact Information” button a little below the “About” button (www.dbldistributing.com/index.php?main_page=custserv_manager&pages_id=4), you’re also treated to a big photo of an office with a view of the Arizona desert, contact phone numbers and e-mail addresses for sales, customer service, Web site support, and even the company’s hours of operation. And under “Mail,” DBL lists its Scottsdale headquarters address. All bases are touched for an A+.

Tell Your Story (It’s More Interesting Than You May Think!)

The beauty of the catalog business is that most catalogers have a history and a story to tell. After reviewing the five catalogers, I looked for another one to cite as an example. I found Sierra Trading Post (www.SierraTradingPost.com), which is only a little more than 20 years old. It tells the life story of founder Keith Richardson and how, at a very young age, he wanted to run his own company (www.sierratradingpost.com/lp2/timeline.html). In somewhat of a timeline format, it explains how Keith attended San Jose State University beginning in 1970, studied accounting, later landed a job with Sportif USA, rose to president there, even how he got forced out of Sportif, and the following year launched the Reno, Nev.-based Sierra Trading Post.

It’s an engaging story indeed, and can only put a less-than-comfortable prospect at ease when considering buying something from the cataloger. This kind of effort gives your company a face, which is something consumers want to see. I hadn’t planned to review Sierra Trading Post, but what the heck, it gets an A+ as well.

All in all, I was gratified to see that once again, catalogers seem to handle this the best. I won’t review the so-called fly-by-nights that I’ve found that aren’t traditional catalogers here, but having done assorted Google searches for products I’ve sought for myself, I can tell you that many Web-based companies choose not to do this. As a result, I’ve often found myself looking elsewhere till I could find companies I was comfortable doling out my credit card number to.