Catalog Doctor: How to Grow Your Small Business This Year

You don't need to launch a whole new channel to grow. So before you take a big risk in an unknown arena — like building a new brick-and-mortar store — look around. You may find easy and inexpensive opportunities right in front of you. Consider some of these examples:

• New products: Bundle existing products — into a gift basket, for example — or line-list discounts on three-fers: "Save $5 on any 3 colors of this T-shirt."
• Top customer phone line: Do you have an 
in-house call center? Give your top 50 or 100 customers a direct line to your best customer service rep for special, personal service. Track sales over time for the 50 who got the number and the 50 who didn't, and see which performed better.
• Personalize: Talk to your printer. Many catalogers find that personalization lifts response, some-
times significantly.
• Test email frequency: Many companies worry about overemailing, but the right timing can increase sales and delight your customers. Some email delivery providers make it easy to divide your list and test frequency (twice a month vs. weekly, weekly vs. twice weekly, etc.). Optimizing frequency to each customer group is a win-win.
• VIP mailings: Try catalog cover wraps, or 9˝ x 12˝ mailers with a catalog, or a #10 letter mailing. For content, consider a special thanks to your best customers with special offers or services, or volume discounts to get high rollers to buy even more.
• Email append: Do you have many customers on your mailing list without emails? Consider appending email addresses to your list. As a rule of thumb, expect a 50 percent append hit rate and about half the sales response of your regular email names. Follow your email append firm's aggressive opt-out recommendations — don't email names who say "no."

Easy Opportunities
If something's fast, easy and cheap, it's worth doing, even if it lifts response only a fraction of a percent.