The 50 Best Tips

— Sonja Kristofferson, Bloomingdale’s, “How Bloomie’s Revamped Site Reaped Rewards,” Aug. 21, Catalog Success Idea Factory

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✱ Dig deeper on references.

Skip over the vendor’s marquis-name references and ask for names of companies that aren’t called as often. Don’t just talk to companies in your field. Rather, seek companies with an e-mail volume, level or type of service similar to yours. Try to speak with one client who has worked with the vendor two or more years, one who has been a client six to 12 months and one who has worked with the firm less than six months.