B-to-B

Not long ago, an art director for a “big book” cataloger asked me to critique her work, a catalog the size of a large metropolitan phone directory. Paging through, I asked what kind of sales analysis was performed on the merchandise, because the catalog promoted more than 30,000 unique SKUs. She replied none. The marketing department couldn’t hire more staff, and no one had time. Urging her to do something about that, I warned her that her company could end up building a new warehouse to store a lot of SKUs that aren’t selling. She reached toward me, gripped the catalog in her right

Regularly ask for feedback from your customers regarding your Web site. Invest in some kind of analytics to pay attention to where your customers run into problems on your site. Look at search logs. • Which searches return no results? • Where are your entry and exit pages? We do Web usability studies before any major Web enhancement. —Melissa Rothchild, senior director of marketing communications, B-to-B accounting products catalog CPA2Biz

In business-to-business (B-to-B), several key factors aside from traditional recency, frequency and monetary (RFM) values could play a significant role in the list selection process for both your prospect files and housefile. Taking the time to identify these factors can pay huge dividends in your response rates. RFM should continue to play the paramount role in your list selections, but consider these additional house and prospecting list strategies that will help you in your marketing efforts. Heed the X-factor An X-factor is any variable that identifies a file segment not defined by RFM value criteria. X-factors don’t replace RFM; they supplement it. Significant portions of many

Take the road less traveled. Cataloging, by its very nature implies acquiring customers via renting lists. For some, that’s prospecting in a nutshell. But most catalogers eventually go beyond lists as a means to not only grow the business, but also to combat limited list universes, or as part of an overall expansion into multichannel marketing. But which directions make sense for your business? There are so many traditional choices, such as co-op databases, inserts, space ads, solo mailings, television or radio advertising. Compound that dilemma with the influx of newer online methods, such as paid search, Amazon.com, eBay and

In the rapidly evolving world of multichannel marketing, the print catalog’s role isn’t only changing on the consumer side. Consider how business postcard printer Modern Postcard, which for years provided its postcards to many business-to-business (B-to-B) marketers, has evolved into a cataloger: In mid-September, the Carlsbad, Calif.-based Modern Postcard rolled out a 24-page, 10.375-inch-by-8-inch B-to-B catalog that mailed to about 200,000 prospects (80 percent) and existing customers (20 percent). “We felt that our product and service offerings were amenable to the catalog channel, and we saw the creation of a catalog as a unique means for us to differentiate ourselves, elevate our brand and continue

Business-to-business transactions increased by 13 percent in 2005, according to a report released last week by Abacus. Despite this double digit growth in transactions, B-to-B sales grew just 9 percent. Other details revealed in the report: * Small businesses made purchases accounting for 81 percent of revenue, an increase of 11 percent from 2004; * Small businesses accounted for a 16 percent increase in Web sales; * Small business customers spent $566 million in direct transactions in 2005; * Medium businesses spent $52 million; * Large businesses spent $77 million; and * 40 percent of B-to-B sales took place on the Web in 2005,

In just a year, safety and industrial supplies cataloger Northern Safety has acquired a competitor, added an outside sales force, nearly doubled its staff and opened the doors of a new distribution center. In the process, the company has increased its annual sales by more than 70 percent. Sal Longo, president of the Frankfort, N.Y.-based business-to-business (B-to-B) catalog, says this growth is the result of aggressive prospecting, strategic partnerships and empowering employees to get the job done on their own terms. Not that growth is new to Northern Safety. In its nearly 23 years in business, the cataloger never has had a negative

While e-mail marketing is nothing new, many catalogers still aren’t using it to its fullest potential, said consultant Reggie Brady, president of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions in a session at the recent List Vision conference in New York. Following are a few areas Brady feels that catalogers should improve upon. * Send triggered messages. If customers try to put items in their carts that are out of stock, first tell them the products aren’t available; then e-mail them when the products are back in stock, Brady advised. E-mails sent a few days after an abandoned shopping cart also are important because customers tend to comparison

Copywriting consultant Bob Bly, with the Dumont, N.J.-based Center for Technical Communications, offered up a slew of B-to-B copywriting tips during his session at the recent MeritDirect Business Mailer’s Co-op Conference in White Plains, N.Y. Among them, he emphasized modern touches as well as some classics, such as the 45-year-old unique selling proposition (USP). Below are 10 of his pointers: 1. The secret of the big promise is to get the buyer’s attention. Make a big promise that offers to improve customers’ business or save them money. Don’t make a little promise. 2. Give statistical proof with your big promises. Customers will be skeptical, so proof

What conference would be complete without a 50 ideas in 50 minutes session? Terry Jukes, former CEO of G. Neil Cos., who heads up Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based consulting firm, B2B Direct Marketing Intelligence, reeled off close to that many tips for B-to-B catalogers during his session at the recent MeritDirect Business Mailer’s Co-op Conference in White Plains, N.Y. Here are some of his more noteworthy tips: * Margin is king, and you must know the king: Track by category, item, catalog mix and maintain both margin dollars and percentages. Because order volume is a balancing act, more volume seldom replaces less; go a for higher