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Like most, I’ve seen my family wealth shrink. I’ve seen friends and colleagues get laid off. I’ve seen the stock market continue to be eaten up by the bears. I’m seeing the catalog/multichannel business, as we know it, dwindle, while the overall retail business is in tatters. I’ve seen the size of our magazine diminish as the vendor community is hurting big-time. And I’ve seen some of our competitors all but disappear.

The Catalog Success 200 presents a keen way of showing which catalog/multichannel marketers have been on the fast track. It tracks those that have rented out their housefiles in the past two years. There may be others out there, but without the numbers for the market to view, they can’t be charted. Companies highlighted in red are either B-to-B or hybrids.

Problem: Eastwood, a catalog/multichannel retailer of tools and supplies for customizing and restoring motor vehicles, sought to drive greater revenue and profits via e-mail marketing while reducing costs.

A client recently called me in a panic. The company often personalizes its e-mails, but this time the send button got pushed too fast. Instead of the recipients’ first names being nicely displayed, the e-mail showed “[FIRST_NAME].” This company prides itself on its e-mail program and customer relationships, and felt this would tarnish its image. That client decided to immediately send a second e-mail with an apology, which went out about three hours after the error occurred.

As we wrap up our coverage of last month's All About eMail Virtual Conference & Expo, presented by eM+C magazine (sister publication of Catalog Success), this week we continue with Reggie Brady's “10 secrets to e-mail success,” revealing secrets six through 10.

Continuing our coverage of last month's All About eMail Virtual Conference & Expo, presented by eM+C magazine (sister publication of Catalog Success), this week we look at a presentation from Reggie Brady, president of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions, a direct and e-mail marketing consultancy (and Catalog Success columnist).

Historically, many e-mail marketers have gotten by with poor metrics and suboptimal business practices because e-mail marketing was seen as a cheap communication channel where it was easy to make a profit. But in the current economic climate, every cost is under scrutiny. Are you simply looking at ways to lower costs or e-mail more people? That’s exactly the wrong thing to be doing. Now is the time to act like a sharp businessperson and consolidate your own standing in the process. Focus on Real Business Metrics Smart businesspeople focus on profit and loss (P&L) and return on investment (ROI), not just cost. Clearly

The number of marketing e-mails being sent to consumers continues to increase, finds a recent survey. U.S. retailers and wholesalers will send 158 billion marketing e-mails this year, a number likely to grow 63 percent to 258 billion in 2013, Forrester Research predicts. But the increase in volume hasn’t translated into an increased reliance on testing. According to Internet Retailer’s survey of 174 Web-only retailers, chain retailers, catalogers and consumer brand manufacturers, conducted last month with e-mail marketing and survey firm Knowledge Marketing, 52.9 percent of respondents do not test their e-mail campaigns. Here’s a look at some more of the survey’s findings.

This month, I thought I’d share some of my favorite e-mails and explain why they’re tops in my book. As you read them, think about how you might incorporate these tactics in your own e-mail programs. Orvis and Customer Reviews Many catalogers include customer product reviews on their sites. It’s a great way to take advantage of Web 2.0 by integrating customer content online. Plus, shoppers place great value on reviews in the shopping process — this user-generated content should increase sales. If you have customer reviews on your site, make sure the members of your e-mail list are aware of this feature. Orvis

I’ve always believed you put dollars in the bank, not percentages. For example, it’s not the percent of net income that’s important, but the total dollars of profit achieved. To maximize dollars, manage the income statement by the ratios as a percentage of net sales — the dollars will take care of themselves. This month, I’ll review the key ratios of a typical profit and loss (P&L) statement for a B-to-B and a B-to-C catalog company and discuss how these ratios are different today than just a few short years ago. If your company’s experience has been similar to others, sales are