In the rapidly evolving world of multichannel marketing, the print catalogโs role isnโt 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). โWe 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
An average of 19.2 percent of commercial e-mail was blocked from consumersโ inboxes between January 2006 and June 2006. But thatโs down from 21 percent blocked during the same time last year, according to a report from e-mail solutions company Return Path. Looking at past e-mail delivery numbers, the trend appears to be reversing itself: * 20.7 percent of commercial e-mail was blocked from consumersโ inboxes in all of 2005; * 22 percent was blocked in 2004; * 18.7 percent was blocked in 2003; and * 15 percent was blocked in 2002; Other data revealed by the report: * In the first half
Over the years, Iโve made plenty of catalog purchases, but rarely simply because I was a catalog business editor. I only turned to catalogs when I needed something unusual or came across a killer sale. Otherwise, I bought my mainstream goods off the rack. Today, thatโs changed. And the two vehicles that have impacted me the most have been the coming of age of e-mail and the remarkable ease of search engines. I find e-mailโs impact on me surprising, because less than five years ago, Iโd delete any personal e-mail from just about any address I didnโt recognize. But now, I find myself looking
While e-mail marketing is nothing new, many catalogers still arenโt 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 arenโt 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
Ask Amy Africa--the Web usability surveyor and president of Eight By Eight, which consults for such B-to-B catalogers as VWR, S&S Worldwide and Hello Direct--and sheโll tell you there are really only a handful of things that matter when it comes to online marketing. During her keynote address at the recent MeritDirect Business Mailerโs Co-op Conference in White Plains, N.Y., she outlined the following pieces of online marketing that matter. Landing/entry page: Armed with her own survey findings, Africa said that 80 percent to 90 percent of people leave landing pages (upon coming from search engine sites) within five pages of the landing pages. โLanding
Seventy percent of marketing decision makers report that their organizations currently practice integrated marketing, a marketing plan that coordinates online and offline marketing efforts, according to the โB-to-B eMarketing Surveyโ released last month by marketing services provider Epsilon. The survey of 175 U.S.-based marketing executives also revealed the following: * 70 percent of companies report that the same person controls both traditional and interactive marketing budgets. * 46 percent allocate marketing budgets by channel using rough estimates based on past experience. * 23 percent allocate marketing budgets by channel using modeling and planning techniques. * 19 percent give each channel a fixed allocation. *
Seventy percent of marketing decision makers report that their organizations currently practice integrated marketing, a marketing plan that coordinates online and offline marketing efforts, according to the โB-to-B eMarketing Surveyโ released last month by marketing services provider Epsilon. The survey of 175 U.S.-based marketing executives also revealed the following: * 70 percent of companies report [โฆ]
Eighty-two percent of catalog and online merchants with active e-mail programs remove customers from their e-mail lists immediately upon request, according to a study of opt-out practices conducted by e-mail marketer Silverpop. Here are other findings from the study: * 8 percent of merchants continued to send e-mail beyond the 10-business-day limit set by Can-Spam. * 6 percent of merchants took up to five days to handle opt-outs. * 4 percent took between five and 10 days. * 67 percent of merchants use the termโunsubscribeโ to describe the opt-out procedure to customers. * 18 percent use alternate wording. * 13 percent use the term
Those e-merchants who can save customers time and/or make online shopping easier are in line to build customer loyalty, writes Ken Burke, founder and chief executive of MarketLive and author of โIntelligent Selling: The Art& Science of Selling Online.โ Following are four action steps to take: 1. Offer advanced search. โSearches that use Boolean operators and multiple keywords can be powerful ways to allow experienced users to find what they want more quickly,โ Burke writes. And it can incentivize shoppers to visit your site vs. a competitorโs site. 2. Send e-mail confirmations. Detail what they bought, total cost and shipping data, Burke suggests. 3.
Almost 50 percent of consumers said that e-mail had at least some influence on their online purchases this past holiday season, a 10 percent increase from 2004, according to the Annual Holiday E-mail Consumer Survey, released in January by e-mail marketer Return Path. Comparatively, the survey showed 42 percent of consumers claim e-mail had no impact on their online holiday shopping habits. Other data revealed by the survey: * 50 percent of consumers took advantage of e-mail promotions. * 41 percent used e-mail to comparison shop. * 31 percent got gift ideas from e-mails. * 29 percent went to a retail store as a