Using promotions excessively can be like dealing with the devil. Promote too much, and you not only give customers the impression that youโre an off-price bargain house, but also your profit margins can tumble. One of the livelier sessions held during the New England Mail Order Association (NEMOA) conference in late September was a staged debate in which panelists and audience members argued about the need for catalog promotions. To fuel the fire, response data from a recent Mokrynskidirect catalog client survey was thrown into the mix for each issue tackled. The debate brought out some issues for all to ponder. Below, are the
Omnichannel
A recent global survey by integrated marketing services firm ICOM shows that Blogs, e-mail and online social networks are the fastest growing marketing media in Europe, North America and Asia. Viral marketing is growing at an equally strong rate in North America, while in Latin America text messaging topped the list. Below are the top 10 fastest growing marketing tactics, according to the survey: 1. Blogs/e-mail marketing/online social networks; 2. Viral marketing; 3. Internet advertising (eg: banner ads and interstitials); 4. Commericial messages on hand-held devices; 5. Outdoor advertisements; 6. Brand-sponsored games and events; 7. Guerilla marketing; 8. Search engine marketing; 9. SMS (short
Forty-four percent of marketers include an element of personalization in every e-mail campaign they develop, according to research released jointly last week by Mintel International Group, Responsys, Vertis Communications and Winterberry Group. However, 80 percent of those marketers modify only the salutation and a few basic content elements, the report revealed. The firms, which represent the direct mail, e-mail, integrated communication, market research and consulting sectors, also offered the following data: * 66 percent of direct mail is personalized, which remains relatively unchanged over the past three years; * 71 percent of consumers read direct mail from retailers, more than any other vertical market; and * 21
When it comes to integrating creative between the three primary marketing channels โ catalog, Web and retail โ much has been said about presenting a consistent image across all channels. But doing so isnโt always so easy. As Carol Worthington-Levy, partner and director at San Rafael, Calif.-based consultancy LENSER, pointed during a session at the recent New England Mail Order Association conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., multichannel marketers should enroll their creative people in โtaking a role in the actual selling process.โ She offered the following points and tips to marketers looking for ways to achieve multichannel consistency: Leverage your branding across all media that sells
Take the road less traveled. Cataloging, by its very nature implies acquiring customers via renting lists. For some, thatโs 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
Connect the dots. All good catalog marketers know their customersโ lifetime value. And those who are savvy have a handle on their customersโ spending patterns by channel. In todayโs multichannel environment, the winners are those who synchronize their online and offline efforts. There are many studies showing that customers who interact with a cataloger in more than one channel spend dramatically more than a single-channel customer. J.C. Penney was one of the first to come to this realization. A study the multichannel retail giant conducted with Abacus on annual spending showed: โข Internet-only shoppers spent โ$151. โข Catalog-only shoppers spent โ$201. โข Retail-only shoppers spent
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
Reallyโฆ I mean it!
If youโre not already in the catalog business, donโt start one. In fact, you can stop reading here.
Donโt even waste your timeโฆ
O.K., you got me. Iโm being ironic.
In fact, a few paragraphs down, Iโll tell you why now is the best time to start a catalog business. But, only as long as youโre willing to follow the few simple rules of the catalog business. Rules that run counterintuitive to your current business model.
To me, this is a fitting way to start my first weekly blog (silly word blog, but less silly than saying the word โspamโ
Despite a postal rate increase and natural disasters in the United States, direct marketing revenue was up 10 percent from 2004 to 2005, according to a recent report from co-op database provider Abacus obtained exclusively by Catalog Success. Sales increased an average of 15 percent for 2005, with a peak increase of 21 percent over 2004 in August. Sales rose by 13 percent in September, despite Hurricane Katrinaโs late August impact. In data revealed exclusively to Catalog Success, Abacus shows the effects Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had on direct sales on the Gulf Coast in Q2 and Q3 2005. Alabama Mobile: Q2 sales up
A catalogerโs job of presenting merchandise is second in importance only to selecting the right merchandise. Readers decide in seconds whether theyโre going to continue to read about a product or move on. The amount of information readers comprehend โat a glanceโ isnโt limited by their brains; itโs only limited by what we put in front of them. Even those interested in a product will skip over it if they donโt understand it or theyโre not โsoldโ on it. What and how you show product in your catalog makes all the difference in the world. The following list contains the most frequent