Abacus

Finding the perfect conditions for fine-tuning lists can help define your response. The process of optimizing outside rented lists, commonly called Marginal List Optimization, is known to increase response rates. Abacus claims the lift ranges from 10 percent to 15 percent, which is consistent with my own experience. However, there is a cost associated with optimization. So can we say that the procedure is cost-justified? In other words, is the incremental increase in response and in the revenue per catalog mailed greater than the expense? In most cases, I feel the answer is no, which I will explain. There is, however, a place for

by Alicia Orr Where is the list business heading for catalogers as they look into the future? Increased list rental revenues and more efficient marketing will result from the knowledge and use of technology and advanced database marketing applications, says Peter Candito, president of Database Marketing Concepts, a list brokerage and management house in Bohemia, NY. Here is Candito's take on what catalogers should look for in 2000 and beyond—particularly in the areas of the Internet and enhanced data/cooperative databases. The Growing Availability of Data Enhanced data is the name of the game today in catalog list rentals, says

The genesis of a catalog can follow several creative paths. Some catalogs begin as concepts, springing forth full-grown from an entrepreneur’s forehead. Some spin off from retail stores or other catalogs. Others grow organically, often from space ads or a single product offering. Design Toscano took the last approach. For founder Michael Stopka, “alternative media” isn’t really alternative at all; it’s part of a core strategy for finding prospects for a niche market and converting them into loyal buyers. Since placing its first space ad in 1990, Design Toscano has grown its revenues to $25 million per year, its house file of buyers

Co-op’er-a-tive, adj. 1. Involving cooperation 2. Willing to act with others The definition alone brings to mind families coming together to harvest their neighbor’s crop, a small town coordinating and executing the annual 4th of July celebration or business owners sharing ideas not only to increase their own profitability but to benefit their entire industry. Standing alone provides little shelter from the rain. Standing together provides the unity to build and strengthen a solid foundation to withstand any storm. —Direct Marketing Technology’s Brochure for Zero24 The concept of a cooperative database is at once seductive and scary as hell. Seductive, because you, the

When Mammoth Sports Group purchased the Austad’s golf catalog from Hanover Direct this past October, it became “a new company under new ownership with a new mission,” says Kent Arett, president of Mammoth Sports Group located in Jessup, MD. “We knew there was a lot of potential there that was not being tapped. This was an underperforming business. That was the whole reason we bought it [Austad’s],” Arett explains. Under terms of the agreement, Mammoth Sports Group, which also owns several Mammoth Golf superstores and an e-commerce site, purchased Austad’s complete inventory, customer base and historical artwork with plans to quickly ramp up the

When Peter and Peggy Rice founded the Plow & Hearth catalog in an outbuilding on their Virginia farm in 1981, their inspiration was the back-to-basics movement. Nearly 20 years later, the country philosophy remains, but the back-roads mail order business is anything but backwards. Its adoption of a high-tech database in the mid '90s has led to quick, efficient growth through sophisticated modeling, which in turn engendered a home-furnishings catalog spin-off and a highly successful upselling program. Now Plow & Hearth's dual commitment to direct marketing basics and use of cutting-edge technology is allowing the founders to reap what they've sown. In April

Chinaberry's winning combination: soft on the outside, savvy on the inside By Donna Loyle Imagine for a moment that your catalog company's main competitors are book-selling giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The grueling price wars—behemoths battling for market share tend to inflict that on their industries—are driving the smaller players in your space either to bankruptcy court or to the arms of consolidators. But through it all, your niche catalog company continues to enjoy annual sales growth of about 13 percent—for 10 years running. And, in all but one of