Coldwater Creek

Everyone at your organization must support the customer, not just contact center reps. If your customer is a female between the ages of 35 and 60, your Web developers must build a site that supports her and the way she shops. This is not about what the developer wants, or what the developer thinks will challenge the customer; this is about supporting the customer's shopping experience. —Christine Laczai, vice president, e-commerce, Coldwater Creek heard at: eTail 2005, Philadelphia

By Alicia Orr Suman The Causes of List Fatigue ... and eight tips on how to beat it List fatigue is top of mind for many direct marketers these days. What is list fatigue, what causes it, and how can you combat it? Reductions in catalog prospecting circulation over the past several years, in conjunction with shrinking list and co-op database universes and an overall weak economy, have led to what commonly is being referred to as "list fatigue." How, you may ask, can a list become fatigued? Jo Ann Alberts, vice president of list brokerage and management

His role at Camping World: Brad Ekiss manages the planning and budgeting for the direct marketing division of this multichannel merchant of camping products. His cataloging goals: Camping World stresses the importance of keeping a sharp eye on a catalog’s profitability. “We preach the bottom line and look at it all of the time,” Ekiss notes. Additionally, Camping World aims to build circulation models that help target the best customers. “We’ll continue to build catalog value for our customers,” he says. “We want to provide a vehicle that allows them to easily order and encourages them to want to order. Part of that plan

Why lighthouses? When Donald Devine retired in 1993 from his job as the president of an abrasive ceramics company, he started looking for entrepreneurial opportunities. At the time, two of his associates were operating a retail store specializing in lighthouse-related products. To Devine, lighthouses seemed to be an interesting niche product, and he became fascinated with the idea of selling related merchandise. “Many people recognize the historical significance of lighthouses and are actively making sure the Coast Guard retains them,” Devine recounts. Starting the catalog: After reading a Forbes magazine article about Coldwater Creek, he understood that the catalog industry was a difficult one

By Steve Trollinger For business-to-business (b-to-b) catalogers, the basic prospecting process using lists consists of several steps. In this article, I'll focus on three of them: - understanding what you can spend on a customer; - identifying the potential prospect universe; and - using your merge/purge reports. These general steps include the key elements of getting through list prospecting in a way that gives you the most information and greatest opportunity for success. Expense Per Customer Understanding lifetime value, or even 12-month payback, is the first step in the customer-acquisition process, no matter what method you use to get new clients. Determine what

With a single phone, an extra-long phone cord and a closet of nature-inspired products, the husband-and-wife team of Dennis and Ann Pence founded the brand known as Coldwater Creek in 1984. Transplants from the East Coast, the Pences fell in love with the slower pace, friendly atmosphere and lush scenery of the Northwest on a trip and later made Sandpoint, Idaho, the location of their home and new business. According to David Gunter, director of investor relations and corporate communications, the first catalog was an 18-page mailer featuring a hodge-podge of nature-themed merchandise, like bird feeders and binoculars. To build the house file, Gunter

by Jack Schmid THE BIG IDEA! What direct marketer has not dreamed of coming up with that totally unique, breakthrough concept like the "Johnson Box" or the negative option club or another creative ploy that gives one immortality in industry recognition. Whether you're a designer, photographer, writer, printer or order form manufacturer, everyone is seeking that special creative technique that will help their work stand out, differentiate themselves from the competition and get better results. "Beat the Control!" is the cry of creative professionals. Let's look at a number of ways that successful catalogers are thinking "outside the box" in their creative efforts.

by Jack Schmid What do all the following situations have in common? • You're launching a new catalog. • You're spinning off a catalog from an existing product line. • Your catalog design is flat, tired and you're re-thinking the look of the entire book. • You're considering adding an extra mailing to the season and want it to really stand out. Every one of these examples must deal with a common question: What's the size and shape (or format) of the new book going to be? Catalog format is often taken for granted. It is typically established by a previous creative team or