Direct Media International

B-to-B catalogers’ prospecting list strategy has never been more important. Why? “You have a universe of shrinking names,” says Kim Lowenthal, executive vice president at American List Counsel. “To put it simply, the volume of business names is less than before.” Plain and simple, fewer names for prospecting can slow sales growth. And many mailers trace sluggish sales to list universes that shrank years before they felt the decline on their top lines. To meet your file growth goals, you’ll probably need to use several prospect list selection techniques and strategies. And by selecting the best lists from a variety of sources, you

The Canadian dollar’s strength makes marketing by catalog to Canadians a prime expansion opportunity for U.S. catalogers these days. For many, it’s a logical way to grow, provided the prospecting universe is sufficient for the offer. Mailing and distributing merchandise into Canada has become almost seamless thanks to services such as the one offered by Canada Post Borderfree. Here’s what you can expect, and how you can get started test marketing and building a Canadian housefile as part of your overall circulation strategy. Sizing Up the Market There are approximately 33 million people and 12.5 million consumer households in Canada. Similar to the