Donnelley Group

AmeriMark Direct relies on a profitable strategy of adhering to direct marketing disciplines, internal modeling and promotional prospecting. If anything has characterized multi-title apparel, beauty products and accessories cataloger AmeriMark Direct since Gary Giesler and his partners purchased the company in 1998, it’s steady growth fueled by a disciplined approach to meeting customers’ needs. Under the current ownership (eight-plus years), sales have grown 300 percent, and the Cleveland-based company has launched three catalogs and three Web sites. What’s more, a credit program, three membership plans and a customer rewards program have all combined to strengthen AmeriMark’s bond with its customers. No stranger to cataloging,

From setting schedules for supervisory duties, to mystery-shopping overflow call centers, to setting bonus structures for seasonal workers — four catalog and contact center managers reveal how they tackle daily challenges. Debbye Schneider, contact center manager, Fire Mountain Gems, Grants Pass, Ore. Merchandise: jewelry-making supplies to consumers and businesses Contact center employees: 85 to 104 Overflow/after-hours contact center: Donnelly Communications Catalog Success: What are your top challenges, and how do you overcome them? Schneider: We’ve been steadily ramping up for the past five years. My staff of customer service reps has tripled since then. Because of the growth, I have

By Judie Eakins The technology has arrived to bring improved quality and greater efficiency, and catalogers are taking advantage Now in its fourth generation, digital photography has "arrived." And major retailers and catalogers, including Nordstrom, True Value, The Container Store and Eddie Bauer, have adopted it almost fully—for both traditional print and Web purposes. A few years ago, many in the industry—direct marketers, printers and photographers themselves—perceived digital photography as incapable of producing photos of superior quality. Beyond the subjective issues were very real limitations: Equipment was awkward and difficult to use, and the technology lent itself almost exclusively to static