Lett Direct Inc.

Circulation planning is the lifeblood of a catalog. A catalog simply can’t exist without it, and a good detailed plan makes for much easier and quicker implementation. There are two approaches to circulation planning: top-down or bottom-up. We’ll examine the difference. There also can be different goals or objectives. The most common goals are to increase sales, market share, growth and profits. It’s not unusual to have the goal be some combination, such as “increase sales 10 percent while holding profits even with last year as a percent of sales.” In top-down planning, upper management determines what the desired change will be, compared

By Stephen Lett Alsto's. The Company Store. Garnet Hill. Martha By Mail. Williamsburg. Pottery Barn. Frontgate. Good Catalog. The Land of Nod. Linen & Lace. Restoration Hardware. Ross-Simons. Sundance. What do these catalogs have in common? They have all eliminated the use of a separate bind-in order form with envelope typically found in the center of a catalog. These catalog companies employ a lot of smart people, so why would they make the decision to discontinue using a bind-in order form with envelope? What was their thought process? What should you do? This month, we will review the order form in detail

Over the years, catalogers have been dependent on rented lists to acquire new buyers and to grow their housefiles. The technique works, but its potential is limited to previous buyers from other catalogs. There is another cost-effective customer acquisition method to consider: space advertising. With space ads, even fractional page ads, you can tap into new market segments. You’ll increase your prospecting universe by going beyond the typical rented lists of proven mail order buyers. Making space advertising work is difficult. Ad space is expensive, “catalog corners” don’t always deliver, and black and white ads are often overlooked. While this method of prospecting has

Direct Selling Expenses - What Are Acceptable Guidelines? By Stephen Lett An important ratio to manage on the income statement is your selling-expense-to-sales ratio. our cost-of-goods ratio is probably imbedded in your head. But are you as familiar with the other key ratio on your profit and loss statement: the direct selling-expense-to-sales ratio? If not, you should be. In this article, I will discuss what is an acceptable guideline for a consumer catalog company and for a business-to-business cataloger. I will also examine what percentage of the total each of the line items in selling expenses should be. Last, I will determine the

It is no surprise that catalogers rely primarily on the use of outside rented names to grow their housefiles—the most proven and fastest way to generate new buyers. But there are other cost-effective prospecting methods that can be used to supplement traditional ways of generating new buyers. It’s easy to stick with using outside rented names and cooperative databases for new buyers. Why should a cataloger consider alternative methods that take time to set-up and cost money to implement? Increase the Prospecting Universe Through the use of alternative prospecting methods, a cataloger can identify and attract a wider variety of prospects

by Stephen R. Lett It is no surprise that catalogers rely primarily on the use of outside rented names to grow their housefiles—the most proven and fastest way to generate new buyers. But there are other cost-effective prospecting methods that can be used to supplement traditional ways of generating new buyers. It's easy to stick with using outside rented names and cooperative databases for new buyers. Why should a cataloger consider alternative methods that take time to set-up and cost money to implement? Increase the Prospecting Universe Through the use of alternative prospecting methods, a cataloger can identify and attract a

by Stephen R. Lett Even today, there are still a number of catalog companies, particularly business-to-business mailers, who do not want to rent their file to other qualified mailers. These firms do not rent their buyer files to non-competitors, nor do they exchange names with other reputable firms. Do these companies know something other catalogers don't know? Are they trying to protect their customers from mailbox clutter? Or are they missing out on list rental income—income that drops straight to the bottom line? Or are they paying more to acquire new buyers? This month, I will discuss the benefits of renting a

It costs money to add new buyers to your housefile. In fact, very few catalogers can prospect at breakeven (which we will define shortly). Therefore, new buyers are added to your housefile at an incremental loss to your bottom line. Prospecting for new buyers must be cost justified based on their lifetime value. For purposes of definition, it is important to understand the difference between a buyer and a customer. A buyer is someone who has purchased one time only. A customer has made more than one purchase. Obviously, you have to have buyers before you can have customers. While it is important to

We all know that the lifeblood of any catalog company is the housefile. Previous catalog buyers are the most valuable asset of any company and should be cared for to insure their maximum loyalty to your company. Now is a good time to assess the performance of your customer database. Are you maximizing the potential of your housefile? Are your customers satisfied with your services and products? What can you do to get the most out of your housefile? Customer service is the ultimate key to customer retention, and an overall healthy housefile depends on how well you take care of your customers. There

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