The Sharper Image

This past month I did a bit of holiday shopping online and by catalog. On the whole, my experiences were enjoyable, although I did encounter a few snags. I offer them here in case they’re instructive for other catalogers. I’d been looking in The Sharper Image catalog at a foot massager as a holiday gift for my husband’s two hard-working aunts, but I was unsure about buying it. One day I got an e-mailed offer from The Sharper Image: Get $20 off an order of $60 or more. “Ah!” I thought. “A perfect time to buy.” So I clicked on

When I was 14, my mother helped me redecorate my bedroom. That spring, we picked out a paint color, new curtains and new wall decor. When it came time to select a new bedspread, Mom—a savvy American consumer if there ever was one—gave me a Spiegel catalog and showed me how to navigate through it to find just the right color, size and material. When the bedspread arrived, it was like opening a Christmas present in the middle of May. And so began a lifetime of catalog shopping. Through the years, I’ve discovered some wonderful products through catalogs: durable and comfortable fitness

You have a slew of choices when trying to reach prospects without paying postage, including direct response space advertising, broadcast and other channels. By Denny Hatch It is imperative to determine the lifetime value of customers by source. Robert Hackett, RRD Direct’s vice president of sales, provides the following formula: Lifetime value is a function of frequency of purchase, multiplied by the gross margin, multiplied by the duration of brand loyalty. What can you afford to pay for a new customer? To make that determination, Gary Hennerberg of the Hennerberg Group suggests you take the following steps: --Research customer lifetime value.

You have a slew of choices when trying to reach prospects without paying postage, including direct response space advertising, broadcast and other channels. By Denny Hatch It is imperative to determine the lifetime value of customers by source. Robert Hackett, RRD Direct's vice president of sales, provides the following formula: Lifetime value is a function of frequency of purchase, multiplied by the gross margin, multiplied by the duration of brand loyalty. What can you afford to pay for a new customer? To make that determination, Gary Hennerberg of the Hennerberg Group suggests you take the following steps: --Research customer lifetime value. --Calculate

Putting aside for a moment the criticisms about its overall business model, Amazon.com offers numerous lessons for Web retailers—namely, the inherent beauty of Internet partnerships. Indeed, Amazon set the standard for this mainstay in the e-commerce world, and numerous catalogers have adopted these principles to great success. In fact, 10 percent of all Internet sales and 3 to 5 percent of all online catalog Web sales come through affiliate sites—and these numbers are rising rapidly, noted two consultants at the recent Direct Marketing Association Annual conference in Chicago. In their seminar entitled “Internet Partnerships: Understanding the Key to Catalog Growth,” John Deneen, president of

I am quite amazed by the number of unique, niche catalogs that have found their way to my mailbox or in-box lately—everything from catalogs for cigar smokers (i.e., Corona Cigar Co.) to American Historic Society’s catalog targeting coin collectors to a catalog selling Vidalia onions (yes, Bland Farms sells onions). Then at last month’s annual Catalog Conference in Boston, I was introduced to several other niche players I hadn’t been aware of before. Wolferman’s catalog, for instance, sells a signature product—English muffins, which look so mouthwateringly delicious that I have to order some of these yummy treats. At a luncheon one day, I sat

By Denny Hatch Periodically I get phone calls from fledgling entrepreneurs who have great products and want to get into direct mail. "What else have you got?" is always my first question. "Wha ... what do you mean?" "What other products?" "This is my only product." I say, "In the words of consultant Susan McIntyre: 'The key to long-term profitability is to build a large house list of repeat buyers.' That's true for any direct marketing business—catalog or otherwise." "But don't you want to hear about my product?" "What does it sell for?" "Uh, $20, maybe." "Test it in space," I tell

My old professor, Frank Knight, used to say, that what people wanted was not the satisfaction of their wants, but better wants. —Herbert Stein, Presidential advisor and economist, The Wall Street Journal When I was a small boy growing up on Long Island, the big annual December outing was an overnight trip to Manhattan to visit my grandmother for the movie and Christmas pageant at the Radio City Music Hall and the annual visit to F.A.O. Schwarz, the great toy emporium on Fifth Avenue and 59th Street to see the newest in 0-gauge Lionel electric trains. When I became a man, I put away

Attempting to market across multiple channels, catalogers have been using myriad marketing methods to drive sales to particular channels and across channels. While the promotions can be effective, they are hard to track. Netcentives, a loyalty and e-mail marketing solutions company, is offering catalogers a new way of following customers’ buying habits, creating more effective marketing campaigns and encouraging multi-channel shopping with its program Retail Rewards. Customers join Retail Rewards by registering their credit card with their favorite catalogers to receive rewards for their purchases in any channel. Catalogers who join the program create a customer credit card registration page on their sites.

A proven leader can help guide your product selection By Denny Hatch "Creating direct mail without studying other people's successful direct mail is like trying to do brain surgery without studying brains." —Axel Andersson "Even top catalogers with years of experience seldom beat the Rule of Thirds: For any given catalog, one-third of the merchandise will sell well, one-third will sell OK and one-third will bomb." —Susan McIntyre So you wanna beat consultant Susan McIntyre's "Rule of Thirds"? In my opinion, the greatest single source for merchandise research for catalogers is the SkyMall catalog—found in the seat pockets of just