All About ROI June 2009
An Industry's Eureka! Moment
One morning a few months ago, I experienced a true moment. I realized that, after spending the majority of my 25-plus-year career covering the catalog business, that business can no longer be treated as such. Today, it's really about selling and serving any way the consumer wants you to.
Beware the Danger of High Frequency E-Mail
I had breakfast a little more than a year ago with the vice president of marketing for a major online retailer and cataloger. She told me she was worried she'd fallen into the trap of e-mailing too frequently. Her company was sending three or four e-mails per week. She noted that every e-mail generated sales — and that obviously pleased senior management.
Case Study - Weaver's Flooring America
Problem: Weaver's Flooring America, a franchise location of retailer Flooring America, sought a more detailed and optimized marketing mix to reconnect with its local customer base. Solution: Outsourced its store and direct marketing planning to a local marketing automation technology and services provider. Results: Gained boost in sales and cost savings from lowered marketing complexity.
Don't Just Make Friends
Engagement marketing happens when people become a part of the product they're buying or consuming. Many marketers think it begins and ends with sites on which visitors create the content — Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc. They think a simple product mention on these sites will drive traffic and make their 
sales soar. But the evidence says otherwise.
Finding the Perfect Balance
This year's economic retreat actually stands to help Gaiam, a product and information services company with a heavy emphasis on sustainability, position itself for greater growth in the near future.
Furthermore - Marketing & Mobile Minute
5 creative ways to make a good offer; Q&A with Strand bookstore's Eddie Sutton
Mine Web-Generated Catalog Requests With Extreme Care
Catalog requests or inquiries generated from the Internet are like diamonds in the rough. But how long it takes to fulfill these requests determines their true value to your company. Fulfillment time has a direct bearing on order conversion rates, and best practice says prospective buyers should receive the catalogs they requested online within 14 calendar days.Catalog requests or inquiries generated from the Internet are like diamonds in the rough. But how long it takes to fulfill these requests determines their true value to your company. Fulfillment time has a direct bearing on order conversion rates, and best practice says prospective buyers should receive the catalogs they requested online within 14 calendar days.
Prospecting - Party City, Oriental Trading Co. & ProFlowers.com
Is Party City's E-Prospecting Too Old-School?; Postcard Mailings Provide Low-Cost Alternative for Oriental Trading; ProFlowers.com's Mother’s Day Promo Leaps From ESPN to Web
Searching for the Perfect Mix?
With the down economy a continuing issue, marketers must make integration a top priority. By fully integrating search engine marketing (SEM) with all other marketing channels, you can squeeze the most out of your media and marketing spend.
The Final Frontier?
Historians eventually will look on last year as the beginning of the end for retail stores (aka fixed asset distribution) as we know them. Holiday ’08 retail sales dipped 5.5 percent to 8 percent from the previous year, the most dramatic decline in decades. Few, if any, retailers projected such drama.
Wearing the Pants in a Social Media Setting
Think you can't make any real money marketing on social networks? Think they're really only branding tools? Think again.
