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As I sit down in mid-August to write this edition of Editor’s Notes, I’m thinking back to last August, specifically to a time before terrorists forever altered our sense of tranquility. Now I’m not one to wax poetic, but I am remembering fondly the days when TV show “survivors” were top of mind instead of all-too-real Middle Eastern terrorist cells and ominous-sounding security measures here at home. I was in New York City recently, and I paid my respects at Ground Zero. The swift clean-up operation going on there is a true testament to our nation’s “can do” attitude. As I stood there

Long after the Internet bubble burst, e-commerce is alive and well for direct marketers and is the fastest-growing direct commerce sales channel. Catalog companies have three options for managing the dynamic online marketing environment. An Independent Adjunct At one extreme, a catalog’s e-commerce operation can stand alone as a totally independent adjunct to the traditional enterprise. Although it may share some of the same merchandise, it also may feature items that are not in the catalog. When it does offer catalog items, they may be only a subset of the full catalog line. In this extreme scenario, no effort is needed to

A good list-hygiene strategy can help ensure that your increasingly costly promotions will reach only those people who are actually at the address to which you’re mailing and can help you avoid sending duplicate catalogs. Today, many catalogers use state-of-the-art models and have invested millions of dollars in operating systems that generate data used to run their businesses. But keep in mind that these models and data will be only as good and dependable as the customer information loaded onto them. Andrew Kapochunas, leader of business development and strategy for sales and marketing solutions at Dun & Bradstreet, notes that data hygiene now

In a perfect workflow, catalogers never leave the digital space. Digital photography is placed into digital files using page layout software. Then, catalog production personnel release files using one of several online transmission options. Finally, they review and approve using digital proofs, send through to computer-to-plate and finally to the press. Soft proofing completes the digital workflow, replacing some, if not all, of the hard digital proofs. Soft proofing easily can be adopted at the online level and immediately can begin to save catalogers time and money. Two categories usually fall under the general heading of soft proofing: online proofs and collaborative, Web-based

Increased competition and a sluggish market have produced a scenario in which catalogers must embrace and preserve their customer base. Indeed, creating loyalty and optimizing each customer’s profitability are the key ingredients to growing your corporate revenue and ensuring your company’s long-term health. But nurturing customer relationships is no small feat. With customer bases in the hundreds of thousands—or even in the millions—determining the amount of attention to pay to each customer interaction can be daunting. The task leads many business executives to implement an advanced technology infrastructure and targeting strategy for each communication or transaction. However, developing that ability can be an

After faltering at the starting block, online procurement might have found the magic combination to finally make businesses sit up and notice: indirect buying. And PC giant Dell Computer is leading the pack. Businesses have resisted online buying services until indirect e-procurement arrived on the scene mostly because open buying was slow and perceived as less-than-secure. E--procurement is the purchasing of support goods and services through an online, private customized catalog. The catalog contains products a company is interested in, and has approved for employee purchase, as well as a company’s negotiated pricing. According to AMR Research, the worldwide market

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.

Finding fresh sources of names to mail has always challenged catalogers. Lately, it’s become more competitive as catalogs all seem to mail into a finite universe of buyers. But catalog list brokers say they’re having some success helping their clients break new ground using tools from non-catalog compiled lists and publication files. Not only is the Internet a research tool for mailers and brokers, but it also is a developing source of new names. Read on for insights into the state of the catalog list market from five list professionals: • Steve Mickolajczyk, president, Brokerage Division, Catalyst Direct Marketing; • Donna

There’s nothing like having a billionaire for a neighbor. Especially one that throws a little business your way, like Microsoft did when it named Multiple Zones International (MZI) its chief supplier of computer hardware, software and services. The contract is one of many changes taking place at MZI. Since moving online in 1995, MZI has seen fast growth in revenue and transactions, creating a $115-million company. What began in 1989 as a three-title catalog company with PC Zone, Mac Zone and The Learning Zone, has grown into a multi-channel retail operation that includes a new business-to-business division. The new Zones Business Solutions division is

Kid culture is becoming the new money maker for home decor catalogers. Following on the heels of fashion retailers such as The Gap, The Limited and Talbots, which in the mid-1990s began offering children’s clothing that mirrored adult fashions, kid-sized products are now filtering into the bedroom and playroom. In the past several years, Neiman Marcus, The Company Store and Pottery Barn have all created catalogs for kids. These new catalogs are chock full of endearing offerings for kids—furniture, bedding and housewares—at adult-sized prices. Home Furnishings: Catalog Magnet According to data released in 1999 by Banc of America Securities, consumers spend an average of

Be fast, consistent and discreet, and you'll have happy customers who will come back again By Chris Merritt Put yourself in this customer's shoes: In the spring, Susan telephone-ordered an A-line jumper in the popular, seasonal color "shrimp" and in her usual size. When the jumper arrived, it fit too snugly in the hips. So Susan sent it back with a request for the next-largest size. A month passed. She had no jumper, no acknowledgment from the company and, when her credit card bill arrived, no credit for returned or exchanged merchandise. She finally received

By Lisa Yorgey With their small populations, the countries of Scandinavia—Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland—have been largely overlooked by U.S. direct marketing companies. European companies that have been more active in this region have achieved excellent results. Former Yves Rocher CEO for Europe Dan Bryzokoupil says that "of the 88 countries Yves Rocher markets in, Sweden had the highest per capita sales figures." U.S. marketers are taking a second look at the area now that the Internet has become a key business channel. Scandinavia is the most wired region in the world, with higher levels of

Who manages your digital assets? VWR Scientific Products is a leading worldwide distributor of scientific equipment, supplies, chemicals and furniture, with headquarters in West Chester, PA. The peacefully quiet offices belie a massive workflow that produces thousands of catalog pages per year. VWR went from "desktop to database" in 1992, a change many catalogers are making now. "It's the most dramatic transition you can make," says Lynn Homann, marketing communications manager at VWR. "If you want to tweak your book in a year, [with a database] you don't have to update multiple Quark files."

By Scott Shrake A Curriculum for School Specialty Inc.'s operations integration begins with a course in digital content management for print and Web catalog production Nationwide, teachers and school systems must equip classrooms with educational tools from globes and glue sticks to building blocks and Bunsen burners. These educators might tip a collective cap to companies such as School Specialty Inc. (SSI), an Appleton, WI-based distributor of non-textbook school supplies and furniture for pre-kindergarten through secondary education. SSI offers more than 66,000 products to schools throughout the country using print and online catalogs. Having grown considerably through acquisition, the company currently comprises

About this time nine years ago I was getting set to be married, so I registered my china and crystal patterns with a Big Department Store’s bridal registry. Then, a funny thing happened: I started receiving boxes at my home from someplace called Ross-Simons. “What store is this?” I asked my mother, for while it carried the precise gifts I had selected, I had neither been there nor heard of it. “It’s not a store. It’s a catalog,” she replied. More recently, in the fall of 1997 my sister was wed. For her bridal registry, she chose to skip the Big Department

By Donna Loyle For some unfathomable reason, I've become interested in the issue of online and off-line privacy. I actually don't have strong personal feelings about the topic; rather, I'm more fascinated with how our culture is grappling with the issue of data privacy during this era of the Networked Society. To learn more about the topic, I attended the Privacy and Data Security Summit in Washington, D.C., in January. Sponsored by the International Association of Privacy Officers, the second-annual conference offered educational seminars to help executives navigate their way through the minefield that has become customer data gathering and sharing. The list