Category Archives: Catalogs

An Insightful View Of The Future Of Catalog Marketing

March 29, 2012 – 4:15 am

The most fascinating talk I heard at the recent NEMOA conference was that by industry veteran Kevin Hillstrom of MineThatData. The eye-opening presentation offered a completely new take on multi-channel marketing. The hundreds of catalogers in attendance nodding their heads in agreement, acknowledging how Kevin’s view resonated with their own experience. Titled “How Traditionals (Judy), Transitionals (Jennifer) and Transformationals (Jasmine) Shape the Future of Catalog Marketing,” the talk crystalized current and future changes in catalog marketing through the use of three personas. Here’s just a brief summary of this very insightful presentation: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Ecommerce, Email marketing, Garden industry trends | Comments (2)

Some Surprising Changes in Prospecting Media

July 8, 2011 – 4:15 am

Everyone loves looking over their shoulder to see what other companies are doing and how it’s working for them. To that end, Multichannel Merchant recently conducted a survey of catalogers, comparing 2011 marketing plans with what they did in 2010.

When asked about plans for 2011 prospecting, respondents only planned to increase their use of three media, and they all surprised me. (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Advertising, Pay-per-click advertising, Social media | Tagged | Leave a Comment

A Clever Idea For Choosing Products For Catalog Covers

March 1, 2011 – 4:15 am

Last week, the Direct Gardening Association hosted an excellent webinar on 40 Tips to Improve Margin & Profitability. Presenters Gina Valentino of Hemisphere Marketing and George Mollo of GJM Associates offered up a fast-paced series of money-making and money-saving tips on marketing, inventory management, creative, offers and much more.

One clever suggestion from Gina on choosing which products to feature on your catalog covers: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Marketing | Tagged | Leave a Comment

New Selling Techniques for Catalogers

December 14, 2010 – 4:15 am

It’s rare for catalogers to devote valuable selling space to anything other than product, but pushing product isn’t the only way to sell. A case in point is the 2011 catalog from Botanical Interests, which breaks away from the traditional catalog format in three respects: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Comments (2)

Should You Eliminate Your Catalog Order Form and Reply Envelope?

September 3, 2010 – 4:15 am

At once time, every catalog included an order form with attached reply envelope bound into the center of the book. Now, some argue, so many people order through the Internet that the order form and envelope have become an unnecessary expense. Is this really true? (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Leave a Comment

Techniques to Lead Your Reader’s Eye

August 27, 2010 – 4:15 am

In an excellent presentation on catalog design at last week’s Mailorder Gardening Association conference, Lisa Hodgson Balch of Sargeant House Design Studio explained how the concept of “gaze motion” is especially important in the gardening world.

In a nutshell, gaze motion means (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Advertising, Website design | Tagged | Leave a Comment

Should You Put Prospecting On Hold?

June 28, 2010 – 4:15 am

When economic times are hard, it’s tempting to call a halt to prospecting in order to conserve cash. Sounds harmless enough, but think twice before you do. Unless you replenish the buyers you lose to attrition, it’s amazing how fast you can dig yourself into a hole that’s awfully tough to climb out of. Here’s what I mean: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Advertising, Goals, Marketing | Tagged | Leave a Comment

Determining Optimum Catalog Page Counts and Mailing Frequency

May 12, 2010 – 4:15 am

A catalog company recently asked my opinion on cutting the number of pages in their catalog by more than half in order to save money. It’s a common question. The logic is that a website can feature your full product line, while a catalog cannot, so why not just refer people to the website? More and more orders are coming through the web anyway, so why go to the expense of printing a big, fat catalog?
(Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Leave a Comment

Do You Make These Mistakes In Guarantees?

May 3, 2010 – 4:15 am

Our last post outlined the wide variety of guarantee policies among the Garden Watchdog Top 30 companies that sell live plants. A handful had no stated guarantee, while another handful guaranteed their plants forever. The vast majority put some kind of condition on refunds or credits. While that’s certainly understandable, many could have chosen their words better. Here’s a sampling of the guarantees that might give customers pause: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Marketing | Tagged | Comments (1)

A Pointer on How to Ask for Copy and Design Changes

April 23, 2010 – 4:15 am

How do you handle asking copywriters and designers for changes on work they’re doing for you? Here’s an example of what not to do. (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Advertising, Copywriting | Tagged | Leave a Comment
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