Don Mokrynski
Chairman, Mokrynski & Associates Inc.
MCS Introduction: I first met Don about fifteen years ago when I was working as a circulation manager for a multi-title apparel cataloguer. Don and the Mokrynski team were pitching for our list management and list brokerage business. I had heard about Don and about his company. Everyone said it was impossible to know where the name ended and the company began. Mokrynski was synonymous with the list business. And he inspired confidence in his clients. He won the business that day and today he still has that company on his client roster.
Don Mokrynski is one of the individuals who have shaped the direct marketing industry. Since striking out on his own twenty-six years ago, he has had much to say on the direction of the business. He walks with the giants of the industry and he has their ear. There is just something about Don that makes you trust him and want to know his opinion. So, now on to the questions…
- MCS: Thanks for taking time out to speak with me today. Congratulations on the List Leader of the Year award.
How do you feel about winning it? How do you rank it among the highlights in your career?
DM: Before it happened, I had no idea how excited I’d actually be if I were selected. In fact, I can’t believe how much I appreciated being chosen. And just standing there in front of a room full of list industry leaders, clients, my family and the Mokrynski & Associates extended family, was tremendously rewarding.
- MCS: When you were starting, did you think about building a Mokrynski brand? How did it develop? When/why do you think it took off?
DM: I can’t honestly say I was intending to “build a brand.” But when you come down to it, that’s exactly what we did. We were the first, or among the first, to specialize in the catalog arena. We hired catalog experts and provided excellent service. The brand took off because we provided a product that people needed and we delivered consistently good performance.
- MCS: What is your take on the economy right now? Are we in for a change?
DM: Like a lot of people, I’ve been predicting a change for two years now. The general economy seems to be improving and the stock market appears to have stabilized. Based on our monthly surveys it looks like we’re in the beginning or middle stages of a turnaround. Most catalog/web companies have been reporting good results since December 2003. That’s eight consecutive months and four consecutive seasons of improving results. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the triple threats of the election, the economy and the geopolitical situation stay relatively under control.
- MCS: What was the most interesting thing in your mailbox this summer?
DM: I am impressed this year with the number of “other than catalog” mail pieces that catalog/web companies are sending. Most of these pieces are postcards which offer $ off, percentage off or free shipping if I visit their website and order online. Others notify you that your catalog is on its way and encourage you to pass this card along to a friend to request a catalog. Others simply send postcards promoting their website.
I’ve also received letters with discount checks worth a certain dollar value if I place an order either through the catalog or online by a certain date.
Most interesting are the greeting card formats, personalized and in envelopes, that thank me for my business and include gift certificates toward my next purchase, valid through the catalog or online purchase.
I’ve also seen an increase in the number of single-item brochures in the mail. Sharper Image has been especially aggressive in this area.
- MCS: In your opinion, besides Marketsmith, Inc. (HA!), which is the most extraordinary organization at presenting its brand and its deliverables in a unified presentation?
DM: The printing industry has historically done a very good job of presenting its services in a package. Just think of things like digital pre-press, selectronic binding, postal qualification, cooperative mail streaming and you see that the actual printing is only one element of what they deliver. We could all take a lesson from the printing industry.
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MCS: What do you think direct marketers are doing right these days? What do you think we are doing wrong?
DM: I don’t think it’s a matter of right and wrong, but of capitalizing on opportunities. One big opportunity out there is personalized customer emails. I cringe whenever a client tells me they’re emailing a quarter of a million customers with the same offer. The technology exists right now at every service bureau to tailor the offer to what the customer has actually purchased in the past. Just think of the additional sales that could be generated with even minimal offer targeting!
- MCS: What is your legacy?
DM: If I had to identify a legacy, it would be the 100+ people at Mokrynski & Associates and our over 200 catalog clients. I know we’ve got the very best people in the list industry on our staff, and I like to think that we’ve had a big hand in improving sales and profits for our clients.
- MCS: I have asked you this before, but now we are on the record, are you going to write a tell-all book?
DM: No, the fun for me has been being in the trenches with our clients and our staff. The fun has been in the actual experiences!
- MCS: As always, I have learned something new from you. Congrats again on the List Leader of the Year award. Thank you for taking time out today to share some thoughts. Do you have any final words of advice for me?
DM: I’d give you the same advice I give my staff and my clients: There’s plenty of business out there, but it’s not going to come down the chimney like Santa Claus. If you identify the need, gear up to meet it and let the world know you’ve got what they need, you’ll have a very successful business—be it a catalog, a website, a list brokerage or a marketing agency.
MCS: Thanks again and my best always.
You can learn more about Don Mokrynski at www.mokrynski.com.
Tags: catalog consultants, circulation planning, Direct Marketing Consultants, Don Mokrynski, marketing legends, marketing strategy, Marketsmith, media planning, Monica C Smith, outsourced marketing Category: Blog. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.