ASK THE MARKETSMITH
In this issue of the Difference we are inaugurating a column for you, our loyal friends and colleagues. We will answer your questions on the marketplace and multichannel marketing business issues and concerns, drawing on our collective years of intuition, experience and expertise. We are also adding this feature to our website: www.marketsmithinc.com/blog/2009/12/ask-the-marketsmith. If you have a question you would like us to answer, please email it to askthemarketsmith@marketsmithinc.com. We will answer it in our next newsletter or on our website.
Hi Marketsmith,
I have a question. We usually mail a gift catalog in late October, but with election year and economic conditions changing, we are debating between mailing earlier to arrive in early October or later to arrive just after the election. Abacus provided history from 2004 which indicated NOT to plan mailings a week or two just prior to the election – we certainly understand that.
Curious…what would you recommend?
Kind Regards,
G.
Dear G.,
We have a great deal of data around this. Here is what we are telling those who ask, and also what we are doing with our clients:
October is a dead zone, or high risk. Stay away and be in home the day after the election.
Heavy up on emails to supplement contact flow in October. If you have a telemarketing campaign we would keep that in place.
Also expect an economic factor of 6 to 10% depression after the election for Fall/Holiday plans. We are moving off our more aggressive number of 12%, which we called correctly through August. But we see indicators that might move to a single digit downturn versus last year.
As of the end of the summer, we predict a soft recovery in February 2009 and recommend very cautious spend on new channel growth.
Responded to on August 27, 2008
Marketsmith,
We are a services company. What is your opinion on the Catalog Choice program and what are you recommending your clients do?
Thanks,
B.
Dear B.,
Catalog Choice is a Brand/Company and has become a pseudonym for the recognition and management of catalog recipients’ preferences, based upon what the individual recipient has opted for.
I can tell you where we stand on both the concept and then the company. There are two realities here, as well as two directives for industry response.
- First, the concept is the right concept: If an individual has opted not to receive information from you, you want to communicate that you, as a mailer, are a good citizen and will honor that request. There are a number of organizations (Catalog Choice and the DMA among them) currently that are acting as a liaison between the recipients and the catalogers. You want to work with any of those organizations that you feel has represented your Brand and the consumer’s wishes accurately.
- I think there is a grave misrepresentation of an individual’s true intent, but given the apparent consumer outcry, the industry is making the logical and smart decision to over-suppress.
- Second, however, I am not a fan of the way Catalog Choice conducts or represents itself. I am unsure how its matching logic works to suppress accurately. And I have concerns about how the organization is sustainable long term. Assuming Catalog Choice means no harm to an industry that is working hard to sustain itself, the mission to help the earth is good for all of us.
- The fact your organization is a service provider and an industry leader, the expectation is for you not only to have a position but also a tool that helps supports a cataloger’s ability to manage preferences by the number of contacts, either email or mail . My recommendation is to work directly with any service that poses a threat or a solution to your customers and to your Brand. Be sure you understand its economic impact and its benefits. Then create a solution that shows your organization is not only relevant but demonstrating value to its customers.
- I recommend you join and become an active sponsor of the ACMA. This organization goes to great lengths to understand and protect against all future and current threats to the catalog community like Catalog Choice and postal hikes.
Responded September 17, 2008
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