The other day we came across a note from a Catalog Choice member.  They wrote to inform us that one of the catalog merchants, Fahrney’s Pens, has printed a notice within their recent catalog instructing readers that if they wish to no longer receive their catalog to head on over to Catalog Choice and set their mail preference.

Fahrney’s made the decision to make it easy for customers to set their mail preferences through Catalog Choice.  They certainly earned my respect and my business.  If you want to applaud Fahrney’s Pens, head on over to their website and buy yourself a pen.  Perhaps you could use the pen to write a note to those merchants who are not honoring your mail preference request through Catalog Choice.

The formula is straight-forward:

• an unwanted catalog is a waste of marketing resources and natural resources.  Bad for the financial and environmental bottom line.
• a wanted catalog is a pleasure to receive in the mail; you can browse the merchandise in the comfort of your home. It can provide you with the inspiration for a gift or that product you have been thinking about buying.
• the consumer is the one who has the right to decide what is wanted and unwanted.   That is why we built Catalog Choice.  Up until now, there was no straightforward way to communicate your decision about unsolicited mail.

There are other reasons to like catalogs, now that you have the choice of which ones to receive.  If you live in a rural area, a catalog can be one of your key ways of connecting to your favorite stores, whether online, by phone, or by mail.  Catalogs give you access to product selection beyond what you will find at Wal-Mart, the dominant general merchandise retailer in rural America.

If a merchant operates in all three channels (catalog, online, physical store), the catalog lets you check out what a retail merchant is now featuring before you decide to go shopping.

Another thing we like about catalogs is that the store is always open.  When we are ready to make a purchase, we can pick up the phone and talk to a knowledgeable customer service representative or point our browser to the merchant’s website and make the purchase any hour of the day or night.  This is a real boon to those of us who work or are busy during the day and usually take the time to peruse a wanted catalog or website in the evening.

In addition to these benefits, several catalog merchants are leaders in the effort to reduce their environmental footprints.  Some use recycled and/or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified papers.  Some ask if you want to combine multiple products into one carton, reducing the amount of natural resources used (both in terms of packaging and transportation emissions) to send your items.  Some have information in their catalog and website to educate consumers on the environment and sustainability issues.  And, some merchants are starting to let the consumer specify the frequency and media channel (print, online, email) in which they communicate with you.

One of our goals is to help you find those catalogers that care about your choices and the environment so that you can incorporate that information into your purchasing decisions.  We plan to work with merchants to identify those “best management practices”, and to communicate those findings to you.

The facts: Catalog Choice for Merchants is the only free, secure, easy-to-use solution for companies to respect the mail preferences of consumers.

The alternative: Consumers can call a company’s customer support line to make the opt-out request. Based on industry research, it takes three to five minutes to complete a call, and at .70 cents/minute, that will cost the merchant between $2.10 and $3.50 for each opt-out request.

The merchant math: 10,000 opt-out requests @ average cost of $3.00 per call = $30,000.

This is much more expensive than downloading a file. The economics seem compelling to our industry experts and many merchants that we’ve spoken to.  In addition to the pure dollars and cents, every merchant we have spoken to knows that it makes good business sense to respect your customers’ mail preference.

On the consumer side of the equation, it takes approximately 10 seconds to complete the opt-out form in Catalog Choice. If you are required to call the merchant to make your request,  you can complete your opt-out request for an individual merchant in four minutes, on average.

The consumer math: 50 opt-out requests will take 8.3 minutes to complete at Catalogchoice.org. 50 opt-out phone calls will take 3.3 hours or almost 200 minutes.   These are the kinds of productive gains our economy needs - a service that is 24 times faster than the current method and saves resources all in one step.  So instead of 550,000 people spending 433,333 hours (18,055 days) opting-out of over 6.5 million titles, Catalog Choice members are applying the power of the Internet and skills of great software developers to do the work much faster.

That is what I call a  win-win.  Cost savings for merchants and more time in the day for consumers.

If you had three extra hours, what would you do?

Catalog Choice wants to help merchants use best practices in permission marketing and resource conservation. This post describes how one merchant honored their customers’ requests to opt-out of paper catalogs.

The following is a case study that demonstrates the benefit of developing a paperless relationship with consumers. The full report is available at Marketingsherpa.com. The following is published by permission of Brian Mehler of Chiasso.

Marketers with a catalog initiative have contended with the paper-to-digital revolution for some time. But when your demographic shows a preference for green marketing and email conversions are down, you need a new action plan.

See how one marketer redesigned their email program to transition it into a substitute for their print catalogs. The test worked: they reduced their print run and lifted email conversions 19%.

CHALLENGE
When Brian Mehler, Ecommerce Manager, Chiasso, came onboard seven months ago, he was charged with the hefty task of improving the open, clickthrough and conversion rates for their email program.

That was only the beginning. Through their own sales data and from customer surveys, Mehler’s bosses knew their upscale, educated, mostly-female demographic was increasingly migrating away from paper catalogs in favor of greener channels.

While they didn’t think customers would abandon catalogs immediately, it was Mehler’s job to get the brand ahead of the curve. Significant email design changes needed to be made to increase conversions and to incorporate the most-current catalog into the look and feel of the emails — from product images to the subject line.

Mehler and his team wondered if they could get their increasingly green audience to envision email and the Web site as a replacement for the catalog.

THE PLAN
“Because of paper waste, our customers were going to be asking for catalogs less and less,” Mehler says. “If people in the future opt to only receive emails, then that would be our only way to introduce them to the new season. We had to see if email could provide the same type of rich experience that our catalog has for years.”

At least, Mehler didn’t have to build the email list. They already had an email address for practically every customer and prospect who got a catalog in the mail. Here are the four steps they took to test the greener initiative:

-> Step #1. Offer green options

Mehler wanted their green enthusiasts to be able to take action after clicking through the emails. Therefore, they added a “catalog” link above the fold on the homepage. From there, viewers were taken to a page where they could either shop from their virtual catalog application or manage their paper subscription by choosing either:

o “Get the Chiasso catalog”
o “Stop getting the Chiasso catalog”

Those who clicked on the second link could fill out a form to be taken off the list. They were also able to specify if they simply wanted to withhold permission for Chiasso to rent their names.

The copy for the permission page read:

“…we know, your mailbox is always full, your mail person’s back is ready to give out, and you’re really concerned about deforestation and the situation we are facing with landfills. And believe it or not, we would like to help. The last thing we want to do is send people unwanted mail.”

-> Step #2. Redesign email program

Because Mehler knew customers would be opting out of catalogs, they had to increase email conversions fast. More than anything, he wanted the email design to better reflect the catalog’s glossy, high-end aesthetic feel.

To achieve this, they:
- Shifted to a more photo-laden and colorful three-dimensional layout.
- Featured the same products in the emails as what was on the catalog cover — a zoom sofa-sleeper and an in-motion table. The items were also showcased on the homepage.
- Showed the products multiple times in the message to give a different perspective on how they might look in customers’ homes.
- Used less copy around photos.

“We didn’t want to bore them with a long phrase. We wanted to excite them with things they could do with their homes by showcasing designs and abstract shapes.”

-> Step #3. Announcement message

Next, it was time to launch the new email design. They sent the first email three days before the fall catalog was scheduled to arrive in home.

The subject line:
“Inspiration is in the mail … fall’s first look.”

-> Step #4. Remail to non-opens

48 hours later, they segmented the non-opens from the customer list for a remail. This new email used the same design and product offers, but they also included a limited-time discount to create urgency and offer an incentive to open.

They sent this email three days after the catalog in-home date to ensure that their West Coast addresses had, indeed, received the paper book in the mail.

The subject line read:
“Inspiration is in the mail … save 10% on your next order.”

RESULTS
“In the unsolicited commentary we’ve received, people have been thrilled that we incorporated the green option,” Mehler says. “It’s all part of the process as we move forward with our audience.”

Of course, if their catalog readers want to migrate away from paper, Mehler and his team would prefer to see a gradual transition. Thankfully, that was the reaction: catalog unsubscribes that were tracked back to the email campaign were less than 1%, but he expects that number to increase as their savvier email design gains traction
with customers.

There’s no question that the new email design worked: conversion rates for the test increased 19%. Mehler credits the remail tactic as an important part of that success. The limited-time discount really motivated shoppers.

“We even saw a bigger-than-normal spike in our call center after the remail went out. And there have been other great results overall. For instance, we saw gross dollars for the email increase by 20% and a net gain of plus-30% compared to usual.”

It has been said many times to never doubt that a small group of people can change the world.  As Margaret Mead said, “Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  So, just as soon as the Catalog Choice team rolled out the new feature to alert you to the status of your opt-out requests, many of you saw the red “refused” notation for some of your declined catalogs and decided that you would not take “no” for an answer.  Your calls and emails directly to catalog mailers, urging them to honor Catalog Choice requests, got their attention immediately. Many of you stated boldly to catalogers that you would stop buying from companies that don’t honor Catalog Choice opt-out requests, favoring instead to purchase from catalog mailers that do.  The new “Bravo Merchant”  feature not only gives well deserved kudos to merchants who participate in Catalog Choice but also let’s you click through directly to merchant Web sites to take advantage of ecommerce opportunities. Thanks to you–our dedicated members–catalog mailers are taking notice.  Several companies that previously stated they would not participate in our service have changed their minds.  Literally overnight.  We thank all of you who have taken the time to express your heart-felt views to catalog companies.  They are listening. Your actions are making a very significant difference in our ability, together, to change how the direct marketing industry does business.  Thank you!

At Catalog Choice, we have a team of Merchant Account managers that work all day, every day to deliver the opt-out requests to Merchants.  The team is lead by April Smith of the National Wildlife Federation.  April penned this blog post.

In our December 24th post, we reported that the Potpourri Group had informed us in writing that they would not accept the opt-out requests from Catalog Choice.

Well, I am pleased to report that last week I received a letter from Jack Rosenfeld, Chairman of the Potpourri Group Inc (PGI). In his letter to me, Jack states:

PGI hereby retracts its earlier position concerning the handling of opt out requests from Catalog Choice.

Jack wants consumers to know:

PGI strongly supports the principle of consumer choice. We believe it is important to our company and our industry to give consumers a choice as to what they receive in their mailboxes, including the right to opt out. We believe that accepting opt out requests is both customer responsive and helps achieve our goal of being environmentally responsible. In addition, since mailings are expensive, accepting opt out requests makes economic sense to every mailer.

We will be looking for PGI to start processing the Catalog Choice opt-out requests. As with all mailing list processes, it will take before the opt-out requests take effect.

Kevin over at MineThatData blog has an insightful post for catalog merchants.  Here are Kevin’s recommendations to an extreme makeover for the catalog industry. I hope all the merchants are reading his blog.

Here are nine ways for us to begin to repair our reputation, and be good stewards.

• It is time for the DMA to do something with the $10,000 to $50,000 each of our organizations pay them each year. And that something is not telling us to “just say no” to Catalog Choice. If one of our customers or one of our prospects doesn’t want to receive a catalog, we have to honor that request. Honor the customer, and challenge the DMA for modern solutions and real action.

• Have you considered joining the American Catalog Mailers Association? It won’t cost you the $10,000 to $50,000 it costs to join the DMA. While this organization believes that the response of the press to the folks at Catalog Choice “give them the willies“, I perceive this organization wants to “do what is right”. Best of all, you could play an active role in doing “what is right”.
  

• Make it easy for your own customers to opt-out of catalogs. You make it easy for customers to opt-out of e-mail campaigns, don’t you? The reality of the marketplace is that you have to do this for catalog mailings as well. Times have changed.
  

• Strongly consider the mailing strategy you employ for online-only customers. These customers may consider you as an online brand, not as a cataloger, hence their dissatisfaction of your online mailing strategy.

• Give customers a say … give them an option to receive half of your mailings, and brand this choice as being “eco-friendly”. Test the living daylights out of this ahead of time, so you know the ramifications this will have on your business.
  

• Oversight … do a “deep dive” with the co-ops. If you allow co-ops to mail a quarter of all your catalogs, you have given a quarter of your brand authority to co-ops. Wow. Do you oversee the vendors you work with in China to ensure that the working conditions are acceptable? If you do, don’t you think you should provide the same oversight with co-ops? And if co-ops won’t provide transparency, well, then, you need to think about your relationship with them, don’t you? The folks who work at co-ops are good people, they will respond to a catalog industry that demands oversight.
  

• Would a little “PR” hurt? Catalog Choice gets picked up by major publications all over America, quoting the billions of trees catalogers harvest each year. As a result of our inactivity, Catalog Choice muscled in, and now has a seat at our Executive Table, managing our brands for us. Why can’t catalogers go on the offensive? How much would it cost for a catalog to plant “x” trees each year? And how much good will would be done by having the press, bloggers, and TV stations all reporting the fact that two hundred employees spent a random Wednesday in July planting trees? Why aren’t we good stewards? Why don’t we “toot our own horn” when we do good? Why don’t we tell our customers that we’re planting four trees for every tree we cut down? And if we don’t plant four trees for every tree we cut down, why don’t we start doing this?
  

• Speaking of PR, why not tell the world that over the past five years, we spent “x” dollars less on catalog mailings, moving that money into online marketing that theoretically reduces our carbon footprint?

• Launch new initiatives online. Test various new products and brands online, and via e-mail. Use online marketing to test the initiatives before rolling out new products and brands via paper. And then tell the world how many trees you saved by doing this.