This Month at Lenser May 2008

Newsletter Archive

PRESIDENT'S CORNER
A word about Catalog Choice
By John Lenser, President
Many of you have asked what catalog mailers should do when contacted by Catalog Choice about taking downloads of files of individuals who have registered with Catalog Choice and have requested that the mailer's catalog not be mailed to them.  If a mailer has refused to accept these files, Catalog Choice has posted the refusal on their website resulting, in some instances, in consumers calling customer service and complaining.  

While the DMA has taken the position that Catalog Choice is unneeded given their own "Do Not Mail" preference services, I no longer believe this position is in the industry’s best interest.  Catalog Choice now has over 736,000 registered accounts of those who have requested that one or more catalogs not be mailed to them and registrations are growing by thousands each week.

Therefore, I am recommending that catalog mailers move forward and accept Catalog Choice's merchant agreement and accept their file downloads.  The negative repercussions for not doing so, at this point, outweigh any advantages of not joining.  It is naive to pretend they do not exist.  Read on for reasons and details…

FEATURE ARTICLE
Space—the Final Frontier
By Carol Worthington-Levy, Creative Partner
With the cost of prospecting by mail growing, multichannel merchants are scratching their heads to determine other avenues for prospecting that can bring in quality leads.  And eventually this exploration will, or should, take them into space…Space advertising that is.  It's a lot harder than it looks.  Here are some tips for success!

CASE STUDY
Case Study: Cost of Customer Acquisition and Lifetime Value Analysis
By Todd Miller, Director
High on the list of a growing, thriving, multichannel marketing company's most important corporate assets is its customer file.  Acquiring new customers at a reasonable cost and cultivating long-term, profitable relations with those customers are of equal importance.  This month’s case study involves one particular LENSER client’s desire to:

• Better understand the lifetime value of its customers
• Quantify and predict profitability for newly acquired customers, based on a series of marketing and operations-related cost assumptions
• Measure and influence the factors that affect customer acquisition costs and subsequent lifetime value
• Develop marketing programs that minimize acquisition costs and maximize long-term profitability 

Find out how they did it...

CIRCULATION TIP
Trimming the Fat: Non Zip+4 Segmentation
By Anna-Lisa Ulbrich, Marketing Manager
In this era of ever increasing postal rates, figuring out who NOT to mail might be more important than figuring out who to mail.  Read on to find out how...

CREATIVE TIP
The Eyes Have It—the Science of Eyeflow
By Carol Worthington-Levy, Creative Partner
Catalog design is akin to putting a massive, multi-page jigsaw puzzle together.  There always seems to be too many pieces for the puzzle.  It’s no wonder that one of the most consistent struggles I see is in catalog page and spread design.  This is why an understanding of eyeflow is an essential tool for both the catalog designer, and the ones reviewing the catalog as it is being developed.  Try this for improved eyeflow!

MULTICHANNEL TIP
Trigger or Event Based Email
By Michelle Farabaugh, Partner
Relevancy is the key to a strong marketing program.  Unfortunately, traditional email blasts are the exact opposite of being relevant.  As a consumer, if you purchase men’s shoes from Zappos and continue to receive email marketing efforts encouraging you to buy the latest red, patent leather pump, you are going to start ignoring their marketing effort and not be as loyal to the brand.  Triggering of event-based email marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use.  Find out how to pull the trigger on response...

CLIENT HIGHLIGHT—THE GUILD
What is original art? It can be the painting over your couch, but it can also be your coffee cup, your bathroom mirror, or your wedding ring.  When any of these objects is made with care by a skilled and talented artist, it surely is a work of art.  In 1985, Toni Sikes launched The Guild, a publishing company with the mission of helping artists market and sell their work...  Read the full story.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT—BRANDEN SLATTERY
Most people who get into direct mail careers arrive there just by happenstance.  So the same can be said of Branden Slattery.  After graduating from college, Branden worked for a digital mapping company called NAVTEQ and after a year there, he soon realized he wanted a more creative outlet for his analytical skills…  Read about Branden

AFFILIATE FOCUS—CERTONA
Much is being said and written these days about one-to-one personalization and communication in direct to consumer marketing circles, and for good reason.  Simply put, it works.  At its core, database marketing is and always has been about leveraging technology to optimize the financial model of the direct marketer for the best ROI.  As upward cost pressures converge with Web 2.0 technologies, we continue to ride a wave of change in the industry.  This change is characterized above all by an increased desire in the consumer for relevant content and product promotion coupled with the improving capacity of the marketer to deliver just that.  Enter Certona and its Resonance® solution...  More about Certona

NEWS BRIEF

• LENSER welcomes King Arthur Flour, Arthur Lauer Inc. and ComputerGear to our family of clients.
  
  
• Are you ready for the 2008 Annual Conference for Catalog & Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) taking place May 19-22, 2008 at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, FL?  For those of you who have not attended the ACCM, LENSER strongly urges you to come.  The ACCM will focus on the strategies you need to successfully integrate your catalog, web, store, phone, sales force, distributor, email and other marketing channels.  The conference is the event of the year for catalogers, providing three packed days of educational seminars and many opportunities for networking.  LENSER staff will present several sessions covering catalog circulation, channel integration, and creative issues.  Register Today and Save up to $100 on your full conference registration! Go to www.accmshow.com and use the LENSER savings code LEN for your discount when registering.  Let us know if you plan on joining us—we look forward to seeing you in Orlando!
  

• Meet with any of the LENSER Partners or staff at the ACCM in Orlando, FL, May 19-22, 2008 to discuss your specific needs.  Please give John a call at 415-446-2501 or send an email to to schedule an appointment.  We know that we can make a very positive contribution to your company’s growth and bottom line profits.  We're pleased to discuss your challenges and help you discover all the ways your business can become more profitable even in tough times.
  
  
• Attention, LENSER Clients! Mark your calendars now for the LENSER Client Summit scheduled for Wednesday through Friday, September 24-26, 2008, at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael, CA.  Complete details coming soon but don’t forget to make plans to stay over the weekend in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area.
  
  
• Congratulations to LENSER Clients that made the 2008 Catalog Success Top 200 ranking of the year's leading companies measured by housefile growth rates.  "By viewing catalogers in this metric, you can get a good idea of the 200 healthiest multichannel merchants for the calendar year 2007," states Editor-in-Chief, Paul Miller.  LENSER Clients: Golfsmith, Design Within Reach, Highlights for Children, King Ranch, Imagine the Challenge, Eagle America, Bliss, and SmartScrubs.
  
  
• LENSER has joined the American Catalog Mailers Association.  If you are a cataloger or a supplier to the catalog industry, we urge you to join the ACMA.  They are our advocate and continue to do vital work with the USPS our behalf.  It is critically important that they have our support, not just in thought, but financially, as well.  You can help unite the industry for our own welfare.  The cost to your business of joining is only about a quarter of one percent of what you will spend on postage.  The cost to your business of not joining? Unthinkable.  Please call 401-529-8183 today to join or go to www.catalogmailers.org.
  

• To ensure delivery of your monthly eNews from LENSER, please remember to add newsletter@lenser.com to your address book.  To sign up for the LENSER eNews, please contact .
  

PRESIDENT'S CORNER
A word about Catalog Choice
By John Lenser, President

Many of you have asked what catalog mailers should do when contacted by Catalog Choice about taking downloads of files of individuals who have registered with Catalog Choice and have requested that the mailer's catalog not be mailed to them.  If a mailer has refused to accept these files, Catalog Choice has posted the refusal on their website resulting, in some instances, in consumers calling customer service and complaining.  

While the DMA has taken the position that Catalog Choice is unneeded given their own "Do Not Mail" preference services, I no longer believe this position is in the industry’s best interest. Catalog Choice now has over 736,000 registered accounts of those who have requested that one or more catalogs not be mailed to them and registrations are growing by thousands each week.  Therefore, I am recommending that catalog mailers move forward to accept Catalog Choice's merchant agreement and accept their file downloads.  The negative repercussions for not doing so, at this point, outweigh any advantages of not joining.  It is naive to pretend they do not exist.

Catalog Choice is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and funded by the Overbrook Foundation, the Merck Family Fund, and the Kendeda Fund.  It is a responsible organization and not associated with the more radical ecology groups.  Al Bessin, one of my partners, and I have been personally meeting with Chuck Teller, their CEO, for over a year in an effort to make their program rational and supportive of the industry.  We have found them to be reasonable people and open to positive suggestions.  
 
We have not previously recommended that our clients join Catalog Choice for several reasons. First, we wanted to see if they had staying power and would become the dominant provider of this service.  At this point, we believe they are here to stay and deserve our backing.  Second, we had major concerns about suppressing house file names that may have registered to not receive a mailing, since mailing buyers is critical to your business success.  
 
There is now an acceptable solution to this second problem.  Catalog Choice is advising their consumer registrants that catalog companies reserve the right to contact their customers to verify their wish to be suppressed from mailings.  We believe that such verification is very important and should be part of a mailer’s normal procedure with any buyer who has registered with Catalog Choice.  For clients where LENSER is managing the day-to-day circulation, we will bring the Catalog Choice suppression file into the merge and flag buyer hits.

These buyers can then be validated through a separate mailing requesting a response or simply by adding an inkjet message asking for secondary validation (website registration, email, phone call or mail back card).  For prospects, the Catalog Choice suppression file can be applied the same as the DMA preference suppression file.  This approach should avoid suppressing valuable customers from mailings where they "didn't really mean it" or did not even remember that they were customers.
 
There is another reason to get behind Catalog Choice.  More radical groups are continuing to lobby the Federal Government to create a national "Do Not Mail" list, similar to the "Do Not Call" list, with heavy penalties for any violations.  We expect that bills will be introduced in Congress and hearings held.  If the industry wants to avoid such governmental intrusion, we need to demonstrate that viable alternatives already exist.  While the DMA's mail preference service is the industry's own internal answer, Catalog Choice represents a solid answer to those that are distrustful of an industry-managed program.  The last thing we need is Catalog Choice giving testimony that the industry torpedoed their efforts.
 
LENSER and a number of significant industry leaders continue to meet with Catalog Choice in an effort to influence their program so that it not only meets their goals of eliminating waste and pollution, but actually makes our mailing programs more cost-effective and profitable.  If you have any suggestions on how this might be better achieved, please forward them to me.  Also, please pass on any additional concerns that you feel should be addressed.   By working together, we can make a positive difference.

FEATURE ARTICLE
Space—the Final Frontier
By Carol Worthington-Levy, Creative Partner

With the cost of prospecting by mail growing, multichannel merchants are scratching their heads to determine other avenues for prospecting that can bring in quality leads.   Eventually, this exploration will, or should, take them into space…

Space advertising.
Space advertising seems so easy—just a single page, when catalogers are used to creating dozens of pages in just a few days.  Don’t be deceived by the square inches in an ad—space advertising is harder than it looks.

Most catalogs that use space ads just hand these off to their catalog designer and they toss them together, fit as much in as humanly possible, and send them on their way.  Just like a catalog page, right?

Not so—this page has to work much harder than a catalog page. Its competition isn’t other product that you’re selling on pages all around it. There is no stage set for someone to understand the concept of your catalog or website.  In short, it’s being dropped into a pandemonium of ads by competitors and you need to show up clearly, concisely and with a reason to look at the ad for more than a millisecond.

Space ads are not cheap to run.  If not created, placed and tracked with care, it can become a black hole down which you pour your marketing budget, with no understanding of what’s happening.

If not designed in-house, space ads are often developed by designers and non-direct agencies, who think that space advertising is exempt from the rules of direct response—they don’t make them either trackable or response-driven.   Having done space advertising for 30 years, I’ve learned that the challenge of space advertising is one that can pay off if done right.  And it’s all because of a wise mentor I had in my early years, a man named Andy Byrne.

Andy Byrne was, when I met him, a senior partner in Smith Hemmings Gosden, which was for awhile one of the premiere direct marketing agencies, based in Los Angeles.  Andy was a grizzled old pro even at that time and I was in awe of his enormous breadth of experience—space advertising and direct mail in England, Australia, France and the US.  He enjoyed friendships with (and respect from) David Ogilvy, Denny Hatch, Bob Hemmings and a host of other revered direct marketers.

Andy was to the point in his career that he never bandied about words—he spoke eloquently and honestly about the business he knew so well—direct marketing.  This is what made him such a great mentor.

Size matters.  But not like you think…
Andy had learned what kind of creative treatments got attention—and what insertion strategy it took to make ads successful.  Counter to what general advertising agencies and creative agencies would tell you, Andy had endlessly tested and came up with this: smaller is better for prospecting space advertising.

His substantial experience had taught him to start as small as you could—a quarter page at the most—and try it in many publications.  Then, after a few rounds, measure the results and pare out the ones that were not pulling at all.  Then, try the next size up for the publications that are strongest.

This was confirmed in a test done by Cahners Publishing.  The test showed that quarter page ads were far more cost effective than a full-page ad.  They delivered almost as many inquiries as a full-page ad, but the cost-per-inquiry was just $7.97 compared to $20.44 for the full page in the test they ran.

Now, that’s what would have your general ad agency weeping in dismay—there’s something so sexy and fulfilling in a full-page space ad to a creative.  They can use big images, mind-blowing headlines, white space… all those things that make life worth living for many creatives.

For the agencies getting commission for placing space advertising, that means a huge loss in income, too.

If small is better, why do we see all the big catalogs using full-size space ads?
The balance of brand and direct marketing is something that’s being explored every day.  But one thing we’ve learned is that unless you have enormous retail presence, the full-page space ad will be wasted.

So while the biggies—like Coldwater Creek and Chico’s and Talbot’s—are using splashy, glossy full-page ads in high-priced pubs like “O” to fill their stores (and note, they almost all are using bound-in discount coupons in conjunction with the ad), unless you’re to that point in your retail presence, research suggests you resist the temptation.

If you’re like the great majority of multichannel merchants out there, it’s far, far more effective for you to run 10 black and white quarter page ads than it is to run 1 full-page color ad.

Short paragraphs, short sentences, short words.  But make it all count.
Andy’s mentoring in the art and science of direct marketing space advertising included gems for the creative.

As we’ve heard from so many other leaders in the area of direct marketing creative, he emphasized keeping the concept simple, straightforward and to-the-point.  Make it easy to read using short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs.

Write a headline that immediately conveys direct benefit to the prospect.  Avoid ‘drum beating’ (“why does everyone think we’re so great?”) headline copy.  Remove any unnecessary adjectives and hyperbole.

But remember, you’re using this ad to generate a qualified response—and to sell.

And speaking of selling…
Often, multichannel merchants will hire a general advertising agency to handle their space advertising since it’s perceived that space advertising is best done by the general ad agencies.  Having been on both sides of this agency universe, I see this misconception leading to more expenditure and a less positive outcome.

Understanding how to sell, rather than just how to be creative or clever, is essential to making your space ad successful.  Look at the majority of space ads in magazines and you’ll notice how few of them have an offer.  How few have a headline that conveys a benefit instantly.  How many just don’t keep your attention and earn your ‘response’.

So—what belongs in a good, small lead-generation space ad?
First, decide what you want them to do.  If you’d like the viewer to request a catalog, put that on the list.  If you want them to visit your site, that’s important as well.  If you want to direct-sell, you can decide that, too.  But just make sure it’s something universal.  I recall the ads that launched TravelSmith—selling their black travel dress.  I remember doing an ad in New Yorker for a Chakra Necklace that sold direct, and running just six times, the ad paid for itself and cleaned out their entire inventory.  To see some great small space advertising, check out the New Yorker.

Next, think about the number one unique selling proposition you have that will set you apart.  If you’re selling water-efficient plants, perhaps the headline is “Enjoy a water-wise garden” or “Get a beautiful garden with less water.” If you’re selling toys that are carefully chosen for education value and safety perhaps it’s, “Excite your child’s imagination” or “Safe, imaginative toys for your child.”

Then, decide what your offer will be.  Yes, this is something most general advertising agencies would never even consider. Does it need to be a discount? No.  In fact, a gift may generate better loyalty.  Can a discount be available? Possibly.

When you register on our website you’ll get….

“A $5 gift certificate toward your first purchase of any size” (can be downloaded or credited)

“A set of fun, FREE downloadable ring tones for your cell phone” (can be downloaded)

“A FREE calendar of garden events all over the USA” (can be sent digitally)

“Free shipping on your first order”

“A pair of lightweight gardening gloves with your first order”

“A FREE CD (or music download) – exclusively ours – of fun music for kids of all ages”

What else?
Choose an image that shows a product of yours that really signifies who you are—exclusive to you.  Make it a strong enough image that they can really tell what it is—and remember, in black and white and gray, you need more definition.  If your ad is direct-selling, show the product.  It does not necessarily need to be in color.  In fact, often it really doesn’t pay to print it in color.

Or, if your product contributes to the creation of something, such as auto restoration, show a completed clean restored project.  Don’t show cans of paint or a master cylinder—show them the vision of their successful outcome.

Of course, don’t forget—bold and very clear—your phone number (unique for each ad), your URL (also unique to each ad!) and your logo.

Don’t do the black ad with white type.  It may seem like a good idea at the time, but white type in black gets squeezed when the dot spreads in publication printing and you end up with an illegible ad. Plus, reversed-out type is proven to reduce comprehension by as much as 90%.

Keep type clean and easy to read – no fancy fonts. Choose serif for body copy, and bold sans serif or serif for headlines.  Make sure no font is less than 9 point.  The headline should be big, clear and black.

How about rules of thumb for placement?
Never run an ad in just one publication or you’ll never develop an understanding of how it’s working.  Choose at least three magazines to start with, and track them religiously using those special URLs and phone numbers.  Measure the front end response.  Measure how many orders you get.  Then measure lifetime value.  These are the ways you can see if your investment is paying off.  If you need help with creative, tracking and measurement, of course, LENSER can help.

In addition, check over the publication carefully where you’re planning to run.  Do you see any other direct response ads in that magazine or paper? If not, don’t even try unless you have money to burn.  The fact that there are none there doesn’t mean nobody’s figured it out…it means that it didn’t work for anyone else.

What will the next step in space exploration be? The Landing Page!
Don’t use the ad to send your prospect to your website home page.  By doing so, you lose the chance to finish directing them to do your bidding, and take advantage of the offer.  Send them to a specific URL landing page which confirms that they’ve landed in response to the ad you had posted.  Remind them of the offer—and then pay it off.

What to do with these leads?
To take full advantage of your investment, you’ll need to test sending catalogs to the names generated from the leads—all of the leads except for those who choose to NOT accept a paper catalog should be getting one.

Then if you’re really on the ball, you’ll track the order sizes coming from the leads, to see which ad worked best in the back end, too.

But wait, there’s more …
This single article can’t possibly provide you with all of the knowledge that you need to run the perfect ad campaign.

Other issues you’ll face will include choices in media placement, negotiation and buying, methodology of tracking, paring your campaign down and testing.  This is not for the faint-hearted.  But it was just the ticket for my mentor Andy, a wise man who understood and loved the power of direct marketing in all media.

And it will be just the thing for your own bottom line as you use space advertising as part of your healthy and cost-effective lead generation program.

CASE STUDY
Case Study: Cost of Customer Acquisition and Lifetime Value Analysis
By Todd Miller, Director

High on the list of a growing, thriving, multichannel marketing company’s most important corporate assets is its customer file.  Acquiring new customers at a reasonable cost and cultivating long-term, profitable relations with those customers are of equal importance.

This month’s case study involves one particular LENSER client’s desire to:

• Better understand the lifetime value of its customers
• Quantify and predict profitability for newly acquired customers, based on a series of marketing and operations-related cost assumptions
• Measure and influence the factors that affect customer acquisition costs and subsequent lifetime value
• Develop marketing programs that minimize acquisition costs and maximize long-term profitability

Count of Customers by Month of Origin

In order to make sound recommendations for future marketing campaigns, it is important to first establish a historical context to the ebb and flow of our client’s customer generation.

• Are there particular months or seasons where customer acquisition is easier or more difficult, compared to the average?
• Is there year-to-year growth in the number of new customers brought to file, or have the counts leveled off?

Via an in-depth analysis of the customer file, LENSER was able to determine the number of new customers brought to file in each month.

As exemplified in the chart below, the winter months into late spring, January through May, are our client’s core season for new customer acquisition.  The only other advantageous time period for landing new business appears to be in the late summer months, August and September.  Early summer, June and July, and fall, October through December, attract low numbers of new customers.

Initial Order Amounts, Subsequent 12MO and 13-24MO Gross Sales per Customer by Month of Origin

Upon establishing the historical context relative to seasonal trends in customer acquisition, LENSER next analyzed the variance in initial order amounts, as well as the subsequent 12-month and 13 to 24-month “lifetime value,” measured in terms of gross sales per customer, by month of origin.

LENSER found that for our client, a customer’s month of origin was not an indicator of above- or below-average initial order values or subsequent lifetime value, with the small, but noteworthy, exception of the initial order values of customers brought to file in November and December.

Why it is Important to Quantify Cost of Customer Acquisition and Subsequent Lifetime Value

The most difficult—and, consequently, most expensive—sale a company makes to a customer is the first one.  As we know, too, that initial transaction is critical, in terms of establishing trust and loyalty.

Many multichannel marketers focus their return-on-investment analysis of various prospecting sources on the following simple equation:

Gross Profit Generated From Initial Sale
- Gross Marketing Cost of Customer Acquisition
Net Profit (or Net Loss) Garnered By Customer Acquisition Efforts

Not every company, however, can acquire customers profitably (i.e., operating “in the black” after just the first order).  Most mature companies in relatively stable merchandise categories acquire customers at a cost, even after gross profits from the initial sales are considered.  Typically, a 12-month or 24-month lifetime value analysis is performed to offset customer acquisition costs.

For our case study client, LENSER chose the more liberal 24 month timeframe for its Lifetime Value Analysis, primarily because of the perceived loyalty of its customer base and the consumable nature of the products it sells.

Cost of Customer Acquisition: How Low Should We Go?

Before LENSER answered this question, we established several core assumptions with the client:

• Average Initial Order Amount = $100.00
• Average Cost of Goods = 31.3%
• Incremental Marketing Cost per Catalog Mailed = $0.63
• Order Processing Allocation per Transaction = $13.83
• Overhead Load Considerations = $0.00
• Avg. Subsequent (i.e., Post-Initial Purchase) 24MO Gross Merchandise Sales = $50.00
• Average Subsequent 24MO Total Number of Catalog Contacts = 14

With these core assumptions in place, LENSER produced two scenarios of acceptable customer acquisition costs:

• House file records (e.g., Inquiries) or any other list acquired without an attributable list cost (e.g., Private Exchanges)
• Prospects bearing an average list cost of $0.07 per name mailed (i.e., net of merge purge costs)

Based on the core assumptions, we calculated that our client could accept no more than a $16 cost of customer acquisition in order to break even over a customer’s first 24 months on file.  In the context of the two scenarios, this figure translated to a break even gross sales per book on prospecting of:

• $0.92 per book for house file names, and
• $1.02 per book for prospects bearing a list cost load of $0.07 per name mailed

Cost of Customer Acquisition: What If We Adjust Our Benchmarks?

In continuing discussions with our case study client regarding its ability to lower the average cost of goods and the incremental marketing cost per mailed piece, LENSER believed the benchmarks defined previously could be significantly reduced.

If incremental marketing costs per catalog mailed were reduced from $0.63 per book to $0.57 per book (9.5%) and cost of goods sold were lowered from 31.3% to 22.3% (28.8% reduction), the breakeven benchmarks for acceptable gross sales per book dropped precipitously.

Conclusion

With this information in hand, our case study client concluded the following:

• They could rest easy, knowing that positive return on investment would eventually be achieved when observing prospect lists performing at or above $1.02 per book and inquiry segments performing at or above $0.92 per book—performance below these benchmarks, however, were cause for reevaluation of the list / segment use in mailing.
  
  
• Their continuing work to lower the average incremental marketing cost per catalog mailed and cost of goods sold would have a profound effect on the acceptable cost of customer acquisition and, in turn, the sales per book figures needed to produce a positive return on investment.  Subsequently, significant universes of previously untapped prospecting sources could be utilized profitably.

CIRCULATION TIP
Trimming the Fat: Non Zip+4 Segmentation
By Anna-Lisa Ulbrich, Marketing Manager

In this era of ever increasing postal rates, figuring out who NOT to mail might be more important than figuring out who to mail.

One easy way to identify some of these names is to segment your Non Zip+4 house file records.
For any number of reasons, these records could not be appended with the extra plus 4-digit zip code, thus making them more expensive to mail—if they even make it to your customer’s mailbox.

In order to figure out a contact strategy, be sure to keep in mind your offer and customer base.  If you sell plants or seeds, or if your customers live in rural or small town areas, you might want to consider mailing these names as they could be some of your best buyers, making the expense worth your while.

If you sell modern furniture or have a large customer base living in urban areas, these names likely will not perform at or above your breakeven threshold and you might choose to omit them.  As always, in true LENSER fashion, segmenting and testing is best!

BONUS TIP: One other idea to consider if the Non Zip+4 names on your file prove to be decent performers: pay for Address Correction Service, especially on your hotline names.  Once these names get corrected, update your database and you should have a correct and highly qualified name.

CREATIVE TIP
The Eyes Have It—the Science of Eyeflow
By Carol Worthington-Levy, Creative Partner

Catalog design is akin to putting a massive, multi-page jigsaw puzzle together.  There always seems to be too many pieces for the puzzle.  The pages, and the pagination itself, must be formulated in a way that will show products to their best advantage, and give them a chance to sell.

Plus, the designer is challenged to make room for headlines that shout unique selling propositions.  To top it off, there are pieces that belong in consistent, easy-to-find locations, such as toll-free phone numbers and URLs.  It all needs a particular hierarchy that will help the viewer to find what they want, instantly.

It’s no wonder that one of the most consistent struggles I see in my review of catalogs during the course of the year is in catalog page and spread design.  This is why an understanding of eyeflow is an essential tool for both the catalog designer, and the ones reviewing the catalog as it is being developed.

How does eyeflow work?
While reading books, the average Joe will start in the upper left corner, and follow the text to its conclusion on that spread, at the lower right.  But with a catalog, the eyeflow is quite different.
The first place the catalog reader looks is in the upper right corner.  From there, they’re most inclined to stay on that right-hand page, and then head down toward the lower right corner. There, they turn the page and off they go to another spread.

The challenge for the designer is to enroll the reader, through design and use of powerful headlines, to not only stay on the spread, but to regard the entire spread, moving their eyes to the left page, and paying off that trip across the spread with interesting images and a benefit-driven headline on the way.

From that spot you brought them to in the upper left of the spread, you then need to carry them back across with plenty of interesting things to look at, before they continue off the lower right corner.

No matter what you do, they will always hit the upper right, and leave at the lower right.  It’s just human nature.

But you really want the reader to see your entire spread—that’s one of the most likely ways you’ll sell multiple products on that spread.  The longer they stay on a well-thought, well-merchandised spread with like items and cross-sell opportunities, the more likely you’ll come out of their viewing with a larger order.

Here’s what you need to do to create a spread with strong eyeflow:

1. Develop a concept for the spread. Choose the products thoughtfully so that you have great chemistry from one item to the next.  This is most likely to happen if you have a concept for that group of products.
   
   
2. Write a strong headline for the spread—something that reveals the concept in a way that it speaks benefit to the consumer.
   
   
3. Decide what product is the MOST important—most likely to sell well, best seller in the past, or a very strong bet in a new product.  Make that the HERO of the spread.  This hero will be at least 50% bigger than every other product on the spread.  The hero product will go in the upper left or upper right.  Set the headline for this product a little larger than your other product headlines, to announce its importance.
   
   
4. Decide the next best product and make that the secondary hero—smaller than the first, but still bigger than the other items on the spread.  This headline can be the same size as the rest of your standard headlines.
   
   You’ll put one of these heroes in the upper left, and one in the upper right.  I recommend you choose the more ‘active’ looking photo for the upper left, to help draw attention.  It may be more colorful, or a silhouetted photo with an active shape …or it may be a number of smaller photos that work together in strong colors or with a lot of contrast.  But keep in mind that this is what you’ll need to draw the eyes to the left.
   
   
5. Choose the product that is least likely to be a good seller, and make it smallest. Place that in the lower left corner, since that’s the least likely place someone will look.
   
   Right now I’m sure some of you are saying, “What? Doesn’t that as good as kill off a weak product?” The point is this: you don’t want any strong product to be placed in the ‘dead zone.' Strong product, placed well, will become even bigger sellers.  Take advantage of that opportunity! If by chance you find that the lower left product performs really well even in that position, you’ll know it’s earned its way to better real estate for the next time.
   
   
6. Choose strong and easy to read fonts, and put the toll-free number and URL at the lower right of the spread. Use the lower left for other things, like customer service number or a fax number if you are accustomed to getting orders by fax.  You can also put reminders of your guarantee or other good support information.  Just keep the type very readable.
   
   
7. Choose another strong product and place it in the lower right, above the toll-free number.
   
   
8. Now, review what’s left and determine which images will help draw the eye to the left, and what works well with other products in the placement you’ve started with.

While designing the spread, be sure to consider issues such as human images, which always draw the eye, and images of dogs and cats, also a grabber.

If a breakdown occurs…
If you find yourself slipping back into the ‘socialist’ layout—all the same, so nothing’s important—step away and decide why this is happening.  If you have too many products on a spread, take a deep breath and run through the catalog to remove anything that did not earn its space when you did your square inch analysis.

While this may seem drastic, remember, you DO have a website, and that space is cheap compared to your catalog pages.  You need your catalog to create desire.  

Also, keep in mind that dull or uninteresting product (maybe it’s not to you, but if it’s a bad seller, then it must be less than interesting to your customers) will actually drag your catalog response down, since more people see product that is not appealing to them, the less likely they are to stay and find the good stuff.

This paring out of the ‘dead wood’ will give you room to do a proper job of laying the catalog out so that it will actually sell the stuff that’s earned its place in the book.

And with setting up the layout in this dynamic and interesting way, you’re sure to sell more product and get larger orders.

One more little tip: Don’t forget to have a good copywriter compose your headlines so they’re benefit-oriented—and actually cause the reader to stop and see that there’s something in it for them on that spread.  Your designer is unlikely to be capable of writing the same quality of headlines—and besides that, they already have plenty of puzzle-pieces to deal with!

With a kickoff like this, you’re on your way to a spread that’s got strong eyeflow—and more selling power!

MULTICHANNEL TIP
Multichannel Marketing Tip May 2008 – Trigger or Event Based Email
By Michelle Farabaugh, Partner

Relevancy is the key to a strong marketing program.  Unfortunately, traditional email blasts are the exact opposite of being relevant.  As a consumer, if you purchase men’s shoes from Zappos and continue to receive email marketing efforts encouraging you to buy the latest red, patent leather pump, you are going to start ignoring their marketing effort and not be as loyal to the brand.

Triggering of event-based email marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use.  Based on the actions and interests of the recipient, trigger-based email marketing will drive higher click through and conversion rates.  This puts the direction of the contact strategy design and content in the hands of the consumer.  This may sound scary at first, but it is actually quite simple and very easy to execute.

There are several types of trigger-based email contacts that you can start with and many already may be happening.  These include the following:

• Thank you for your order
• Shipping confirmation
• Catalog request confirmation
• Birthday special offers

	Welcome email to registered visitors or first time customers This is the time when a consumer is most interested, and acutely aware, of your brand.  If they were visiting the site and viewed product, or better yet, purchased product, this is when they are most likely to purchase again.  With response rates decreasing in 2008, a welcome email with a special offer can be one of the most cost effective marketing programs to drive incremental sales.
	Reactivation If a consumer has not purchased or clicked through an email in more than six months, their likelihood of purchasing again is much less.  By 12 months, this is really a dead email consumer.  Take the opportunity and ask them to try you again.  A reactivation email can promote new, albeit targeted, categories or a general discount across the site to get that consumer to purchase from you again.
	Abandoned cart This is one of the easiest and the most cost effective email.  If a consumer leaves product in their shopping cart for more than 48 hours, take this opportunity to send them a reminder that they have product in their cart and show what that product is.  An additional incentive can be utilized to drive even higher response allowing you to capture up to 25% of the abandoned sales.  This trigger email should be sent on day three and again on day five for the highest click through and conversion rates.

Trigger-based emails can be simple to design and easy to establish the rules for execution.  Keep the message short and clearly state why there are receiving this email.  It should be obvious that it is designed and sent specifically for them, not as part of the normal blast email program.  No more than two emails should be sent per week; therefore, if two triggers were sent this week, the normal blast email should be suppressed for these consumers.  Trigger-based emails should always be sent over a generic email.  Take the time to develop your trigger email marketing program and start enjoying higher return on the program today.

CLIENT HIGHLIGHT—THE GUILD

What is original art? It can be the painting over your couch, but it can also be your coffee cup, your bathroom mirror, or your wedding ring.  When any of these objects is made with care by a skilled and talented artist, it surely is a work of art.
 
In 1985, Toni Sikes launched The Guild, a publishing company with the mission of helping artists market and sell their work.  Annual Guild Sourcebooks feature photographs of artists' works and are distributed to designers and architects. Today, Guild Sourcebooks have resulted in thousands of new art commissions for public and private spaces and are recognized by design professionals as "the industry standard."  To date, more than 350,000 sourcebooks have been printed in multiple languages.

In 1992, The Guild added coffee-table and how-to books to its publishing line, allowing many artists to present their artwork in bookstores throughout North America.  By the mid-1990s, The Guild had become a well-known brand in the design trades, had forged strong relationships with thousands of artists, and built a reputation of quality and integrity.  Sikes wanted to expand The Guild's market reach to consumers and began looking for another medium.

Along came the internet and the possibility of bringing original artwork to anyone, anywhere, with a computer and a modem.  The launch of the guild.com website and a catalog in 1999 gave consumers access for the first time to Guild artists, who personally make and ship all items directly to buyers. The Guild renamed the catalog The Artful Home in 2004, and renamed the website shortly thereafter. Both catalogs and website offer a variety of original art and fine craft for home and gifts.
 
Today, The Guild offers works created by over 1,200 top artists, in a variety of disciplines, all made by hand and shipped directly from artists’ studios.  More than 12,000 works of art are offered in media ranging from glass, ceramics, sculpture and prints to furniture, lighting and jewelry.

The Guild joined the LENSER family in 2006.  “The Guild has fantastic art objects for sale,” says Al Bessin, LENSER Partner.  “When we get together for meetings, visiting their photo studio is a real treat.  There are always many photo samples trying to tempt their way into my suitcase.”

Please visit The Artful Home at www.guild.com, and be inspired.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT—BRANDEN SLATTERY

Most people who get into direct mail careers arrive there just by happenstance.  The same can be said of Branden Slattery, who graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geography.  After graduating from college, Branden worked for a digital mapping company called NAVTEQ and if you have a mapping / GPS system, you can thank Branden for some of those maps.

After a year there, he soon realized he wanted a more creative outlet for his analytical skills, so he turned his eyes to Northern California, “During my summers at UCSB, I worked as an Intern at LENSER and enjoyed the analytical work, so I contacted them to see if they might have a position for me.”  LENSER did, and six months later, this enthusiastic employee has turned heads.  “Branden's youth is definitely an asset," remarked Todd Miller, Director of B-to-B Markets and Analytics.  "He's bright, talented, ambitious—and far from jaded.  Sometimes, experience can be a negative—one tends to dismiss ideas out of hand, rather than exploring the possibilities.  Branden has a fresh perspective, not just with regards to direct marketing, but to our own consulting practice."

The career change and learning about multichannel marketing has been to Branden’s liking.  “I enjoy the scope and different types of roles that make up the direct marketing industry," he noted.  "I remember going to the Catalog and eCommerce Basics course this year and was amazed by the different facets that make up the direct marketing industry.”  For Branden, he enjoys crunching numbers and is fascinated about the knowledge gleaned from performing various data analyses.  These challenges allow him to come into work every day to learn something new.  “I enjoy being introduced to new challenges on a daily basis," he said.  "Although I have only been with LENSER for eight months, I have a learned a great deal from unquestionably the best mentors one can ask for.”

He enjoys the tight knit group at LENSER, although at first being one of the youngest was a bit daunting.  “Everyone," he notes, "including John himself, makes me part of a family rather than a company.  I have worked for big companies in the past and LENSER is not like anything I have experienced."  With a full career in front of him, Branden hopes to continue to learn from the best and then take those learnings and put them to work by having his own marketing accounts.

When not working, you can usually find Branden in the great outdoors.  “I came from Las Vegas," he recounted, "where my outdoor opportunities were limited, so the move here has provided me many tremendous outdoor activities.”  Since moving here, Branden has taken advantage of snowboarding in Lake Tahoe, running the trails in Pt. Reyes National Seashore, wine tasting in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys, hiking along the Marin Headlands and playing in a co-ed softball league.

To learn more about Branden Slattery, please visit his bio.

AFFILIATE FOCUS—CERTONA

Much is being said and written these days about one-to-one personalization and communication in direct to consumer marketing circles, and for good reason.  Simply put, it works.  At its core, database marketing is and always has been about leveraging technology to optimize the financial model of the direct marketer for the best ROI.  As upward cost pressures converge with Web 2.0 technologies, we continue to ride a wave of change in the industry.  This change is characterized above all by an increased desire in the consumer for relevant content and product promotion coupled with the improving capacity of the marketer to deliver just that.  Enter Certona and its Resonance® solution.

Resonance® is a Web 2.0 optimization and personalization platform that automates a company’s ability to provide relevant, individualized content and experience, in real-time, that calls visitors to an online sales or other marketing-related action. The “self-optimizing” system is powered by a sophisticated neural networks engine to deliver real-time product recommendations, relevant content, and promotional offers to multiple channels.

Resonance® leverages the traffic patterns of visitors to help optimize their Web experience without the need for any personal information, third-party cookies or special interaction with the individual.  This process is also the most effective way to deliver relevant content because consumers’ present behaviors on the site that are the most accurate representation of their interests and needs at that time, rather than the demographic information filled out through an online form months ago.
Resonance® eliminates the tedious, labor-intensive task of manually generating numerous relevant product or content recommendations and personalized promotions to online visitors, empowering retailers to:

1. Increase their ability to perform more relevant recommendations 
2. Enhance e-mails with personalized merchandising and content
3. Better pinpoint online ads to reach the right type of visitor each time
4. Automatically adapt and personalize Web content

“Our mission is to assist companies of various sizes and scales to develop and execute successful, database-driven marketing programs that improve response rates and returns on investment,” said John Lenser, President of LENSER. “This partnership empowers us to provide clients with a proven personalization and recommendation service that creates the most relevant online experience for visitors without sacrificing their privacy in the process.”

Best of all, clients are usually up and running in 2-3 weeks.

As we continue to strengthen our breadth of services, LENSER has identified and carefully screened key services to support its clients, representing the best in their areas of expertise. As part of the LENSER promise, each of these companies will keep its fees competitive and “always go the extra mile” for LENSER clients. We have successfully partnered with Certona to our clients’ direct benefit and continue to do so today, and more exciting integrated programs are on the way.  To learn more about Certona or any of our other affiliates, please contact Michele Salmon at 415-446-2511 or e-mail .

NEWS BRIEF

• LENSER welcomes King Arthur Flour, Arthur Lauer Inc. and ComputerGear to our family of clients.
  
  
• Are you ready for the 2008 Annual Conference for Catalog & Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) taking place May 19-22, 2008 at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, FL?  For those of you who have not attended the ACCM, LENSER strongly urges you to come.  The ACCM will focus on the strategies you need to successfully integrate your catalog, web, store, phone, sales force, distributor, email and other marketing channels.  The conference is the event of the year for catalogers, providing three packed days of educational seminars and many opportunities for networking.  LENSER staff will present several sessions covering catalog circulation, channel integration, and creative issues.  Register Today and Save up to $100 on your full conference registration! Go to www.accm4me.com/lenser and use the LENSER savings code LEN for your discount when registering.  Let us know if you plan on joining us—we look forward to seeing you in Orlando!
  

• Meet with any of the LENSER Partners or staff at the ACCM in Orlando, FL, May 19-22, 2008 to discuss your specific needs.  Please give John a call at 415-446-2501 or send an email to to schedule an appointment.  We know that we can make a very positive contribution to your company’s growth and bottom line profits.  We're pleased to discuss your challenges and help you discover all the ways your business can become more profitable even in tough times.
  
  
• Attention, LENSER Clients! Mark your calendars now for the LENSER Client Summit scheduled for Wednesday through Friday, September 24-26, 2008, at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael, CA.  Complete details coming soon but don’t forget to make plans to stay over the weekend in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area.
  
  
• Congratulations to LENSER Clients that made the 2008 Catalog Success Top 200 ranking of the year's leading companies measured by housefile growth rates.  "By viewing catalogers in this metric, you can get a good idea of the 200 healthiest multichannel merchants for the calendar year 2007," states Editor-in-Chief, Paul Miller.  LENSER Clients: Golfsmith, Design Within Reach, Highlights for Children, King Ranch, Imagine the Challenge, Eagle America, Bliss, and SmartScrubs.
  
  
• LENSER has joined the American Catalog Mailers Association.  If you are a cataloger or a supplier to the catalog industry, we urge you to join the ACMA.  They are our advocate and continue to do vital work with the USPS our behalf.  It is critically important that they have our support, not just in thought, but financially, as well.  You can help unite the industry for our own welfare.  The cost to your business of joining is only about a quarter of one percent of what you will spend on postage.  The cost to your business of not joining? Unthinkable.  Please call 401-529-8183 today to join or go to www.catalogmailers.com.

• To ensure delivery of your monthly eNews from LENSER, please remember to add newsletter@lenser.com to your address book.  To sign up for the LENSER eNews, please contact .