This week’s edition of Catalog Success: Tactics & Tips continues our coverage of the recent MeritDirect Business Mailer’s Co-op in White Plains, N.Y.

CATALOG SUCCESS TIPS

6 Pointers for Running an Effective Supervisor Training Program

In consulting with a client recently on improving customer service, the client was concerned that the company’s service didn’t meet its expectations and goals. As we performed the assignment, the most serious problem to surface was that the supervisors were relatively inexperienced and hadn’t managed people very long. The supervisory team included anyone from a first-time supervisor to someone with one year’s experience. Adding to the problem, this call center flexes from 100 seats to 190 seats for six months of the year.

Beyond a USP: The Secrets to Competitive Advantage

The concept of competitive advantage has evolved over the past 60 years. Some companies have attempted to apply advertising pioneer Rosser Reeves’ concept of the unique selling proposition (USP) as a way to maintain competitive advantage in their markets. Reeves’ brilliant conception of the USP was simple: “Buy this product, get this specific benefit.” It remains a powerful technique for marketing individual products. However, when applied to an entire company, it has an inherent weakness.

BY THE STATS

USPS Numbers Bear the Catalog’s Value

In a presentation at the American Catalog Mailers Association’s inaugural National Catalog Advocacy & Strategy Forum in Arlington, Va., last month, David Mastervich, manager of sales strategy for the USPS, reeled off a series of statistics from the Internet marketing research company comScore to bolster the U.S. Postal Service’s claim that catalogs are still a relevant and effective marketing tool.

TACTICS AND TIPS FEATURE

Revving Up B-to-B Catalog Effectiveness

There are some great-looking B-to-B and hybrid B-to-B/B-to-C catalogs these days for both exotic and mundane product lines. But beautiful or ugly, plenty of them compromise response and profit by using layout and copy that ignore key selling and design principles. Applying those principles can help creative teams and management realize full value from their catalog mailing investments.

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