FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IF I USE CATALOGS?

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) reports that retailers should expect a response rate of 1-3% for mailings sent directly to a preferred customer list. However, because our industry is a niche (Christian and inspirational), we have typically seen much higher response rates. It is difficult to make a blanket statement on what you can expect because there are several factors that affect the results: frequency of your mailings, the quality of your mailing list and the appeal of your sale/promotion.

If your catalogs and flyers are being mailed to a clean list of your known customers (based on the best customers with recency, frequency and monetary spend) at a minimum of once per quarter, you can expect 5-50% response rates. Please keep in mind that some retailers track response rates by the number of coupons redeemed compared to the number of catalogs sent to consumers. Some retailers consider a “response” when a customer purchases anything at any time within the promotional period.

When analyzing the success of promotions, we recommend that a variety of factors be compared.

General store sales: Sales should be checked two weeks prior to a direct mail drop date, two weeks into the promotion period and again two weeks after the promotion has passed. Was there an increase?
Coupon return: Although effective, keep in mind consumers may not remember to use their coupons or may visit the store to purchase a product or general sale that was advertised. The best response to gauge the success of a catalog is to watch your overall sales for a promotion period.

When determining what is the most effective means of communication, direct mail is still the most effective means of reaching your consumers, excluding a personal visit or phone call to your customers, for the best return on investment.

WHY SHOULD I MAIL MY CATALOGS?

Direct mail, on average, generates 30-50 times better response rates than email.
Just handing out catalogs in bags or at the door is 5 times less effective than mailing out catalogs to your customers.
We recommend that you use a blended approach to reaching your customers (e. g. email, in-store merchandising, etc).

HOW CAN THE MUNCE GROUP HELP ME INCREASE MY CUSTOMER DATABASE?

The Munce Group can assist you in renting qualified names (known Christian consumers) in quantities of 500. That rental is yours to use for one year. The Munce Group can also assist you in a “saturation mailing.” This means we will saturate a designated area (typically done by carrier route) with your catalog.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I BE COMMUNICATING WITH MY CUSTOMERS THROUGH DIRECT MAIL?

Since the Munce Group only requires spring and Christmas catalogs each year, a common myth is that a retailer will have a successful marketing campaign as long as he keeps up with those. It is true that spring and Christmas are the only required catalogs. But the intent behind those requirements should be expressed in detail.

Spring and Christmas catalogs are the only required catalogs because they are the best selling seasons of the year. We want everyone to take advantage of the added foot traffic by marketing during that time. If you don’t, your competitors will be sure to take advantage of reaching your customers for you.

Beyond the two required catalogs, we never want to mandate which promotions you purchase. The Munce Group understands that every retailer has a unique clientele and must work with varying budgets. We do, however, encourage every retailer to tailor our full array of catalogs, flyers and other marketing services to his or her unique needs. Although using all promotions each year produces amazing results, it is not the best option for those with smaller budgets and less staff to help prepare.

Retailers start to see a true return on their catalog/flyer investments when they go beyond the required two catalogs and participate in a minimum of four promotions each year. Retailers will be contacted by their sales and service representative seasonally to obtain ordering information.