Direct Mail can make your company stand out from all others. Use it either stand-alone or in conjunction with a website or a storefront. If this is your first attempt at direct mail with a catalog you have concerns. Note: this is not about websites, just direct mail catalog sales.

The two areas that should be of concern are what you put in your catalog offering in addition to products and how you take care of your customers. The first is the necessary part of the catalog mail order business while the second details those items that will keep your customers coming back.

IMAGE
Your catalog is the window of your company. Yes, the Internet is called the “window”, but a catalog recipient sees you through your catalog THEN decides whether to shop from your website! At the start, everything your customer knows about you is what they see in your catalog and accompanying material.

Your offering should be the best you can afford with quality pictures, clean art work, detailed text, and clear descriptions. Your catalog is not the place to cut corners, no matter what you see in your mailbox. Quality brings quality orders, so have someone outside your firm review the material before you have it printed.

LOCATION
Make sure your customers can find you. Don’t use a PO Box. Put your full street address (even if you don’t have a store-front) and toll-free phone number in dozens of places in the catalog in addition to the traditional order blank. Allow buyers to phone, snail-mail, fax or go on the Internet to buy. Don’t have an Internet presence? Get one. Make it simple and easy to buy.

CLARIFY PROCEDURES
Spell out clearly how to order merchandise. Describe your terms and methods of payment. Tell how to order, and what happens if your customer decides to cancel an order. Describe the procedure for returns. Print a supplemental order blank to accompany the catalog in case the first one gets messed up, it may get you a second order from the same mailing.

SUBSTITUTIONS
There is always the possibility of not having enough stock for an item. If you offer substitutes, say so in your catalog. Send an email, call, or fax your customer with an offer of a substitute of equal or greater value than what was originally ordered. If the customer refuses, refund all money including shipping and handling charges and send them a thank you/apology letter and another catalog.

The second area deals with the nitty-gritty of fulfillment of customer orders. This is the un-glamorous area where you make or break your business.

SHIPPING
For years the industry standard on fulfillment has been one to four days. You can offer overnight for a fee, but be prepared to do it. Most of your customers have a good idea of how long it should take to receive their merchandise, and if your order is late, two things will happen: 1) You will receive telephone calls, letters, faxes, emails, and even telegrams asking where the order is, or worse, asking for their money back; or 2) You could lose that customer forever. A satisfied customer will tell a friend, an unsatisfied customer will tell 10 friends. You know that, so do it right!

MERCHANDISE
Before you mail your catalog you should have a reasonable quantity of 100% of the offering in your warehouse ready to ship with back-up stock guaranteed. Nothing will turn a customer to a competitor quicker than not receiving ordered merchandise simply because you don’t have part of their order in stock. If you must back order, immediately call, fax, email or send a letter informing your customer, send a gift, and then fill the back order as quickly as possible or lose the customer and their friends forever.

RECORDS
Yes, it’s the age of computers, but you need to keep hard-copy or a computer image of all dealings with your customers. Should a dispute arise, you will have the written facts to guide you. Computerized files can be used to send additional catalogs and to notify customers of bargains and specials. You can also rent customer lists to (and from) other mail order firms.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.)
Paul Tulenko is a Small Business Success Consultant based in New Mexico. Additional tips and suggestions are available at www.tulenko.com or call (toll-free) 1-866-TULENKO.