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At Arandell, we do more.

Posted on February 09, 2012

Over a year ago, we started working with a consulting group to develop a new brand identity. After countless concepts, design experiments, and revisions, we selected a new image, a new message…Arandell reborn. It was the one design that we felt truly represented the energy and impact of Going beyond. It symbolizes the consistent message of delivering solutions, to a variety of clients, on multi platforms that go much further than the printed page.

We spent the last 35 years perfecting the printing of beautiful catalogs and delivering them into the awaiting hands of hungry shoppers looking for the next catchy trend, the next generation gadget to allow one to have the world at their fingertips. Delivering expert solutions.

As we enter the world of evolving technology, it requires for one to adapt, survive and navigate, assisting clients through this newly branded world is what Arandell is all about. Going beyond…. Beyond Expectations.

Brands who remain stagnant, those who are unwilling or unable to budge from their current focus even as the rest of the world evolves, are the ones who gradually die out and lose customers, because they are unable to adapt. It’s become quite important for you to stand out among the rest and show people what you’re all about. Going beyond… Creating meaningful partnerships.

As time goes on, one will continually grow, evolve and blossom as a better focus is found on what you really want to stand for. Arandell has just done that.

Our brand…this is our way to distinguish ourselves from others. Going beyond for today, for tomorrow, for our clients – looking to the future. Arandell is here to stay.
Arandell is already viewed as a leader in print quality. That quality can be seen on the printed page but what pushes Arandell above is everything that happens beyond that printed page.

Going Beyond The Printed Page

Arandell offers everything you need to execute a robust direct marketing campaign. We have strategies in place to help you succeed in the following areas:

  • Strategic Planning
  • List Management
  • Mailing Strategies
  • Paper Management
  • Print Production
  • Metrics and Analytics
  • Green Initiatives
  • iPad App Development

Let’s talk so we can learn and understand your needs (deep dive if you will), your business, and challenges – then we can develop a solution that specifically addresses these and follows through with measurement and review.

At Arandell we do more.

Catalog Printing Trends – Go Full Color

Posted on December 05, 2011

Full Color printing is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity in many industries. Today, everyone is producing full color catalogs. Customers have come to expect big color images alongside catalog product descriptions to help them make a decision between products. But you don’t have to justify the jump to full color just to beat your competition — full-color images have a better sales rate because they simply look better.  To make yourself even more distinctive, put a spin on it and produce a catalog with special coatings or speciality colors.

Having similar concerns? Let’s talk so we can learn and understand your needs (deep dive if you will), your business, and challenges – then we can develop a solution that specifically addresses these and follows through with measurement and review. At Arandell, we go beyond the printed page.

Cultivating Customer Collaboration through Sales

Posted on August 15, 2011

Cultivating customer collaboration is a mindset – not a process. We need to adopt this new mindset in order to engage customers interactively and collaboratively.

Jumping into collaboration via social media before your company is ready for transparency; knowledge sharing and the level of responsiveness that is required will be a wasted investment.

A company that embraces this new mindset understands that customers operate under varying constraints and their decisions are not made out of incompetence. Customers are often considering a broader set of factors when assessing value. Take the time to really understand what’s holding your customer back, and to gather their input on how to improve your products and services.

No one likes the salesperson who delivers their sales pitch oblivious to the fact that what they are selling is irrelevant to the listener. Yet many companies create marketing pitches and sales programs to do exactly that. The most common complaints by decision-makers are that sales people don’t understand their business, don’t listen, and can’t clearly articulate the value or relevance of their product and services.

The truth is customers want to know that you understand them, their company, their environment, and their priorities. Collaboration starts with listening to enhance that understanding. Take the time to understand individual customers’. Only then can you work with the customer to create a solution with unique value

Collaborating with customers is often called “consultative selling.” Many sales and marketing leaders lament that large portions of their sales channel are simply unable to execute this approach. It’s true that as long as sales reps must rely on scripts, they cannot function in a collaborative environment.

Yet collaborative sales techniques like asking questions and listening are capabilities almost any salesperson can master. A conversation is more natural than a presentation. It simply requires a different approach to educating the sales team. Focus on the context within which the purchase decisions get made and how your solutions fit within that context, rather than simply on the detailed “features and benefits”.

To discuss this topic further, contact:

Jim Treis

EVP, Sales & Marketing

866-810-7728

JFTreis@arandell.com

To iPad or Not to iPad – Part II

Posted on July 19, 2011

I’m sure that after my last blog about the iPad you are now the proud owner of one…Gary Sierzchulski, VP, Arandell Marketing Solutions
perhaps the iPad 2. Congratulations and welcome to the ever-growing and not-so-elite-anymore club.

Since my last posting we have had a great deal of interest and questions as to how we go about building our apps. Like gin, there are a lot of labels to choose from. You need to look at the ingredients to judge the product and taste as many as you can, or in this case download as many as you can. So today I want to cover a few points to keep in mind when doing your homework on bringing your iPad app to market.

Do not get caught up in any cooperative program where your app is together with many other apps (“to save you money”). Your brand should stand by itself and be available to your audience as part of your multi-channel marketing strategy, not anyone else’s. A PDF version of your catalog posted on iTunes will get you nowhere.

Our clients have found that an app being somewhat different than the actual catalog has a better appeal to the audience. As I mentioned previously, the app itself is not meant to replace the catalog but to provide the user with a more mobile option. So while many marketers create the app with the catalog “guts,” most have added unique products, features, services, etc. to attract a broad audience.

Your app should be interactive…not just in the obvious, ordering…but by incorporating videos, perhaps audio, how-to’s. The digital world makes this easy and affordable. One of my favorite apps (not catalog related) is The Daily. It is a news app that makes great use of every digital means available to engage the reader and differentiate itself from the other news apps. This formula is so successful that it is one the best-selling (yes you have to pay for it, after a free trial period) apps out there. Their competition gives theirs away for free and are still are having a hard time beating The Daily’s numbers.

Make sure you have a splash page, the first thing a user sees when searching iTunes; the page that’s visible when downloaded onto the iPad. That brand logo is critical and should be consistent with your other marketing promotions. It represents who you are and your subscribers identify with you through that consistency.

Promote your app in every way possible. Place it (splash page) in catalogs, direct mail pieces, website, emails…anything and everything that reaches your audience. Again, consistency is key.

Tell the audience why they should download it. Seems obvious but the “build it and they will come – and stay” mantra does not apply here. There are over 350,000 iPad apps as I write this and probably a few more added by the time I finish, so you need to sell your audience as to why they should get yours.

When it’s time for a new release of your app, let your customers know – in advance. Not through the usual updates through iTunes but alert them through the channels I mentioned above. Let them know when it will be out and maybe tease them as to why they should download the new version. Some marketers alert their customers of a new release when the old app is activated on the iPad.

Again, most iPad users like to use the technology they have at their fingertips. That’s why they purchased one to begin with. Make your app appealing to their desires.

Make sure you are measuring everything you can about the usage of the app, not just the number of downloads. Also keep in mind that for some ordering through an iPad may not (yet) be a comfortable experience. So look at all available metrics, not just sales through the iPad.

There are a few marketers who are charging for their apps. Unless you have a pure educational or “how to” theme that has perceived value, you will not get much attention, or downloads by adding a price tag to your app. The goal is to make it easier for your customers to communicate with you and free is still king. (Do you remember the days when catalogers put a “price” on their catalog to show perceived value?) How’s that working today?

You do not need to refresh your app each time you roll out a new catalog. Again, the intent for an app is to be something different than the printed piece. We are seeing a trend with our clients of refreshing an app based on seasonality, new product roll-outs, etc. Apps tend to have a longer shelf life than the printed catalog so make the most with each one you produce and give people a reason to keep them.

Many of our customers see their web traffic increase significantly when their app hits the market. Then after a couple of weeks it plateaus. They see a similar pattern with the apps. You have to keep them wanting more. One of our athletic apparel companies includes workout videos within the app, enough for 30 days of workouts that challenge the user to reach that next level. After 30 days, a new set of videos is available to download.

Make sure you test the app yourself before it gets released. Try every feature, every page, every link, etc. This app represents your brand and you want it to be perfect. BUT – we all are still in a learn-as-you-go stage. The technology is rapidly expanding and the available options will be expanding as you move forward. Some clients are exploring ways to use the cameras in the iPad 2, another option.

So, we will keep you updated on the evolution of the iPad as it relates to the catalog market and the success and tribulations marketers continue to experience. But let me give you a little “heads up.” If you want to have an iPad app presence for the all-important fall and holiday seasons, now is the time to act.

I end this blog the same as my last one on this subject – the future is now.

Our phone lines are open.

Contact Us

Gary Sierzchulski

Vice President, Arandell Marketing Solutions

Phone: 866-834-5611

Email: GASierzchulski@arandell.com

Customer Engagement in Today’s Marketplace

Posted on May 31, 2011

While attending the 2011 Customer Intimacy Summit, Dr. Mohan Sawhney, PhD, Professor Kellogg School of Management, presented his keynote address: Engagement in a Digital World. Professor Sawhney is a globally-recognized scholar, teacher, consultant and speaker in strategic marketing, innovation and new media. Dr. Sawhney’s presentation focused on engaging your customers via social media.

Today’s marketing leaders are engaging their customers on a one-to-one basis through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Forty percent of social media users have “friended” a brand and 46% of Facebook users have “recommended” a brand.

By marketing directly to customers who have chosen to engage you via social media you can leverage their loyalty to your brand. In return they will be the evangelists that will help spread the word. This type of customer intimacy is a two-way street – there must be a benefit to the customer in order to remain engaged with you and vice versa.

Make sure customers not only have an opportunity for a dialogue with your brand, but with each other. Get the conversations started by asking for opinions and insights, and recognize contributions. Involve customers by forming online social sharing communities.

Be innovative and make sure content is relevant, fresh and rewarding. Start by transforming your marketing mindset from “incentive” to “service.” Be sure to nip any service problems in the bud and head off any negativity that can quickly go viral from well-connected customers.

Some key points to keep in mind when engaging your customers:

- Do what you say and say what you do

- Be honest and transparent

- Deliver a personalized customer experience

- Do not over-engage

- Communicate – Collaborate – Educate – Entertain

Prior to engaging your customers via social media, you will want to “listen” to what is being said about you in the social media space. Arandell’s Direct Marketing group offers Social Media Marketing Solutions that help you to listen, learn and respond.

In my next post, we will review how you can collaborate with your customers. In the mean time, feel free to contact

Gary Sierzchulski

Vice President, Arandell Marketing Solutions

Phone: 866-834-5611

Email: GASierzchulski@arandell.com

To iPad or Not to iPad

Posted on April 12, 2011

Gary Sierzchulsk, VP, Arandell Marketing Solutions

Look at some of these facts:

  • Over 20 million sold so far (selling at a faster rate than the iPhone)
  • Second generation of the iPad sold out in less than two weeks; Third generation of the iPad already scheduled for release later this year
  • Publishers have embraced the device and virtually all have an iPad version of their publication or have completely converted to the electronic tablet
  • 50% of Fortune 100 companies are testing the iPad for business use
  • Here is one to remember: Conversion rates are five times higher with an iPad versus other mobile devices
  • Average age of user is 44; average income is $65k (both numbers are dropping)
  • iPads are now being sold at retailers like Walmart and Target, becoming more mainstream

So with all of these trends, why not test the water? Here are some of the reasons I have heard from our customers:

  • Not enough of them in the market…yet
  • My customers do not “fit” the user profile
  • It’s just an electronic catalog
  • How will my customers find my app?
  • We don’t have the internal resources to support it
  • The ROI is not there
  • It’s a fad that will soon fade away when something else comes along.

All of these are valid concerns. But if you’re looking to meet the needs and wants of your customers TODAY, provide them with another channel to match their lifestyle; you owe it to them and your company to investigate this channel. As you know, the easier you make it for your customers to connect with you the better for your brand (and your bottom line). Even if you generate no sales from the device, the increased exposure of your brand may more than justify the cost.

The iPad is an extension of your catalog, not necessarily the exact same version of your printed catalog…but could be. Like all other marketing channels, its performance can be measured. And here is another cool opportunity…we now have the technology to drive personalized content to the iPad.

Granted, it is a new channel and many questions remain but at the current growth rate for this product and the evolution of your customer’s demands, you need to have a presence in this channel now as opposed to later.

Remember just two years ago the discussions you had internally about social media? Look at how that channel has impacted your business. As someone once said – the future is now.

Let’s talk. Contact me, Gary Sierzchulski, at 800-558-8724.

ARE YOU AFRAID TO TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS?

Posted on July 14, 2010

Gary Sierzchulsk, VP, Arandell Marketing SolutionsIn the past much “talk” was given to a direct marketing principle called contact strategy analysis.  What that means in layman’s terms is determining how often and when to reach your customers based on previous sales information.  In other words, using this approach you only contact your customers based upon their past purchase history, so a customer who only purchases during holidays would only be contacted during that season and so on.  The theory here was to maximize marketing dollars and tight budgets.

 Times Have Changed. 

 In the past two years many of you have reduced the frequency of your campaigns for all the reasons which we will not get into detail here.  If you go to your mailbox you will see this first-hand.  But funny things are happening, the consumer is coming back, albeit slowly, and buying!  Buying because they haven’t been for a while and it is our nature to do so.  With or without you they will be back.  So what are you doing about it?

 #1 – Reach out to your customers.  If you aren’t, your competitors are or will be shortly.  Consumers are hungry for deals to satisfy their buying urges, and again have saved up some money to meet those needs.  It’s funny, instead of you creating a sense of urgency with them; they are the ones who are creating it.  So meet their needs.  Even those who you consider your best customers (highest RFM) need to hear from you now.  In the past this segment would buy from you regardless.  Now they want to know that you’re still in business to start with and that you value them and can meet their needs, both emotionally and tangibly. 

Your older buyers were once buyers from you.  So you need to find out if they are still buying products like yours but just not from you.  There are several ways to do this and if you contact me we can discuss the methods to identify them. 

 #2 – Service is a lost practice.  You need to make it easy for them to return to you and more importantly buy from you.  Shipping incentives, in store pick-up, loyalty rewards, anything and everything should be considered to make your customers feel special again.  You have four marketing channels to interact with your customers.  Use them all but pay attention to which channels they choose to interact with you.

 #3 – Build up your brand.  Many of you “went away” for a while.  Your customers need reassurance that you’re still there for them.  More frequent contact now as opposed to selective contact will get you there.  Most of you have noticed that your house file is stagnant at best or probably has decreased over the past two years.  For your survival, that trend needs to stop but will only do so through increased contact with your customers and reaching out to potential customers, something of a lost art called prospecting. 

 #4 – Thank them for their business.  How? – By telling them.  As I said many times before, the more quickly you reach your buyers after a purchase, the higher the future response rate is.  And if you personalize the piece in some fashion the responses are even higher.  Why wouldn’t you make this a standard part of your business practice?

 Again, the time is now.  Create the sense of urgency with your customers and they will respond.

ARE YOU MOBILE?

Posted on April 26, 2010

Gary Sierzchulsk, VP, Arandell Marketing SolutionsThis past week I was in New York.  It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and I was sitting on a bench at Noon eating a hotdog and watching everyone rush by on 6th Avenue.  What I noticed more than ever is that most people were not enjoying the great weather or for that matter, the people walking around them; they were too busy with their heads down looking at their phones.  I did a quick test.  For one minute I counted the number of individuals who were not using their phone either to (believe it or not) talk or to look at their emails, websites and yes, mobile apps.  There were only 33 people who fell into that category…33 people out of hundreds that rushed by!  That is incredible but not unusual.  We have become obsessed with our phones and their ability to do just about everything for us.  Here is an interesting fact; people sleep more nights with their phones than with a human person.  These phones must be something special.

Today there are over 285 million mobile phones in use in the U.S. and of those, 160 million have the ability to text.  Get this, even though there are “only” less than 50 million iPhones and Blackberrys in use, the Apple store has downloaded over 2 billion apps so far. You do the math.

So you have two choices; embrace this new technology or think it’s a passing fad that will be gone as soon as the next major communications invention arrives.  Let’s take the side of embracing it.

When we look at the different marketing channels we think of the basics; brick and mortar, direct mail and the youngest member, the Internet.  Now there’s a new kid in town – mobile, and he’s growing bigger each month, more than the other three combined.

So how do you get on the mobile wagon?  There are a few steps to take to see if it’s right for you now.  Keep in mind it’s not a question of IF its right, but rather a question of WHEN it’s right for you.  Sooner or later you will be riding the Mobile Wagon.

  1. Look at your customer base.  How much of your sales are generated through the Internet? (Don’t be confused with “through the Internet” as opposed to by the Internet.)  Most likely you see that number growing, meaning your customers are savvy, technological capable, and want to control the buying decision when they want to.  If you answer, “yes” to this – you are ready for mobile.
  2. In analyzing your web results, what percentage of hits is from mobile phones?  If you see any at all – you are ready for mobile.
  3. Do you want the ability to “talk” to your customers at any time or any place they are, maybe even as they just walk into your store?  If yes – you are ready for mobile.
  4. Do you want to give your customers the option to experience a rich, visual, and inviting view of your store that is always open for business?  If you say yes to this – say mobile.
  5. Can your customers walk and talk at the same time?  Are they over the age of six?  If yes – you are ready for mobile.

Keep in mind, mobile will not, repeat, NOT replace any of your existing marketing channels.  What it will do is give your customers another alternative to see your products, understand your company and most importantly buy from you in a very different environment.  Used strategically with your other channels, mobile is a great new addition to your weaponry. 

There are several ways to break into the mobile market.  The beauty of this technology is that you can take it very slowly and build over time or go hog wild from the get go.  Either way, you will be adding a whole new dimension for your customers and prospects to interact with you.  And since this technology is relatively new, most marketers have only begun to unleash the ability of this channel so you can get very creative and give your customers a highly unique experience before others copy your great idea.

So do not fear, mobile is here and is not going away.  But it is a great marketing partner for you and its possibilities are only limited by your creative abilities.  Give me a call to learn how Arandell is embracing this technology and how we’re working with our customers to incorporate mobile with the Mother of all marketing channels – The Catalog.

The Catalog Lives!

Posted on March 17, 2010

Gary Sierzchulski, VP, Arandell Marketing SolutionsA funny thing happened on the way to proclaiming the print catalog is dead……..IT’S STILL ALIVE!

If you have spent the early days of 2010 analyzing the results of your Fall and Holiday campaigns, you may have noticed something a little strange; emails, God love’em, were blasted out in record numbers in 2009. That was good news for me because I sold a lot of email appends.  As a result of all that clutter in peoples’ inboxes, not to be confused with mailboxes, the results were not all that impressive. In my humble opinion, direct marketers looking to cut costs as much as possible, yet still justify their existence, took the route of emails over direct mail to get the message to their customers, or in some cases to prospects. In many peoples’ analyses they noticed that the average transactional value in most cases significantly decreased. Marketers took the approach that more is better. Now many are discovering that more is not always effective. That’s the bad news for me – now they want answers as to why this approach did not always work. While marketers are trying to get a handle on this, we have seen the number of emails significantly decrease over the first two months of 2010, almost by the same amount they increased last year. Oh yeah…I forgot to mention that many are turning back to the direct side in the meantime.

Do not be confused; email campaigns are still highly critical to one’s overall marketing and branding efforts. What seems to have been lost is the fact that many of these email campaigns fail to “show me the money.” Just because they are cheap, it does not mean they are the best way to engage your customers. In order for an email campaign to be successful, the same tried and true direct marketing rules need to be applied. In fact, because emails are inexpensive there is no reason for the campaign NOT to be relevant, personal and recognizing the customers’ recent history with you. 

Here is a thought you may want to consider…if you have customers that have not purchased from you in the past six to nine months, conduct a test (isn’t that the beauty of direct marketing?). Take half of those customers and send them an email offer enticing them back to you. Then take the other half and send them a direct mail piece (catalog or similar) with the same message. I’ll bet you two things will happen: (1) your average transaction will be higher from the mailpiece as opposed to the email and (2) overall sales from the campaign will be higher. If you really want to get nuts, segment this group into thirds and the third group gets both the email and direct mail piece. 

However you want to do this, the important factor here is that you talk to these people as individuals. I was just at the Black Eyed Peas concert the other night along with 14,000 others. We were all there to see the great performance so we had that in common (like the customers who buy from you), but as I looked around, I realized I had very little else in common with those around me. So to “target” a message to this general audience about an after-concert party at a night club offering three-for-one shots of some kind of vodka until 3:00 a.m. on a work night would not interest me (actually it does but for this article the official word is that it does not). But a message telling me of a valet service that would also allow me a quicker exit from the place after the concert would be of great interest. The point is that your customers are very different from one another. You have the data to prove that. You do, right? If not call me ASAP. Now use it like there’s no tomorrow (because one never knows).

Me? I want to be media agnostic – use the best channel or channels for the specific campaign. But all channels should work together so your company will not only survive but thrive. 

Remember – your catalog is still the most important merchandising tool you have. Treat it as such.

9 Reasons to Mail More in 2010

Posted on November 20, 2009

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Gary Sierzchulski, VP, Arandell Data Services

Do any of these sound familiar?
“My sales are down.”
“The economy is weak.”
“My budgets are frozen.”
“We are barely surviving as is.”
“I don’t have enough staff or time to even think about prospecting.”
“I have plenty of non-active buyers on my file who I can turn to.”
And the best one…..”business is not good right now.” 

If you answered, “yes” to any of these, you are a great candidate to ramp up your prospecting in 2010, or for most of you, to actually begin prospecting again after a year or two of not doing it. Why? Because the cost and timing to acquire a new customer could not be better.

First let’s look at the cost side of the equation.�
1. The USPS has frozen rates for 2010 and is considering offering incentives to mail more.  Even without the incentives, rates are locked for 2010 and for budgeting purposes you have a stable fixed cost. 

2. List brokers are willing to deal like never before. Co-ops are also loosening their rules and barriers to entry. Discounts and incentives that were once for only the large mailers (are there any of those left?) are now being offered to virtually all mailers. 

3. Arandell Corporation is also in a great position to provide you with the most innovative solutions to reduce your costs and deliver your message as efficiently as possible. Technology in the industry has never been better.

4. Your other suppliers have also been driven to invest in the tools, technologies and personnel to keep you going (as well as themselves) and will do whatever they can to earn your business (and to stay alive themselves).

The other side of the equation is timing and as they say…”timing is everything.”
1. Despite the fact that the economy is shaky, there are people out there still wanting and needing goods and services. If you have been to a mall lately, they are still very crowded. Yes, some stores are doing better than others, but isn’t that always the case and isn’t that what marketing is all about?….finding and talking to people who fit your target? There will always be winners and losers.

2. Because there are fewer competitors of all kinds out there, there are fewer catalogs and direct mail pieces being delivered. If you have a good product, demonstrate value, provide a great experience and deliver memorable customer service, you will be noticed and successful. Again, as bad as it may be out there, people are buying, people are going to stores and people are looking to feel good. What an opportunity.  

3. You also have the opportunity to capture customers, maybe for a long time. Keep the messages and your brand going. Once you stop, your “loyal” customers will likely forget about you and stop as well. The people that never heard from you have fewer messages to decipher and that is a good thing for you, so again, now is the time.

4. The amount of available data used to find the “best” prospects is also at an all-time high. Today, you can slice and dice using an infinite amount of data if you feel so inclined.

5. The methods to reach new customers are greater than ever. Every channel has potential for you in today’s environment. Do not assume that your potential customer is not using all of them in their daily lives today.

So, while it won’t be easy, the path to growing your business is a little smoother than it once was and may ever be. You don’t have to jump in with both feet but now is the time to test the water….. at least with your toes.

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