It’s not “greenwashing” per se - but more than a few people are skeptical of catalog and direct mailers when they say they’re concerned about the environment and want to cut the wasted circulation out of their marketing efforts.

As far as I’m concerned, if they save a little “green” (money) and a few trees in the process, I’m all for it.

Randy Erdahl, co-founder and president of Minnesota-based Decision Inteligence recently shared some ideas on how to cut the waste out of your mailing lists with Target Marketing magazine (one of the best, pure-marketing magazines around, in my opinion):

1. Use e-mail activity history to identify candidates for fewer catalogs. Identify customers who show a preference to shop without catalogs by looking at e-mail histories. These customers are prime candidates to test contacting through e-mail more and catalogs less, saving money on paper and postage, and at the same time, adding value to those customers by making it more relevant.

2. Set up a contact optimization stream test that can compete against the current circulation decision-making methodology. “Stream tests are excellent ways to learn if these new contact strategies work,” Erdahl said. Design a stream test to measure how well the results are. This approach measures over time the impact your new strategies have on the results and helps you determine if your test contact process (channels, frequency, etc.) is the right move. Stream tests quantify the results for you, said Erdahl, and determine how you should move forward.

3. Use ZIP code or other geographic level filters to screen prospect lists. “You should know what ZIP codes or other geographic areas are vast wastelands for your business, and you shouldn’t be mailing into them and [should be] suppressing them right up front in your prospecting efforts,” said Erdahl.  “And find out where your hot spots are.”

4. Update catalog-sales-per-mailing models. You need multiple, detailed statistical predictive models in this day and age. If you use RFM, run, don’t walk, exclaimed Erdahl. If you don’t build separate models for customer segments, jog! And if you aren’t using different models for different catalogs, walk fast! The more detailed models you have, the better off you’ll be in eliminating wasted mailings.

There is also a webinar you can go to (on demand) that explores these issues and strategies in more detail.

Most businesses employ a direct marketing strategy of one type or another … but the success of a direct marketing program depends on more than just creative execution.  More than almost any marketing discipline, direct marketing is as scientific and statistics-driven as any.

That’s why knowing where to go for help is so important.

One of the Listservs I belong to posted this list of DM resources (special kudo’s to Andy Russell on the SmallShopNetwork Listserv (smallshopnetwork@yahoogroups.com).  Of course the list is incomplete, so any additions you can make to it is welcome.  Hopefully, you’ll find this list to be a useful resource in the future:

Trade Associations:
  USA:  The Direct Marketing Association
              The American Marketing Association 
 Australia: Australian Direct Marketing Association
 Canada:  The Canadian Marketing Association   
 UK:   The Direct Marketing Association of the UK   
 India:  The Direct Marketing Association of India  
 
Related/Specialized Disciplines:
 Email Experience Council
 Mobile Marketing Association 
 Direct Mail Fund Raising
 
State/Local Clubs:
 Chicago: http://www.cadm.org/
 Dallas/Ft. Worth: http://www.dmadfw.com/
 Florida: http://www.fdma.org/
 NYC: http://www.dmcny.org/
 Long Island: http://www.dmali.org/events.html
 LA: http://www.dmasc.org/
 New England: http://www.nedma.com/
 Northern Cal: http://www.dmanc.org/
 Philly: http://www.the-pdma.org/
 San Diego: http://www.sddma.org/
 San Fran: http://www.sfama.org/resources/dm
 Toronto:  http://www.dmatoronto.org/  and http://www.ama-toronto.com/
 Washington: http://www.dmaw.org/

Direct Marketing Media:
 Direct: http://directmag.com/contact/
 DM News: http://www.dmnews.com/Contact-Us/section/239/
 iMarketing News Daily (newsletter): http://www.dmnews.com/newsletter/item/4582/
 Inside Direct Mail: http://www.insidedirectmail.com/
 Incentive: http://www.managesmarter.com
 Marketing Management (an AMA pub): http://tinyurl.com/8du6pu
 Multichannel Merchant: http://multichannelmerchant.com/contact/
Brandweek: http://tinyurl.com/nbgfu4
Mediapost.com: http://tinyurl.com/ppf28d

The campaign involves distributing “camoflauged” band-aids, sticky side up, on sidewalks all over the city (St. John’s, Newfoundland).  Littering issues aside, the campaign is pretty clever for delivering a relevant message right where it needs to go (on the sole of one’s shoe).  Click here for a larger image of the campaign.

The Modern Shoe Hospital’s agency is Target, located in St. John’s.

In short, Brian Clark offers this thumbnail description of a catablog:

A catablog is basically a blog that is designed to mix content and commerce in a very deliberate fashion. It’s looking to attract people who are interested in buying things, but who are also interested in immersing themselves in the lifestyle surrounding the products.

For traditionalists, this is an excellent example of how to blend the “new” social media with the “old” concept of a direct mail catalog.  Focus on the story-telling and follow some basic rules for catalog sales.  The measurable aspect of the medium (online) will help you fine tune your product offering, refine your approach and improve your ROI.