Catalog Overload: End the Cycle of Recycling
Dragging recyclables to the curb is no fun, especially when the bin overflows with unwanted catalogs. As the 2009 holiday winds down, I look at my stacks of duplicate catalogs from the usual suspects--Pottery Barn, Eddie Bauer, L.L. Bean, Crate & Barrel, Victoria's Secret, and Wine Enthusiast--and wonder why this cycle of recycling still continues today, with data strategies so recognized.
While direct marketing remains an important strategy for these retailers, over-sending unwanted catalogs can negatively impact the customer experience, costs companies money, creates marketing inefficiencies, not to mention there is a significant environmental impact. The production and disposal of direct mail alone consumes more energy than three million cars.
Retailers can better manage their mailings by using merge/purge programs and data hygiene services to dedupe their lists. The USPS also provides a product called NCOALink® which matches a retailers' records on file with the USPS' records.
If you want to take matters into your own hands and stop the barrage of catalogs, you can log on to the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service. If you only want to stop a portion of the mailings, notify companies individually and tell them you want your name removed from their lists.
Looking to 2010, hopefully retailers will start asking consumers whether they want to receive their catalogs. An opt-in option online or at the POS would help curb that dreaded walk to the recycling bin.
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