Ignoring Catalog Choice?

I had the opportunity to speak with the head of a large multi-channel brand a few months ago.  As we were discussing business, I asked him about Catalog Choice. I was curious about what they were doing with Catalog Choice’s list of thousand of customers opting out of their catalogs.

“We just ignore their calls,” he said.

Hmm.  Your customer opts out of receiving your catalogs through Catalog Choice and you ignore Catalog Choice’s calls.  Are you ignoring Catalog Choice?  Or, are you ignoring your customer’s wishes?

The Green Tsunami

I sat at lunch last weekend amongst a table of family and friends, and they told me this:

“Every time I get a catalog in the mail, I immediately call the company and ask to be removed from their list.”

My closest friends and my very own flesh and blood dismissing my profession!  “Why?” I asked.  “Because we’re Going Green,” they all said.

Catalogers around the country are receiving a myriad of calls each and every day from customers asking to be removed from their mailing lists.  All of a sudden, do loyal customers no longer want to have a relationship with these retailers anymore?  No, they just don’t want to have a relationship with the retailer’s catalog anymore.

Why? Because consumers are “Going Green.”  What I once called the “Green Wave” has become something even bigger and stronger.  I call it the “Green Tsunami” and it’s not stopping.

If a growing portion of customers no longer want to receive your catalog no matter what, then how else do we communicate with them?  How else do we engage them?  How else do we interrupt them? Well, smart catalogers better start thinking about that fast.  I know I have…and the Internet is a great medium to explore and test some things.  Try SEO, SEM, blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and any other social media app du jour.  Most social networking apps are free, so the cost is not a barrier.

It’s time to appreciate the “Going Green” movement.  Catch the wave before you drown.