tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post7074843937959520525..comments2023-10-18T08:32:17.510-07:00Comments on Kevin Hillstrom: MineThatData: The Marketing Digital Divide And The Catalog IndustryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-40346503970027652192008-07-01T12:18:00.000-07:002008-07-01T12:18:00.000-07:00In our industry, wholesale diamond jewelry, there ...In our industry, wholesale diamond jewelry, there has been a tremendous and ongoing shift to internet sales. The wholesale industry depended heavily on two-inch thick catalogs to sell everything from diamond engagement rings, to one of a kind art deco and antique rings, to bracelets and earrings. Each item had to be photographed and needless to say this was a very time consuming process, and a few months later you had rooms stacked to the roof with catalogs that had to be mailed out. <BR/><BR/>The benefit of the internet is that you can now take a picture and have your items uploaded to your website the same day! Not only is this a benefit to the wholesaler, but to the customer as well; they get to see the new items almost immediately and the wholesaler saves money which can bring the costs down.<BR/><BR/>We have realized that there is going to be tremendous opposition to change, and unfortunately many retailers are not going to come on board -- what will happen is that the wholesaler will begin to bypass the retailer and sell directly to the end customer.<BR/><BR/>We will continue to see an exponential growth in online sales, especially in Jewelry and luxury markets because these areas have yet to realize the cost reductions associated with efficiencies afforded by the internet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-8149217590607282412007-04-19T20:48:00.000-07:002007-04-19T20:48:00.000-07:00I'm generally fine with the web taking over, and c...I'm generally fine with the web taking over, and catalog drifting into a slow, peaceful slumber. These things have happened over and over and over again throughout the course of history.<BR/><BR/>I'm not ok with the emerging difference in philosophy between marketers. A generation of marketers, not necessarily younger folks, are learning an entirely different set of skills. And not surprisingly, these online marketing skills work.<BR/><BR/>Eventually, the cost of traditional catalog marketing will be prohibitive. At that time, a generation of highly skilled and experienced individuals are going to really struggle to catch up.MineThatDatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014200122021988374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-84832952244505692262007-04-19T20:14:00.000-07:002007-04-19T20:14:00.000-07:00The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; th...The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. <BR/>Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. George Bernard Shaw<BR/><BR/>Hi Kevin,<BR/>Not sure how quote fits your article but it came right to mind while reading your posts in recent weeks, where you lament the premature passing of the catalog in the face of dominance of the web.<BR/>Years ago(mid 90s) I was assistant supervisor at USPS and they ran an incentive program for best ideas. Given comments on losing revenue to new technology, my two proposals were 1. for the postal service to go into the email world and create universal "authorized" email servers that would for small "box" fee, guarantee secure delivery and cut out spam; and 2. tap into Ebay as most people needed to deliver the package to the bidders--maybe as a strategic partner with Ebay and Amazon. Boy was I laughed at as most of the people I worked with barely knew how to work email at the time, and they couldn't see or refused to see that email would have that much of an impact on the postal service, while the second idea ignored as they thought partnership with FedEx was enough nor did they fully understand the new ecommerce world. <BR/><BR/>Lessons I learned were 1. there are ways around any challenge, but 2. people aren't motivated to change until they are actually going hungry; 3.don't waste breath on the ones who have no imagination.<BR/><BR/>I think there are ways for a catalog company/division to be viable in the world of the web...and yes it involves true multichannel which seems to be the undercurrent of all your posts. <BR/><BR/>Good posts...keep up the great work. <BR/><BR/>KAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com