As the cold weather lessens and warmer temps begin to rise, much of the country is gearing up for summer. But first, the dreaded spring cleaning. Just as your home requires a little refreshing top to bottom deep clean, so does your catalog circulation.

Even if you have a solid catalog circulation plan, giving it a little boost will increase the performance of your catalog sales in the coming years.

While the task may seem overwhelming, it can be easily accomplished with the right tools and today we are sharing four keys to successfully managing your catalog circulation in 2018.

1. Get back to the basics and review your lists

• Assess your house file along with your rental lists based on who you plan to mail to.
• Consider adding prospects to your circulation plan with the idea that increasing prospects also comes with a cost. However, consider this cost an investment, as new prospects can lead to lifetime buyers.
• Investing in new prospects can be of great value to your catalog’s long term success.

2. Evaluate your RFM Segmentation

• Recency-How recently has your customer purchased from your catalog?
• Frequency-How frequently does your customer purchase from your catalog?
• Monetary Value-What is the total dollar amount your customer spends from your catalog?

RFM will allow you to obtain a more precise understanding of your customers’ behavior. Review your RFM segments and remove the segments no longer used and consider the segments which would benefit from more frequent catalog mailings.

Create an annual circulation plan based on past results by grouping segments together. RFM will allow you to forecast revenue from your customer segments.

3. Capture your online customers

• Don’t miss out on this segment of new customers who come to you via the internet.
• Evaluate their spending habits to determine which customers are your best option to add to your catalog circulation.
• Take into account those who visit your site frequently, their response to new items, total dollars spent, and the success of targeted ads.

4. Track your updated segments throughout the new year and compare your segments to previous years by reviewing:

• Customer response rate
• How many items are purchased per catalog, per customer
• Seasonal spending
• Prospecting costs
• Lapsed customers

A strong 2018 catalog circulation plan will improve your ROI. Actively updating your strategy and putting these vital elements in place throughout the coming year will optimize your success.