B-to-B Insights
By George Hague
About George
A columnist for Retail Online Integration, George founded HAGUEdirect, a marketing agency. Previously he was a member of the Shawnee Mission, Kan.-based consulting and creative agency J. Schmid & Assoc. He has more than 10 years of experience in circulation, advertising, consulting and financial strategy in the catalog/retail industry. George's expertise includes circulation strategy, mailing execution, response analysis and financial planning. Before joining J. Schmid, George worked as catalog marketing director at Dynamic Resource Group, where he was responsible for marketing and merchandising for the Annie's Attic Needlecraft catalog, the Clotilde Sewing Notions catalog, the House of White Birches Quilter's catalog and three book clubs. George also worked on corporate acquisitions.
The Art of Delivering Style
3 Simple Ideas to Improve Inventory Management
May 14, 2013Despite the important role inventory management plays in the marketplace, some brands are still relying on last generation inventory management...
Designed to Convert
How Persuasive Are Your Product Pages?
May 2, 2013Your homepage — as much as you love it — is basically a glorified street sign. Consumers don't read it...
Return on Inventory
5 Tips to Help Your Business Manage System Process Changes
Apr 24, 2013In today's dynamic retail environment, however, the ability to embrace rapid process change is more important than ever. Merchandise and...
Shipping Insights
8 Ways to Use Parcel Carriers’ ‘Cost to Serve’ Pricing to Your Advantage
Apr 16, 2013Just about every day, a shipper asks me what FedEx or UPS incentive they should be achieving for their specific...
Retail Rants & Raves
Reflections on NRF 2013
Jan 23, 2013Now that a full week has gone by since the National Retail Federation's Big Show in New York City, I've finally caught...
Email Applied
Preparing Your Email Marketing Strategy for the Holidays, Part 3
Oct 31, 2012In the final installment of this three-part series (make sure to check out parts one and two), I examine why it...
Retail Rambles
SkyMall Helps You Prepare for the End of the World
Apr 2, 2012Perhaps I've been watching too much of "The Walking Dead" or maybe too many episodes of "Doomsday Preppers," but my paranoia about the...
ThinkAbout: Inspirational Verve for Your Product Line!
Can You Up the Ante on Your Products’ Amusement Factor?
Oct 17, 2011Can you up the ante on any of your products’ amusement factors? Is there some ho-hum aspect of your product...
Return on Intelligence
The New CompUSA Rights a Wrong
Mar 16, 2011Two weeks ago in my blog, I totally skewered CompUSA and its warranty company (found out it's Assurant Solutions) for...
The Illogical Song: What Makes Sense vs. What Works
It's official: J.C. Penney scrapped its every-day-low-price strategy for the rollercoaster world of markups and markdowns. Merchants, marketers and graphic artists waited with bated breath, hoping J.C. Penney could make this strategy work. Imagine the time it would save! Price changes and errors would be a thing of the past.
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My Copywriting Lesson From the Pope
The Roman Catholic Church needs a serious brand makeover. It's gotten so bad that the previous CEO, aka Pope Benedict, gave his three weeks notice. Since he couldn't cite wanting to spend more time with his family, he intends to devote his life to prayer. Prayer? This brand really needs help. In selecting its new boss, the church's board of directors, aka the College of Cardinals, had to pull a rabbit out of their mitre. And did they.
Read More >>4 Steps to Better B-to-B Data Decisions
Making decisions with data requires a mysterious process called data mining. The term brings to mind a cadre of programmers in darkened rooms, illuminated only by the eerie glow of their monitors. The whole process sounds complicated and expensive. It can be, but getting started doesn't have to break the bank or require rocket scientists. In fact, introductory data mining is simple and cost effective. The key is starting with these four easy steps:
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