Survival

This is not a happy time for catalog marketers.

Yes, they got a break on postal rates (as if any rate hike can be called “a break”). But paper prices are rising while sales remain flat for many firms, as Beth Negus Viveiros reports in our cover story.

And, as if to symbolize it all, Lillian Vernon and The Sharper Image have filed for bankruptcy protection.

What do you do if you haven't quite reached this point? You can perform small tactical exercises like trimming paper size and cleaning up your list.

But it may be time, as LBJ used to say, to lift up the horse's tail and stare the situation straight in the face.

That means redefining your business, as DMers have done throughout history.

Hank Johnson took Spiegel, the general rust-belt catalog that offered easy credit, and turned it into a high-tone women's apparel book.

Tom Foster, founder of Foster & Gallagher, realized that the gift and tchotchke business wouldn't last, and started buying up horticultural catalogs.

And several companies have recreated themselves and are now doing much of their business online.

How do you figure it out? You can't by poring over Excel spreadsheets.

Instead, get out of the office. Take your key people to Tidewater, VA. Ply them with food and drink. Brainstorm for a day or two without the phone ringing.

If you can't afford that, take over the back room of a local tavern for an afternoon. And ask folks to dress down for the occasion.

The goal is not merely to survive for the next 12 months — it's to do a makeover.

Here's one more piece of motivational advice: People are afraid of losing their jobs. Try to avoid that. Cut other costs, freeze wages if you must. But keep the seats filled — you're going to need that talent.