DCA
have more capacity and are trying things like paid social, inserts and off the page. Although we did try the latter many years ago with diminishing returns, consumer awareness and demand has changed so we think worth trying again.
Q: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE ON CUSTOMER RETENTION AND ACQUISITION A: Know your market and your customer (obvious I know) but never assume anything. Test and be data led but also trust your own knowledge-based instinct. Don’t write anything off as things can change over time, so re-test. Our customers used to be older, typically female, 60 plus, but now we are getting a much wider and younger range of ages. Te pandemic accelerated puzzle popularity amongst the young, so social media is more important to us than it was three years ago.
Having come through from the era of direct marketing, into the era of digital, I’ve never subscribed to the idea that catalogues are dead. Each media has its place, and each brand has its ideal mix. For us emails work well for retention and create great short periods of demand, but catalogues are still hugely important to us. Tey get new collections in front of our customers in the most effective way but if mailing a specific customer segment is not profitable, then we won’t do it.
Q: WHAT DOES WINNING THE QUEEN’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE MEAN TO YOU? A: It was a surprise and an honour for us to win this award for 6 years of outstanding overseas growth, with no dips and in a market not experiencing growth during that period. For me it recognises the hard work of all my colleagues who have contributed to our great success story over the years. When you’re growing a business, you’re constantly looking ahead so it was nice to reflect on how much we’ve achieved and to be recognised through such a prestigious award. I represented the company at a Queens Award reception at Buckingham Place and was one of only a few winners to be invited to meet both HRH Te Prince of Wales, as he was then, and Te Princess Royal. We have a formal presentation planned later this year, when the actual award will be presented to us by a Royal representative who will visit to meet our employees.
CONTINUES OVERLEAF >
homeofdirectcommerce.com | Direct Commerce 9
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