Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Deal With It Direct had a full house for this year's list roundtable. Considering all the additional responsibilities on brokers' plates, that's impressive... See Full July Issue

At the DMA's recent Catalog on the Road Day in Cambridge, MA, Jack Rosenfeld told the audience that decades ago someone asked him what direct marketers' three biggest challenges were.

Simple, he said. “Postage, postage, postage.”

Today — alongside other factors like privacy and competition from brick-and-mortar retailers — postage remains a key hurdle.

“The more things change, the more they remain the same,” said Rosenfeld, Potpourri Group founder and former CEO of Hanover Direct.

He was quick to add, though, that the biggest changes have been brought about by the Internet: “We've all become multichannel marketers.”

Rosenfeld cautioned that the struggling economy doesn't bode well for catalogers that want to be aggressive and ramp up circulation. “Obviously, you can't cut out all prospecting. But you need to be careful.”

One way to stay afloat is to make your company larger, say by making acquisitions. Bigger organizations, he reasoned, have the advantage of economies of scale when buying things like paper and printing services.

Rosenfeld said mailers should evaluate all possibilities when it comes to ensuring profitability in tough times. Even though no one likes to do it, marketers have to consider raising prices to cover escalating costs. And while traditionally many retailers never dreamed of operating a retail store, they now need to consider having a physical presence to expand their brands. Co-mailing is another thing catalogs should consider, he said, as well as pricing out different paper weights, grades and trim sizes.

Regardless, he concluded, catalogers shouldn't forget things like proper list hygiene. These bread-and-butter duties help separate industry survivors from the also-rans.