Reading Kevin Hillstrom’s take on Coldwater Creek: The Little Engine That Could, made me begin thinking about catalogue companies and their online marketing campaigns. This is the season for catalogues to begin showing up in our bathrooms of the house with circles around those things in each that are on our respective wish lists. Somehow those electronic catalogues were thrown away, especially that Apple catalogue. Maybe I should take the hint.
One reason I decided to click on Kevin’s article was because I was intrigued by a company that I barely known, and only since my wife orders stuff from all sorts of catalogues. Why is a blog mentioning a catalogue that only yesterday was stuck on my office chair with sticky notes flagged to it? Apparently, this company is a forward thinking business that is making a big splash. Kevin reveals:
After reading comments from Coldwater Creek’s third quarter "conference call", it is obvious management continues to transition this business model into one dominated by the retail channel. During the third quarter, retail sales grew by 48%, and now represents 65% of the total business. Online sales grew by 29% from last year, and now represent 67% of the sales within the direct channel. Catalog now represents just over 10% of the total business. Wow.
Although only one of its marketing channels, here is a company that understands the power of online marketing. I decided to do a little of my own research into the company. As always with my research drill I started with Google. The first thing I noticed is their premium spot on Google’s search in Adwords. They are performing a PPC campaign for their online marketing campaign which is almost a must in their retail business. A look at the home page and their site map shows that they understand the needs of their customers, making it easy to navigate and BUY. This is of course the whole point, making people get out that credit card to make a purchase. I quelled the urge to do so, although I’m sure other family members will make up for my lack of urge.
An unknown is the amount of money Coldwater Creek is spending on the online campaign for directing traffic to their website and online retail center, but with retail sales growing at the rate stated and online sales growing from 29% last year to more than $13 million, they are hopefully sinking some investment into this area.
Now the elevator pitch. The Coldwater Creek Blog. This blog discusses the products, the retail centers, employees, provides catalogue information, and overall states the vision of Coldwater Creek. It send me the picture out the window of their offices in Idaho they say are inspiring. They talk about why they are a better choice than the local L.L. Bean. Yes, take on that competition and talk about them, they don’t have a blog either. In the meantime, the blog represents only microscopic amount of their current online marketing plan including PPC. The blog over time will outperform its conversion rate it is now paying in its premium slot for Google and other search engines. The remaining pitch has everything to do with the Coldwater Creek mission as gleaned from their "About" page:
The common thread in all our endeavors is service. Service to our customers, our employees, our community. Please explore and enjoy our Web site. We’re glad you stopped by.
It’s time to extend that service to blogging, for your employees, customers and the community we call the blogosphere. Perhaps the experience would be more enjoyable with a blog, and I will be glad if you stop by. I know you will because of your Collaborative Intelligenceâ„¢ campaign.
Tags: Kevin Hillstrom, Coldwater Creek, Online Retail Catalogues, SEM, SEO, SMO, Google Adwords, Corporate Blogs, Blog Marketing, Blog Advertising, The Blog Pitch, Apple, L.L. Bean, Collaborative Intelligence, PPC, CPA
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Jim, thanks for visiting my site, I appreciate it. You do a nice job here!
It isn’t easy for businesses to consider moving into this blogging thing. Folks who do what you do clearly understand the benefits of a well-written blog. Someday, Coldwater Creek and others will heed your advice.
Until then, keep up the good work!