Going The Distance

While some see mail order hitting rock bottom, most believe the industry will soon be born again. In fact, some say the current hard times are only natural given the boom years of the 1980s, when mail order companies were coming out of the woodwork.

"There was a flurry of activity, but it had to end," says Paul Katzeff. "People are just getting too many catalogs. As a consumer, I look at my mail and say, 'This is insane.' " Now that prosperity has turned to glut, an industry shakeout may lead to temporary tribulations but should eventually create a golden age of mail order.

Forward-thinking mail order entrepreneurs have good cause for such long-term optimism. "The hope for mail order and for business in general is the way in which it will be perceived by this new generation," says Katzeff. "Right now, our marketplace is best understood by people in their mid-30s; by the year 2000, it'll be best understood by people in their mid-20s. The businesses that give these people the power to create and effect change are the businesses that are going to survive."

In the face of the market's evolution, mail order enjoys an advantage over retail outlets. "The irony is that retailers, too, are faced with a tough profit situation, but they seem to respond by giving less service," says Sroge.

Meanwhile, smaller mail order companies have more motivation than larger companies to innovate and consequently to shape the direction of mail order. "The big guys are already in there," says Katzeff. "Their profits lie not in growth but in cost-cutting."

"Once companies get so big, they tend to lose focus," says Schulte. "They can't control everything, orders get shipped late, customers drop off. Meanwhile, small companies can come in and fill those niches by making up for the weaknesses of the big guys."

Picking up where larger companies and retail stores fall short is the secret to success for small mail order businesses agile enough to keep up with the market's twists and turns. "Very few [small] companies are generalists," says Schulte. "[They have to] focus on a specific niche, an area that they become experts in and become known for."

Thanksgiving Coffee personifies this new wave in mail order. Offering more than just quality coffee, Katzeff invites customers to sample the flavor of his company. With warm introductions to the Katzeffs and their employees, personable copy and an appealing design, the Thanksgiving Coffee catalog provides more ambience than most retail stores. "When you talk about appealing to a certain lifestyle, small catalogers have an advantage," says Katzeff. "Since they don't have the money to hire people to write the copy, they can't be anything but personal."

Katzeff sees his catalog not just as a sales medium but as a way to bond with customers. "It's about more than the bottom line. You can integrate the values that you hold dear," says Katzeff, who exhorts customers to be socially and environmentally responsible.

It's this personal touch that will keep small mail order entrepreneurs above water not only in 1996 but through the coming mail order revolution. "Entrepreneurs can think five years ahead, while the big corporations can't," says Katzeff. "And in this fast-paced, changing marketplace, the field is open to the swift."

This article was originally published in the February 1996 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Going The Distance.