FIRING BACK: Frontgate markets smart

Home and garden goods cataloger Frontgate knows how to get customers to buy again: money. A Catalog Age staffer who recently ordered from the catalog found inside the package a gift certificate for 10% off any Frontgate order of $100-$500 placed within the next 30 days. (The gift certificate actually expired about two months from the time it was received.)

Frontgate also included a customer satisfaction questionnaire in the package, similar to the survey pamphlets often found in hotel rooms. The 14 questions covered customer service, delivery, and merchandise, as well as a few general questions on how Frontgate could improve its products and services. And the form was printed on the back of a folded postage-paid self-envelope. It’s fairly easy to ask your customer how you can improve your catalog, but Frontgate went a step further and made it simple and convenient for its customers to reply.

We’re already laying the groundwork for our latest launch idea: All Things Antarctic. That’s right, gifts, apparel, and accessories from the lovely vacation haven of Antarctica. (Any existing catalogers in this market, please step forward now.)