May / June 2005

Welcome to the latest edition of Nutraceutical News from IFS. In this issue you'll see our Case Study, which examines Custom Health Nutraceuticals, a rapidly growing nutraceutical company. You'll also find tips on scheduling the delivery of your customer's orders, how to make the most of "free" marketing opportunities, and techniques to help you improve your customer service.

For additional information about what we write here or about any of our products and services, you can always visit our website, www.ifssolutions.com. To share your feedback about this newsletter, please click here. To unsubscribe, please use the link at the end of this issue.

In this issue:


CASE STUDY: Custom Health Nutraceuticals
Helping Chiropractors and Health Clubs
Expand their Business

Few companies have launched and grown a business at the pace of Custom Health Nutraceuticals. Less than one year since its inception, the Atlanta-based company is quickly making a name for itself as a rapidly growing nutraceutical company.

The products offered by Custom Health Nutraceuticals are premium, pharmaceutical grade formulas with patented delivery systems manufactured by a leading, privately held lab. The company's management believes the performance of any nutritional supplement is determined by several factors: raw materials, formulations, delivery systems (absorption rates), and safe, credible manufacturing practices. With a commitment to ensuring that these factors are in place, along with a dedication to extensive personalized service, Custom Health Nutraceuticals has established two divisions:

  • Custom Health Direct - which is focused on providing nutritional supplement products and services through established chiropractic practices (www.customhealthdirect.com); and
  • Custom Health Designs - which is a full service fitness consulting company that concentrates on helping health clubs maximize their offerings and increase profit potential by establishing and/or improving internal profit centers for personal training, nutrition, and supplementation (www.customhealthdesigns.net).

The company's marketing efforts are tailored very specifically to those two industries. The product lines overlap, with the Daily Vital Pack, an advanced complete daily nutrition program, as one of its core offerings. Other products are designed to improve digestion, reduce joint pain and contribute to an individual's overall health.

What brought Custom Health Nutraceuticals to Innovative Fulfillment Solutions (IFS), according to the company's President Brad Stevens, was the quality of IFS's operation. "IFS is ideal for us," said Mr. Stevens. "We could tell immediately from the way Keith Milburn and his staff were prompt and thorough in responding to us to the quality of their proposal and in all of our dealings with them, they were fantastic. IFS allows us to focus on what we need to do, which is to grow this company."

For Custom Health Nutraceuticals, IFS provides complete turnkey services including Call Center support, an e-commerce system with online ordering and processing, complete pick/pack and ship services, plus an auto-refill program. Already daily shipments are steadily increasing.

"Custom Health Nutraceuticals is an important client for IFS," said Keith Milburn, President of IFS. "With their rapid growth to-date and their aggressive plans for the future, we look forward to expanding our services and capabilities to support that growth for the long term."

 


FULFILLMENT NOTES
The right equation

Because nutraceuticals are typically not prescription types of products that are needed urgently by customers, rarely is overnight shipping required - a good thing from a cost standpoint. But don't lose sight of the fact that timeliness is important.

For a customer who takes your nutraceutical products regularly, it's important that your automatic refill program ensures the right timing of your deliveries to their door. If the products they ordered arrive way too early - long before they finish their last bottle or tube - they are likely to be annoyed for having too much of your product on hand. Plus they won't appreciate being billed in advance for something they won't need for another few days or weeks. Of course the opposite is just as critical. If the products arrive a day or two late the customer is without their product and can become annoyed with the service.

Add to timeliness the importance of accuracy (getting the right product and the correct quantity that was ordered) and reliability, and you've created the equation that optimizes customer service.

Timeliness + accuracy + reliability = satisfied customers. If you're having trouble making that equation work, contact information@ifssolutions.com.

 


MAXIMIZE YOUR MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS
The value of "free" public relations

If you're like most consumers, you become intrigued by products you see advertised, but you probably won't buy something until you read about it in an editorial column or hear about it on a radio or TV show. It's the "third party endorsement" of a product by a reporter, columnist or newscaster that gives it credibility and often makes it something you want to buy.

That third party endorsement in a newspaper or magazine column or on TV or radio is often the result of a public relations campaign. It's important to note that public relations can be a low cost or even free way to get your nutraceutical products noticed. How? If you are introducing something you believe is truly newsworthy, here are a few quick tips to generating "free" publicity:

  • Write a press release - when you have a new product to introduce, write a press release about it. Press releases come in many formats, but the important things to remember are:
    • use a title that is intriguing;
    • include important information about the benefits of your product or service in the first paragraph or two; and
    • be sure you have your contact information included.
  • Send the release to your local media - As you read your newspaper, watch your favorite newscast or listen to a local radio talk show, pay attention to which newscaster would be the most likely to report on consumer products or health issues. Then make certain you send him or her your press release via email or fax.
  • Call to follow up - Never assume that as soon as the reporter receives your "pitch" it will be reported on immediately. It often takes days, weeks or even months before it gets covered. And it will only get covered if, in fact, it's newsworthy and if it fits into what that reporter is already covering. But sometimes reporters need a gentle reminder. Just remember - don't pester.
  • Don't get discouraged - If one reporter says it's not the right fit for his or her column or newscast, don't give up. Check to see if there is another reporter that would be more appropriate.

A few other quick reminders about getting free publicity:

  • Timeliness is critical - it has to be something truly new or very much related to a hot current topic or trend;
  • Make your uniqueness clear - be sure to clarify why your product is really different from anything else out there, or it will be perceived as more of an "ad" than important news; and
  • Offer photos, free samples or background information to make it really easy for a reporter to do the story. Remember, reporters need to find interesting news to report on every day, so the easier you make their job the more likely you'll get the free coverage!

 


CUSTOMER SERVICE CORNER
The value in capturing - and analyzing - source codes

Are your Call Center operators capturing source code information from every caller?

Marketers often use source codes to tell them how customers first heard about their products and/or to identify what prompted customers to call. Because you're always looking for more customers, when assessed correctly, source codes can tell you where to spend your marketing dollars to reach more people just like them.

Once you've captured source codes from every caller and/or inquiry, an experienced database administrator will analyze that customer info and will help you identify:

  • geographic parts of the country to target;
  • age and/or income levels of prospective customers;
  • seasonality issues that might affect buying habits; and
  • publications and/or advertising media that is likely to reach your audience.

So it's important to not only capture source codes but to analyze them to learn valuable information about your customers. If you don't have a database administrator in house who can do that, you should find a good outside service to assist you.

For questions on database administration and/or customer source code analysis, contact information@ifssolutions.com.

 


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IFS is a world class, full service fulfillment operation with a track record of success. A woman-owned business, we proudly serve some of the country's most respected corporations. With a special expertise in the fulfillment of nutraceuticals, we can help you run your nutraceuticals business more efficiently and more cost effectively.



Innovative Fulfillment Solutions
210 NW Plaza Drive
Kansas City, MO 64150
www.ifssolutions.com
Toll Free: 1-888-275-3000
Local: 816-587-5880
Fax: 816-587-5881