July / August 2006

Welcome to the latest issue of Nutraceutical News from IFS. In this issue you'll find our Case Study, which examines the nutraceuticals company LifeWise Naturals. As for our other columns, establishing your best shipping method is discussed in the Fulfillment Notes section. In our Marketing column, we'll inform you of the value of really knowing your customers, and in the Customer Service Corner we talk about keeping those customers for life.

For more information about the content found 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: LifeWise Naturals; Providing the highest quality products since 1989
• Fulfillment Notes: Establishing your best shipping method
• Maximize Your Marketing Effectiveness: How well do you know your customers?
• Customer Service Corner: Keeping your customers for life; Solve their problems before they ask you to!
• About IFS: For More Information, Contact Us

One company making a name for itself in the nutraceuticals business is LifeWise Naturals, Inc. In business for more than 15 years, LifeWise prides itself on only offering choice standardized products certified for potency and purity. A key goal of LifeWise management is to offer the highest quality, most effective products on the market, in order to help its customers achieve their health goals.

LifeWise strives to always be among the first to offer promising new research-based products at the very best price. Every product is researched to ensure it measures up to the company's high standards. A product is not offered just because it is popular or the newest trend. Considerable time and effort is spent thoroughly researching the more than 4,000 scientific journals published around the world. Only when LifeWise's research team finds a product that is proven does the company's management consider adding it to its product selection.

Not only does the LifeWise management team pride itself on the quality of the company's products, they are also equally concerned about the level of customer satisfaction. It was this focus on customer satisfaction that led President Kelly Moore to select Innovative Fulfillment Solutions (IFS) as its partner to handle the company's fulfillment and customer service needs.

As the business steadily grew over the years, the fulfillment portion of it was getting to be a big headache, explained Kelly. "I really wanted to focus my efforts on sales, marketing and research rather than managing the daily challenges of a warehousing and fulfillment operation."

As Kelly began the search for an outsourcing solution, a key priority at any company he considered had to be personalized service. It was important to him that customers did not become just a number. Kelly said, "I needed to be sure our customers continued to receive excellent customer service. Our business was built on repeat business, so we needed a fulfillment provider that could quickly turn around orders as well as a call center that offered knowledgeable and friendly assistance."

IFS's turnkey order processing program was just what the LifeWise team was looking for in a fulfillment partner. Customers can contact IFS by web, phone, fax, mail or email, to place an order or to get information on the LifeWise product line. In addition, by using the IFS call center, LifeWise knows its company's image will continue to polished and professional.

"Deciding to partner with IFS has been a great decision," stated Kelly. "I am no longer distracted by the daily operations of filling orders and can concentrate on my true passion - the research of finding quality products to help people achieve their health goals." Kelly continued, "The IFS team is very customer focused and willing to go the extra mile for the customers we serve. LifeWise provides the highest quality supplements to bring the customers here, then IFS's terrific customer service brings them back."

For more information on LifeWise Naturals, visit www.lifewise.com.

UPS. Fed Ex. DHL. USPS. How do you decide which one to use?

And that's just the first question! Then there's the choice of next day service (with early morning, mid-morning or late afternoon delivery), two-day service, three-day service or ground transportation. The shipping options can be overwhelming. How do you choose?

You don't have to choose
As experts in shipping a variety of products to destinations all over the world, we'll provide options that will be both cost effective and time sensitive. We'll start by asking you, not your shipping choice, but your delivery choice, along with dozens of questions about your...

• products - Most nutraceuticals should be temperature controlled. Do your products need additional special handling? How long can the package be "in transit" before the higher temperature becomes an issue?
• customers - What are their expectations regarding delivery? How often might they need refills?
• company's positioning - Do you promote a next day delivery guarantee or do you instead emphasize the value of ground service?
• cost comparisons relative to your selling price - If, for instance, you have an order for $30.00, do you really want to ship via UPS with a minimum charge of $5.12? What about an order for $70.00?

It won't cost a fortune to ship
At IFS, we explore the costs of all the various shipping options to find the most cost-effective one for you. In fact, we have shipping methods that work ideally for nutraceuticals, but are little known to others.

In most cases, nutraceuticals are light enough to cost very little in postage when shipping via ground service. But regardless of how we ship, we'll also select the most protective, yet efficient, containers and packaging materials.

In a hurry?
IFS' auto-refill system can manage getting the product to your customers before they run out of their last subscription. But when you do need to ship some orders in a more expedited manner, no problem! Because of the volume of shipments we send every day to points all over the world, we use all of the large shippers on a regular basis and can work with you to determine the best, most cost effective, shipping method.

By relying on the fulfillment expertise of our IFS team, your shipping worries won't haunt you. You will have peace of mind knowing your products are being shipped in the best and most cost-effective manner every day.

Defining your precise market so you can speak the language of your target customers - and "hit their hot buttons" - is key to making your company a success. So, how well do you know your customers? Ask yourself these questions:

• What do your customers read (newspapers, trade magazines, consumer magazines)?
• What shows do they attend (consumer shows, national conventions, local trade shows)?
• What groups do they belong to?
• What programs (radio, television) do they enjoy?
• What do they respond to (phone calls, emails, letters, on-site visits)?
• How did they first hear of you (mass marketing, targeted marketing, word of mouth)?
• Why do they continue to buy from you?
• What problems are they faced with?

If you don't know the answers to these questions, why not compose a questionnaire to send out to your customers? Learn about them so you can better target the people who will buy from you.

Once you get the answers to these questions, read the publications they read, join the groups they belong to, watch or listen to the programs they enjoy, and attend the shows or events they attend. Get inside the head of your customers in order to understand their problems and address how your company can help solve them. Demonstrating that you understand your customers' needs will not only help you retain your current customers but will also encourage others to become loyal to your business.

And don't be afraid of change! People change over time so your marketing efforts will need to change over time, as well. Update your questionnaires every few years and send them out again to your loyal customers. Stay up-to-date on your customers so that your company can become the best in your particular business category.

The best selling products today are those offering solutions to nagging, on-going problems... weight loss products, products to help you quit smoking, hair growth products, etc.

Want to keep your customers for life? Solve their problems before they ask you to. After creating a clear definition of who your customer is and discovering what problems they face, then determine what solution(s) your product offers.

Once you do that, figure out how to position your product as a problem-solver. And remember, customers don't care about your company. But they do care about their problems. So if you can help them solve their problems, they will want to buy from you.

Keep problem-solving always at the top of your mind. And make certain your employees keep this in mind, too, as they deal with your customers.

We are fans of the "guerrilla marketing" books written over the years by Jay Conrad Levinson. The marketing and customer service topics in this issue are two classic tips from Levinson's book, "Guerrilla Marketing Excellence."

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.