January/February 2007

Welcome to the latest issue of Nutraceutical News from IFS.  In this issue you'll find our Client Profile, which features a breakthrough resveratrol product, Bioforte.  As for our other columns, we compare outsourcing to in-house staffing in our Fulfillment Notes section.  In our Marketing column, we share some tips on marketing your product with a competitive edge, and in the Customer Service Corner we talk about what it takes to earn your customers' loyalty.

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:

• Client Profile: Bioforte
• Fulfillment Notes: Considerations: Outsourcing vs. In-house Staffing
• Marketing: The Next Best Thing?
• Customer Service Corner: Earning Your Customers' Loyalty
• About IFS: For More Information, Contact Us

With recent news about the age-defying benefits that come from drinking red wine, Americans have been racing to stores, hoping to find the "miracle pill" that contains red wine's key ingredient: resveratrol.  Unfortunately no supplement on the market today can provide a sufficient amount for effectiveness…until now.

Bioforte 500 Resveratrol, produced by Biotivia Nutraceuticals Ltd. of Vienna, Austria, has launched the world's first pure resveratrol supplement developed with the same potency as was given to mice in studies by Harvard University and the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology in France.

Unfortunately, in order for humans to benefit from this new discovery, scientists found they would need to consume hundreds of glasses of French red wine a day.  But with Bioforte, each capsule is equivalent to over 200 standard glasses of French red wine without the damaging effects to the liver.

"Resveratrol supplements have been available for years," says James Betz, Biotivia's managing director and a 15-year veteran of the nutrition industry, "but the amount of resveratrol in these products is too low to deliver any actual health benefits.  They are essentially worthless."

As studies continue, scientists have discovered that the anti-ageing benefits are just the tip of the iceburg.  Resveratrol has also been shown to be an effective anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-cholesterol, weight-controlling, blood pressure and blood sugar-normalizing agent.  Whew! The benefits of resveratrol are amazing!

With these new discoveries and the recent craze for resveratrol, James knew he needed a U.S.-based fulfillment company that could not only handle the orders but also had a staff that understood the product and offered outstanding customer service.

"At Biotivia, we focus on two issues above all else, product efficacy and customer service," James explained.  "I am a near fanatic when it comes to keeping our customers happy; and when we needed to find a third party fulfillment service, I naturally had reservations."

Now, after working with the staff at IFS since last August, James says he is confident that the IFS team shares his obsession with customer service.  "It's been a great working relationship with IFS.  I can now devote more of my own time to the research and design of new formulations knowing that the product fulfillment tasks are being handled by professionals."

When it comes to running your business, there are countless responsibilities you must worry about: formulation, manufacturing, sales and marketing, human resources, operations, accounting, administration, IT, fulfillment, customer service, and much more.

If you're currently managing all of that in-house, is it taking up more of your time than you can spare?  Choosing to outsource some of your "back room" functions can free up your time and allow you to focus on growing your business.  Instead of dealing with details in areas where you may have little expertise, you can concentrate instead on marketing your product, improving your sales and increasing your revenue.

For instance, if you choose to partner with a fulfillment center like IFS, you'll no longer have to worry about the day-to-day task of downloading orders (or taking calls), processing credit cards and/or picking, packing and shipping those orders.  Here at IFS, we make sure orders are accurate (99.46% accuracy) and on time (99.97%), and most importantly that we take complete care of your customers' requests.

Another benefit to outsourcing your products is staffing.  No longer do you have to worry about spending significant amounts of time hiring and training new employees for peak seasons.  At IFS, we are always staffed with the best employees available.  Not only do they work hard to ensure your customers are satisfied, but our staff members are fully educated on the products they sell.  When calls come in, the IFS team is prepared to handle any questions, comments, or complaints your customers may have.

Outsourcing can be an efficient and effective way to take care of your customers' needs while growing your business.  And if you choose to outsource your fulfillment, be sure to choose a fulfillment center that can not only accommodate the needs of your business but satisfy the requests of your customers.

In an earlier Marketing column, we addressed the value of being first in a category.  Being first can be very valuable - and very profitable.  But, all is not lost if being Number One in a category simply isn't possible.  Being Number Two isn't all bad.

To grab that second place position, your best tool is probably your biggest competitor!

There's a great example of this in Al Ries and Jack Trout's book, "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing."  Their "Law of the Opposite" discusses the importance of positioning your company as having the better alternative, not the better product.  Let's take their example of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.  Coca-Cola's 100-year-old product focused itself on its history.  Pepsi-Cola's marketing team knew they couldn't compete with that, nor should they.  Instead, they sold themselves as everything Coca-Cola wasn't: New, young, edgy.

By strategizing themselves as the exact opposite of Coca-Cola, they knocked all the other competing brands off the ladder.  Why? Because the other brands were still trying to emulate Coca-Cola.  "By positioning yourself against the leader," explains Ries and Trout, "you take business away from all the other alternatives."

Here are a couple of points to keep in mind when strategizing your company's marketing plan:

• "Study the marketing strategy of the leading company in your category.  Ask yourself what message they are trying to get across to their customers.
• "Evaluate what their message is NOT saying and how you could spin it in a positive light.  For example, when Pepsi chose the message of "a new generation," they were positioning themselves against Coca-Cola's "classic."
• "Evaluate the competition's major target market and find out who they're not serving.  Because Coca-Cola's "classic" message found itself appealing to the older, more mature customer, Pepsi geared itself towards the younger generation.
• "Don't simply bash your competition.  The objective is to shine light on YOUR positives and show the customers what they never knew they didn't have.

Don't forget about the message that got you to Number Two in the first place.  If Pepsi stopped positioning itself as the newer, hotter cola, there'd be no reason to compare it with Coca-Cola.  As a result, other soft drinks would move in on their opposing position, driving Pepsi-Cola further and further down the ladder.

A customer's hope and expectations in a company they choose to do business with are the same as what the company hopes to acquire from its customers…loyalty.  Loyalty may be a simple idea but it is one of the main factors that can help grow a successful business.

As a nutraceutical company, without loyal customers, your business is running on first-time users.  That can be a good market in the beginning but it won't sustain your business for the long term.  Not only is it important to take care of your customers during the initial purchasing period, but addressing their concerns thereafter will help build a long-term, loyal relationship and guarantee their satisfaction.

Here are a couple of tips your employees can use to enhance their customer service skills.

• "Make sure your employees have all the information they need about each particular product you sell.  This way, your customers' questions are answered quickly and accurately.  For instance at IFS, we do extensive training with each of our clients on their entire product line, and we also keep detailed information on hand in our high touch Call Center, so every operator has immediate access to the information he or she needs to answer a customer's questions.
• "Keep everyone up to date on any new information regarding the products including advertising and public relations efforts.  Don't let a customer be the first to inform your employees about a new promotion they saw in an ad.  This would not only be embarrassing to your employees but it could put your credibility in question.
• "Give the customer plenty of time to talk.  This is most important when it comes to complaints.  After the customer is finished speaking, repeat his or her concerns and explain how you will address the situation.  This will assure the customer you understand the problem and can quickly provide a solution.

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.