Fulfillmentville horror stories: it's up to the circulation manager to prevent service-bureau nightmares. Here's how - includes related article - Column

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Feb 1, 1993 by Jane D. Giles

It's up to the circulation manager to prevent service-bureau nightmares. Here's how.

As Scouts, we used to sit around our campfires, toasting marshmallows and telling spine-tingling tales. Well, we've come a long way, Tenderfoot, and today the scariest stories told and retold over bottles of mineral water usually involve our fulfillment houses.

Now, I'm not saying a service-bureau rep has replaced Hannibal Lecter as the person we would least like to have lunch with, but here are a couple of true stories, scarier than fiction.

The tale of the unanswered phone: A circulation manager bought time on Sunday morning TV to promote her magazine, using a toll-free number. Of course, she sent a memo to her service bureau with the details. But on Sunday morning when viewers started calling with orders, no one answered. It seems the 800-number is not manned on Sundays. But because the service bureau had assumed the callers would call back on Monday, it never informed the circulation manager of this pertinent detail. The basic rule of circulation, "Encourage easy and immediate response," was apparently not well understood at the service bureau.

The case of the slipped Zips: An account manager decided to run the postal Zip 4 correction tape against the client's file of street addresses, and came up with thousands of changes. He was a hero - for 15 seconds. Then the nondeliverables started to pour in. This trade publication's file contained a high percentage of P.O. boxes, but their correct Zips had been changed to match the companies' street addresses. The account manager was not familiar enough with his client's file to realize that, in many cases, subscribers' mailing addresses and physical addresses were different.

These horror stories suggest not that fulfillment people are cretins, but that they often don't have the information they need to do the best job for you. It's up to you to see that they get it. Circulation managers must assume the role of educator by putting together a structured orientation program with reference materials, to be followed by periodic updates and reviews for new hires. You must reach people below the account-manager level with your magazine's own particular agenda - which will mean fewer headaches and cost overruns for you.

Who should be included in the orientation? Anyone at the service bureau involved with your magazine: account manager, customer service reps, subscriber complaint operators or clerks, fulfillment supervisors, systems analysts, programmers, distribution manager, lettershop manager.

Training not only helps these individuals better understand your magazine and goals, but also creates an esprit de corps. They will be flattered to be included.

Getting oriented

Hold your orientation day at the service bureau, and bring along anyone who will have frequent dealings with the people at the meeting. Here's a sample agenda: * Introduction of all involved and their duties. * Brief background on your company and its ownership. * Show-and-tell of your magazine and any ancillary products (such as card decks, annual guide, etc.). Fulfillment people often receive labels or phone calls about a sister product - and are in the dark. * Run-through of the publisher's statement, its relationship to specific fulfillment reports, which paragraphs are closely scrutinized in your market, which segments are earmarked for growth or reduction, and which clusters are your hottest prospects. * Discussion of reader-service (bingo) cards, where they are processed and their relationship with circulation. * The particular distinctions of your file: unit audit, preponderance of P.O. boxes, large group orders, a program to convert non-qualified to paid, a big gift subscription program - anything and everything that might mean special handling or problems. * Discussion of advertiser comp list - where it is maintained, how to distinguish the label, and so forth.

Handouts should include your corporate brochure (if you have one), a sample issue, your publisher's statement, and a list of who's who at your magazine - who to call for particular problems and who is authorized to give instructions to the service bureau.

That last item is critically important. Your service bureau does not want requests coming from several different people at your place, any more than you want all the service-bureau staff calling you. Opening the lines of communication should not mean having five people from a supplier on the line.

Orientation day is also the time to distribute your reference manual (see sidebar) to all the people involved with your magazine - from coders to programmers. It should explain exactly how you want orders handled and records set up.

Before producing this document, you should review the service bureau's standard operating procedures and resolve any conflicts as to style, uniformity, abbreviations, and so forth. Certain formats might be crucial to a successful dupe check or annual galley clean-up, for example.

Maintaining momentum