PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Why Outsource Circulation Management?
By John Lenser, President

We were recently retained by a mid-sized company to perform circulation management services and evaluate their marketing programs.  During the initial visit, the CEO remarked, "Why would a company our size use an outside firm for circulation management rather than hiring an internal staff?”  Well, one reason was evident—we were there because the client had been experiencing turnover in their circulation department.

At present, there is a very real shortage of qualified circulation managers and a huge amount of movement between companies.  In addition to the natural recruiting efforts between catalog companies, top circulation managers are also being recruited by e-commerce companies and leading retailers.  Unfortunately, such turnover can cause disruption, loss of history, and in some cases, disastrous results.  In contrast, outsourcing provides staff redundancy, supervision, and stability, with none of the employment, training, or other human resource issues that hiring internally requires.

Second, a firm that specializes in circulation management can provide "state of the art" services.  Over and over again, when we initially review a client's existing program, we find that many circulation practices are inadequate or out of date.  Often the most basic techniques are not being used properly, let alone the more advanced circulation approaches that LENSER has developed.  Unfortunately, there is no certification program for circulation managers; the competence level of circulation managers is across the spectrum.  To compound this, management often lacks the explicit experience to evaluate a candidate’s qualification or on-going performance.

In addition, stand-alone circulation managers or departments are intrinsically at a disadvantage because of their limited learning environment.  They lack the extensive initial and in-service training that occurs in a larger organization.  Instead of three or four marketing cycles per year typical in a most catalog companies, staff at LENSER is exposed to the results of hundreds of client campaigns generating a much faster learning curve.  Vendors who may make an occasional visit to a stand-alone client spend extensive time with our staff making sure that we are aware of the latest industry developments.  In short, a firm specializing in circulation management can ensure that circulation practices are "on the cutting edge” and are consistently applied, resulting in the highest response rates possible.

Third, outsourcing costs a fraction of the expense of a stand-alone circulation staff.  Competent circulation managers, depending on the market, demand significant salaries.   For most clients, fielding just one circulation manager with benefits, supervision, and administrative support can double this amount.  Outsourcing allows multiple firms to share the cost of this expertise, thus significantly reducing their expense for superior services.

Finally, a firm such as LENSER usually has other services and in-house talent that can be applied when needed.  For example, at LENSER every account has a partner assigned who has been a founder or CMO in multiple highly successful direct marketing companies.  They are there to make sure that all the issues that affect the success of our clients are addressed, from merchandising and operations to creative and e-commerce.