SERVICES
NPC can
provide service on many levels which a publisher may choose to meet
his needs through a wide variety of marketing programs: Cash Field -
Executive Publications Service for Trade and Reception Room Sales -
Special Short Term Promotions - and our main thrust being Long Term
Subscriptions and Paid-During-Service sales sold through Neighborhood's
Budget Plan for Family Reading: A plan which consists of a group of
magazines ordered and paid for over a period of months.
Cash
Sales
Single cash subscriptions, sold paid-in-advance to customers.
Executive
Publications Service - Trade Sales/Reception Room Sales
Neighborhood has a sales division that specializes in Trade Sales and
Reception Room Sales (Multi-Readership Locations). Trade sales are made
to qualified businesses, services, and professionals where your publication
may be relevant to a business or usable directly in such businesses,
or in a business place where you may want your magazine on display.
This pass-along readership type of sale is growing, and Neighborhood
is able to accommodate those publishers who desire to reach this market.
All trade and reception room orders are addressed to the place of business.
As you can understand, this type of sale requires extra promotion, and
publishers usually offer a reduced subscription price and a better remitting
rate in order to encourage this type of sale.
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Special
ShortTerm Promotions
Regarding the list of publications Neighborhood is authorized to sell,
you will note a few which limit sales to one and two year terms. We
are doing a service for those publications, and satisfaction has been
given, as attested by the long-term listing we have enjoyed with the
magazines. On another tack, we have, on occasion, carried out special
promotions of short-term subscriptions for publishers. These "spot"
promotions may be brought about by an apparent need for quick extra
sales, efforts to meet a circulation guarantee, or to raise a rate base
to a higher plateau, or build up a list for a publisher's renewal campaign.
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Long-Term
Subscriptions
Neighborhood's Owners are long-term specialists. Three, four and five-year
terms offer the best opportunity to customers for savings, for stable
pricing, and for lasting relationships both for the publisher and for
Neighborhood. Many publishers like the idea of some long-term subscriptions
backing up their guarantee: subscriptions not subject to the ups and
downs of economic cycles. As one well-known Circulation Director is
known to have observed, "some long-term subscriptions in the back
of your circulation mix will help you sleep nights". And with Neighborhood
as the producer, there is no development cost or cash outlay for the
publisher to contemplate, no tie-up of executive time and talent; no
publisher personnel need to be involved.
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Neighborhood's
Budget Plan for Family Reading (Paid-During-Service)
This is a plan that provides the widest market for circulation. Sales
are made by (1) appointment usually set up over the telephone and consummated
by an in-person visit where the customer can make their selection of
magazines in the privacy of their home or office, and (2) entirely by
telephone and consummated by mail. Subscribers select the magazines
they desire and elect the payment plan they prefer, either weekly or
monthly, paid over a period of months.
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Cancellations
and Reinstatements
During the magazine service some customers will cancel. Neighborhood
will submit an invoice to cover cancellation credit for undelivered
issues. To balance refundable cancellation credits with production payments,
cancellation credits are spread over a term of time equal to two thirds
(2/3) of the original order entry. For example, on a 36-month sale,
the cancellation credits are spread over 24 months, and on 2-year sales,
the cancellation credits are spread over 16 months. We deduct the monthly
cancellation spread credit from our monthly remittances. On occasion,
a subscriber will request reinstatement, which we will then submit to
you. Pro-rata invoice for the amount due will accompany such reinstatements,
and payments for this amount are spread over 12 months.
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Expires
To help promote and sell a particular magazine, Neighborhood receives
expire lists from many publishers. Many of these are from publisher
lists that are about to be 'scratched'. Our Regional sales organizations
produce a good volume of sales from these lists.
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Clearances
of Orders
Clearances of orders are made once a week directly to your Fulfillment
Center in order to expedite first-copy service to the subscribers. Neighborhood
will forward orders, as well as changes or address, customer non-service
complaints, and cancellations electronically or on magnetic tape.
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Remittances
The rate of remittance is a decision for the publisher and Neighborhood
to negotiate. Neighborhood pays all the expense of its promotions and
promptly pays the publisher the required rates. The usual procedure
followed by Neighborhood is to spread the remittance to publishers over
the term of the subscription sold. Since most of our orders are sold
on a paid-during-service basis, remittances are made in consecutive
monthly payments to match the term of the subscription. There is no
need to establish a special accounting procedure to handle Neighborhood's
spread remittance. Neighborhood prepares the invoices for all order
transmittals including preparation of the monthly spread bill.
The Spread
Bill 'payable' is mailed to the publisher at the close of each month's
production. A summary recap of prior invoices for the month, together
with the amount of the spread payment due, is computed and printed out
for easy checking by your Accounting Section.
Similarly,
cash-with-order subscriptions are cleared to publishers on a weekly
basis, and a check covering the amount due is forwarded.
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Rules
and Regulations
All sales made by Neighborhood are in accordance with the rules and
regulations of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, U.S. Postal Regulations,
Standards of Practice of the Magazine Publishers' Association as they
now exist or may in the future be amended, Rules and Regulations of
the Publishers, the Orders and Regulations of the Federal Trade Commission,
and the Regulations of any other governmental body as required.
Changes
or Amendments to Agreement
In the event of a price or remittance change or withdrawal of authorization,
it is understood and agreed that 90 days advance notice will be given
to clear subscriptions already in the field channels.
Canadian
Sales
We would need to know if Canadian sales are acceptable and if there
is an extra charge for Canadian postage.
Sample
Copies
Sample copies are an important part of our 'kick-off' announcement,
and we will need 10 copies of a current issue to circulate to our key
field offices. Subsequent issues, which you might deem desirable from
time to time, will provide material for further promotion of your publications.
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