Nutrisystem 2006 Annual Report Download - page 12

T
he features of our weight loss program address many of the most common limitations of traditional weight
l
oss programs,
i
nc
l
u
di
ng
hi
g
hi
n
i
t
i
at
i
on an
d
recurr
i
ng mem
b
ers
hi
p
f
ees, t
h
e
i
nconven
i
ence o
f
trave
li
ng to we
i
g
h
t
l
oss centers for scheduled appointments and lack of privac
y
. In addition, our prepared meals provide our
customers with a structured program in which they do not have to weigh or measure foods or count calories,
car
b
o
h
y
d
rates or po
i
nts
.
Marketin
g
O
ur pr
i
mary mar
k
et
i
ng o
bj
ect
i
ve
i
s to cost-e
ff
ect
i
ve
l
y promote our esta
bli
s
h
e
db
ran
d
an
d
to
b
u
ild
sa
l
es o
f
o
ur we
igh
t mana
g
ement pro
g
ram t
h
rou
gh
our
di
rect c
h
anne
l
. We use a com
bi
nat
i
on o
f
on
li
ne an
d
tra
di
t
i
ona
l
o
ffline advertisin
g
and promotional strate
g
ies to accomplish this ob
j
ective
.
O
ff
l
ine A
d
vertisin
g
.O
ffli
ne a
d
vert
i
s
i
ng
i
s use
d
to encourage qua
lifi
e
d
customers to ca
ll
or v
i
s
i
t our
website and increase awareness of the pro
g
ram. We reach our tar
g
et audiences primaril
y
throu
g
h a combinatio
n
of
te
l
ev
i
s
i
on, pr
i
nt an
ddi
rect ma
il
a
d
vert
i
s
i
ng. We use un
i
que to
ll
-
f
ree num
b
ers an
d
URLs to
i
n
di
v
id
ua
ll
y trac
k
t
h
e response o
f
our a
d
vert
i
sements. On te
l
ev
i
s
i
on an
di
npr
i
nt,
di
rect response-
f
ocuse
d
a
d
vert
i
sements cap
i
ta
li
z
e
o
n our brand name and focus on “before and after” comparisons and/or the pro
g
ram’s simplicit
y
, convenience
a
n
d
“goo
d
” car
b
o
h
y
d
rate
f
eatures. D
i
rect ma
il
an
d
out
b
oun
d
te
l
emar
k
et
i
ng are compan
i
ons to t
h
eme
di
a
ad
vert
i
s
i
ng an
d
cons
i
st o
f
ma
ili
ngs an
d
ca
ll
sto
di
rect customers w
h
o
h
ave purc
h
ase
d
or ot
h
ers w
h
o
h
ave s
i
gne
d
up
for access to our services
.
O
n
l
ine A
d
vertising
.
Our on
li
ne a
d
vert
i
s
i
n
g
strate
gy i
nc
l
u
d
es t
h
e use o
fk
e
y
wor
d
searc
h
campa
ig
ns
,
a
ffiliate pro
g
rams, email newsletters and demo
g
raphicall
y
se
g
mented direct email campai
g
ns. We place online
b
anner a
d
vert
i
s
i
ng t
h
roug
h
a var
i
ety o
f
we
b
porta
l
san
d
a
d
networ
k
sw
i
t
h
t
h
e goa
l
o
f
ac
hi
ev
i
ng t
h
e greatest reac
h
a
tt
h
e most
b
ene
fi
c
i
a
l
return on
i
n
v
estment
.
P
u
bl
ic Re
l
ation
s
.
We
h
ave
h
a
d
success generat
i
ng
h
uge
b
ran
d
awareness
f
or our program
i
n var
i
ous press,
te
l
ev
i
s
i
on an
d
ra
di
o out
l
ets. For examp
l
e, our me
di
are
l
at
i
ons success
i
nc
l
u
d
es rece
i
v
i
ng
f
avora
bl
e ment
i
ons
i
n
p
o
p
ular consumer
p
ublications such a
s
Peopl
e
,
W
omen’s
W
orl
d
,
L
adies Home Journal
,
First For Women
a
n
d
F
or
b
es Ma
g
azin
e
.
Moreover, we have promoted our brand and product throu
g
h celebrit
y
spokespersons who appear in our
ad
vert
i
s
i
ng, suc
h
as Dan Mar
i
no an
d
Don S
h
u
l
aan
d
t
hi
r
d
party en
d
orsements t
h
at
h
ave appeare
d
on te
l
ev
i
s
i
o
n
s
h
ows an
di
n var
i
ous rea
li
t
y
te
l
ev
i
s
i
on pro
g
rams
i
nc
l
u
di
n
g
“VH1-Ce
l
e
b
r
i
t
y
F
i
tC
l
u
b
,” “T
h
eV
i
ew,”
“Entertainment Toni
g
ht,” “CBS Mornin
g
Show” and “NFL Toda
y
.”
S
ales and Counselin
g
A
ma
j
or
i
t
y
o
f
our
di
rect
b
us
i
ness sa
l
es occur on our we
b
s
i
te. T
h
e rema
i
n
i
n
g
sa
l
es are
by
te
l
ep
h
one, an
d
our
call center processes virtuall
y
all of them. A nominal percenta
g
e of overflow calls are handled b
y
third part
y
call
centers
d
ur
i
ng vo
l
ume sp
ik
es an
d
per
i
o
d
s outs
id
eo
f
norma
l
operat
i
ng
h
ours, yet any sa
l
es t
h
roug
h
t
h
ese ca
ll
sar
e
processed b
y
our call center. Our wei
g
ht loss pro
g
ram is also sold throu
g
h QVC, a television home shoppin
g
network, which re
p
resented
5
% of revenue in 2006.
A
s of December 31, 2006, we emplo
y
ed approximatel
y
125 wei
g
ht loss counselors and 250 sales a
g
ents.
Staffin
g
levels for counselors and sales a
g
ents are lar
g
el
y
a function of the volume of revenue and orders, an
d
staffing increased substantially in 200
6
as revenue and orders increased. Sales agents are responsible fo
r
in-bound sales calls and will initiate out-bound sales calls to our leads and other tar
g
eted potential customers
.
C
ounselors handle some in-bound sales calls but primaril
y
focus on in-bound counselin
g
calls, email and
v
o
i
cema
il
s. Counse
l
ors a
l
so
h
an
dl
eon
li
ne we
b
conversat
i
ons
f
rom new v
i
s
i
tors an
d
appo
i
ntments w
i
t
h
ex
i
st
i
ng
customers. Sales a
g
ents are available 24 hours per da
y
, seven da
y
s a week and counselors t
y
picall
y
operate fro
m
a
s earl
y
as 7 a.m. to 12 midni
g
ht, seven da
y
s per week. Sales a
g
ents are paid primaril
y
on commission whil
e
counse
l
ors rece
i
ve an
h
our
l
y wage.
6