Solutions
for the Learning Curve in CORE Implemented
This Week and In the Near Future
by Dan Hays
After
receiving a significant amount of feedback about
the difficulty of learning CORE for Sports from new
customers, we wanted to announce the steps we have
taken to address the problem.
First, one of the reasons new customers have preferred
to use CORE was because it was the only software
platform which supported Level II sports products. That
was a mistake on my part when I envisioned how to market the Level II products. This
gap came to my attention a few weeks ago, and on October 31st our programming
staff will have completed work to make Level II products available and functional
in QP2. Hence, those customers who want to
offer Level II products can utilize QP2 NOW.
CORE does offer significant benefits for those who
master its intricacies. Principal of these benefits
is the ability to take a customer to only his or
her proofs on the Internet and the ability to send
a paper proof the customer’s home by
snail mail as another channel by which the customer
can order. E-mails
with links to proofs can also be sent out, using
the CORE program.
We are taking several immediate actions to make CORE
for Sports more user friendly. Fourteen
issues of high priority have been identified and our programming staff expects
to complete a fix on all of these within another week. At that point, another
similar number of issues will be attacked. In
this way, within a short time, we will improve the
program significantly.
One of the biggest challenges facing new users of
CORE for Sports is to set up and price packages. The dilemma starts with trying to figure out what to
offer and what price, which is a marketing decision, not a decision within CORE. Nevertheless,
this has been a hurdle for many new customers.
To address this problem, we have put together, based
on statistics in our database of what packages and
ala carte items sell best, default packages and products,
which will be set up as defaults with the ability for you to edit them. All
other necessary defaults will be set up for a standard situation, thus eliminating
the confusing and time consuming task of figuring out what the settings do and
which one you should choose. We expect to have
this ready in the next two weeks and will announce
it as soon as it is available.
Last, a new program internally referred to as CORE
Lite or Quick Post, is being developed. It is in the CORE family but is being designed with the primary
goal of being user friendly and easy to learn. It
will support Level II products but will not allow
spotting (id ing of individual names to pictures),
sending people to their own proofs or paper proofs.
Once this program is learned, we believe users will
have an easier time transitioning to the regular
CORE for Sports program.
We sincerely hope that these improvements and new
features and programs will make it easier to utilize
the power of our software to generate higher sales
through better marketing.
Grad
E-mail Campaign for the Holidays
by Steve Foisy
If you participated
in the On Target automated Graduation E-Mail Campaign
this past grad season and your grads have not expired, a holiday e-mail will
be broadcast one week prior to Thanksgiving. The focus of this e-mail is
holiday cards and gifts. Confirm that your CORE Grad offer contains these
items and that they are active online. Remember to refresh your online
offer for each event if you do make any changes. Contact Customer
Support at 800-750-0494 if you need assistance creating your Holiday product
packages. Candidnet
Tips
by Joni Brown
Candid is offering 2 types
of greeting cards this year, 4x8 slim line cards and
Premium Cards printed on card stock. We’ve
placed sample jpg images of the rendered cards on Candidnet
of all card styles along with the corresponding flyers
and HTMLs.
You can find these jpg images by logging
into Candidnet and then clicking on the Marketing/Bus.
Dev link and then clicking on Samples.
There are 3 categories under the sample link: 4x8 Greeting Cards; Premium
Greeting; and Greeting Card HTMLs. You may download these images & flyers
for use in your business.
You may order greeting card samples by clicking on Marketing/Bus. Dev and then
clicking on Order Samples. Choose the 2007 Greeting Card Samples link. You
will be taken to a page on www.partypics.com <http://www.partypics.com/> . You
have a choice of ordering the 4x8 Greeting Cards and/or the Premium Greeting
Cards. You may also order samples by going directly to http://www.partypics.com <http://www.partypics.com/> . Enter
the password: greetingcardsamples.
Level
II Prints are now active in QP2 Sports. This
includes both logo and no logo prints. The process
for the logo on LII prints is that same as for memory
mates (i.e. email your artwork file to your Customer
Service Rep or to titles@candid.com,
along with your account number and what the file will
be used for - memory mates logos,
LII logos, etc) If
you don’t assign a logo, we will use the first
initial of the team.
5 new styles of LII prints will available in QP2 on Nov.
7th - Vortex, Halo, Psionic, Catalyst, and Stellar.
Vortex
Halo
Psionic
Catalyst
Stellar
Logo prints and the new styles
will be coming soon in CORE. We also have a new Lii promo
DVD available which is updated to include
the new designs.
"That
which we persist in doing becomes easier,
not that the task itself has become easier,
but that our ability to perform it has
improved." ~Ralph
Waldo Emerson
This is ringing very true today for Candid Color Systems in our Greek Party
Pics® market.
On every college campus across the country the popularity of personal digital
cameras is continuing to decrease the necessity for Party Pics® photographers
in the eyes of college students. Recently there has been an obvious decline
in the amount of events photographed, the number of images shot and, the quantity
of pictures sold. This in turn has created a need for
more personal contact and persistence with every organization on the campus.
College students are not always the easiest to get in touch with and don’t
understand the importance of having a photographer at every event. To create
this personal contact and the need for photographers with the organizations,
Darwin Drake and I made the trip north I-35 to visit the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln campus. We knew there were events happening on this very Greek oriented
campus and persistence with contacts is the key.
During our visit, we walked up and down the sidewalks of Greek Row knocking on
every fraternity and sorority door. We went in search of the social chair or
the chapter president. In most cases, we spoke with one or both and immediately
were given dates of the social events for the remainder of the semester. In
the rare occasion, that the president or the social chair was not around we spoke
with any guy or girl in the house about upcoming events. They were very eager
to give us any information we needed.
This campus visit created events that most likely would not have been covered
had we not visited with the individual chapters in person. Relying solely on
Greeks calling and scheduling events is an easy way to miss great opportunities
to shoot, sell and market the Party Pics® name.
It’s amazing how a quick 5-minute chat can evolve
into 3 upcoming events on the calendar. It is an immediate and easy way to build
rapport with the customer and for them to put a face with the name and company.
Not only do they know who they are speaking with at the other end of the line
they also know who to contact about their next event.
Persistence
in booking events and calling the chapters is the key to keeping the Party
Pics® name alive and the digital cameras safe at home. Rich
Grosko Introduces Portraiture to the Class Reunion Market by Jessica Irvin
Kansas City photographer
and CCS customer, Rich Grosko has been shooting Class Reunions and groups for
over ten years. With the sales of traditional Party Pics declining, Grosko
developed a new approach to shooting social events. Class reunions make up
the majority of his business, but Grosko’s method could be used at a
variety of events.
Group
shots of the entire class are a big seller. Orders for these pictures
are taken at the event using the Pay First method. Grosko charges $16.00
for an 8x10 of the group the day of the event and increases this price to $24.50
about two weeks after the event. Sizes for these group shots go up to
11x17. For a group of 30-40 people Grosko averages $450-$650, which make up
45% of his total gross sales.
Adding a neutral background and a couple of lights gives people the feeling
of having professional portraits taken, says Grosko. He suggests
setting up the back drop at the entrance to easily attract the attendants
to get their pictures taken as they enter the event. By adding these
portraits of individuals, couples, and small groups, Grosko’s sales
have increased significantly.
Gross sales from these portraits
alone average about $300-$400 per event, with 4x6s being the best seller,
and can only be ordered through View First. Before adding the background
Grosko was only averaging about $100 for the entire event.
Sales of class reunions increase proportionately to the size of the group,
and the use of a background can be used at a variety of special events. Currently,
Rich is designing a set for his Holiday Corporate Parties. Grosko is handing
out business cards at the event with the link on them, but is not collecting
email addresses. By collecting e-mail addresses the number of sales
has the potential to grow even higher. Rich Grosko says that the Party
Pic market is not dead, it has just been reassigned.
