[Alpacasite] FRG S&H

Hi all,

I have a 6:00 AM flight to the New England Type Conference, so this will be
short and sweet.

The proposal of charging for shipping and handling has been on the table for
about two years. The MARCOM spent hours and several years deciding to try
the concept. The FRG has been a relatively flat program for several years,
which has concerned us only because the membership has grown, but the
program has not grown as rapidly. Also in 2004 and 2005, the needs of the
overall AOBA organization has caused the MARCOM budget to be cut, and our
leads and membership growth have fallen correspondingly. We analyzed our
2005 results, and there was a direct, almost 100% correlation with our ad
budget and our membership growth. In 2005, our budget DECREASED 19% and our
growth also decreased 19%. The MARCOM would like to see this lost ground
regained, so we brainstormed new programs and changes to our existing
programs.

In 2006, the following will change in the FRG program.

We will charge $9.95 shipping and handling to prospects. This money will go
back into further marketing, so we have increased our ad budget for 2006.
We expect some leads to opt out of the S&H, so there will be a drop for that
reason, but likewise, with more ad dollars being spent, there should be
increased traffic to Alpacainfo.com (the FRG program website). We are not
sure exactly where this balance will settle, but we should know in the first
quarter. On the website and the phone, we will collect contact information
before notification of the S&H fee. We will have captured the leads in just
the same manner as before. If the prospect then drops out, we will send
them a cheaper marketing piece and direct them to the online farm locator.
The FRG members will be able to purchase both types of leads, so the number
of leads available to program participants will definitely go up - and
participants can decide if they want to purchase the leads that drop out
without S&H or not. Many of our FRG participants don't realize that the
most powerful part of FRG participation is purchasing the leads and making
contact with our inquiries.

Also new in 2006 is the IRD section of the book - this is the Industry
Resource Directory. It is again intended to provide funds to increase our
advertising exposure one the national level.

Both of these are new and heavily debated changes to the FRG program. The
MARCOMM will be closely tracking the success of these programs and reacting
appropriately with the 2007 program. We may find that these are wonderful
changes or we may fall back on the old adage - If it ain't broke, don't fix
it. Time will tell.

Please be patient and kind to your volunteers - we do this for very little
reward and it gets tough when the criticisms fly.

God Bless and Happy Holidays,

Erin McCarthy

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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