Computer System for Church Magazines

Thanks to a new system, it’s no longer necessary to wait six to eight weeks for an address change to be made on an Ensign, New Era, Friend or Church News subscription. In addition, customer service inquiries can also be responded to immediately.

“We are now using computer software instead of microfiche,” explained Joyce Hansen, circulation manager. “This makes information more accessible for both the subscription and the customer service departments.”

Prior to the installation of the new system, address changes, renewals, and orders were collected over the phone or through the mail and then processed once a week.

“Our old system was designed some years ago. We found we needed to fulfill subscribers’ needs in a more timely and accurate fashion,” Sister Hansen observed. “We also needed to adhere to postal regulations in all the countries we mail magazines to, and we wanted to do this all in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.”

It’s taken more than two years to write the new computer program, which was designed especially for Church magazines and Church News subscriptions. Those subscriptions number almost 1,200,000. The circulation department also handles subscriptions to all international magazines mailed to the United States and Canada and subscriptions to the Ensign Talking Book for the visually impaired.

In addition, the new program allows inexpensive presorting and other flexible options to meet various mailing and subscription management requirements.

The process for changing an address or subscribing to the magazines remains the same—notification by mail or phone. In order to process address changes, the circulation department needs both the new and old address. Subscribers are encouraged to send in an old address label, which has specific customer information.

Subscribers can also call the circulation department, at [phone] for immediate address changes and information requests.

Lois Nielsen makes an immediate telephone change on a customer’s subscription using the new computer system.