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The
methodologies used for sending E-mail messages is improving by leaps
and bounds with cutting-edge technologies from the software publishing
community. In this column, we'll take a look at a breakthrough product
which facilitates personalized mailings via the Internet.
NetMailer, by Alpha Software,
is a database-drive E-mail messaging system that allows individuals
to send personalized Internet E-mail to lists of customers, clients,
and friends. To put it in traditional direct response terminology,
it is a mail merge program designed to work specifically with electronic
mail.
For those who may be
unfamiliar with the term, mail merge is the process of combining
(or merging) a letter template with the names, addresses, and other
personal information of each recipient stored in a centralized database.
The result is a series of personalized letters which have been individually
composed and addressed.
The operative word in
this process is personalization. Personalization has been an important
part of traditional direct mail marketing, used in both installed-base
communications and new customer acquisition programs. It further
enhances the one-to-one communication that is at the core of direct
marketing, helping to create new or enhance existing relationships
with specific individuals.
Due to the early constructs
of the Internet, sending e-mail to multiple individuals simultaneously
has been an impersonal way to communicate. If you're active on the
net, you have probably seen what it is like to be on the receiving
end of a message sent to several people at once. The recipient is
typically presented with a generalized message which is not personally
addressed. In the same respect, at the top of the message, the names
and e-mail addresses of everyone else who received the message are
clearly listed.
Citing an example used
by Alpha, here is the result of a message that was sent from a conventional
e-mail program to 'Janelle Burns':
TO: John Winters (johnw@aol.com),
Janelle Burns (jburns@worldnet.att.net), Bill Smith (brs@netcom.com),
Jane Doe (jane@abc.com), Barbara Yeager (barbara@xyz.com), Patti
Jones (pjones@proxy.com), Anna Miles (anna@cooper.att.net)
FROM: Peter Ross (peter@alphasoftware.com),
DATE: 6/3/96
SUBJECT: New Product Offering
MESSAGE:
Dear Valued Customer,
We have a new product
which is about to be released. We expect it to be available at
retail stores by September. To learn more about this product and
the nearest store location where you can purchase it, please send
a reply to this message or visit our web site at http://www.netmailer.com.
Sincerely,
Peter Ross
Product Manager
As one can see from the
structure of the message, it is generic in nature, with the recipient
immediately knowing that there were three other people who received
the exact same communication. Knowing it was not specially intended
for her, there is a high incidence that Janelle would simply delete
the message without responding.
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To understand the benefit
of bringing mail merge to e-mail, let's revisit the previous example.
Deploying NetMailer, the following message would be sent to the
same number of people, however, this is what Janelle Burns would
receive:
TO: Janelle Burns (jburns@worldnet.att.net)
FROM: Peter Ross (peter@alphasoftware.com)
DATE: 6/3/96
SUBJECT: Janelle, we have a new product to tell you about.
MESSAGE:
Ms. Janelle Burns
123 Main Street
Burlington, MA 01803
Dear Janelle,
We have a new product
which is about to be released. We expect it to be available at
retail stores by September. To learn more about this product and
the store location closest to the Burlington, MA area, please
send a reply to this message or visit our web site at http://www.netmailer.com.
Sincerely,
Peter Ross
Product Manager
As one can see, several
major improvements have occurred within the modified message. Although
the E-mail is going to multiple individuals, the 'TO' line only
lists the specific individual, since individual messages are personalized
and batched over the Internet by NetMailer. The 'SUBJECT' line,
which is critical to entice an individual to open and view the message,
has been customized with the recipient's name. The body copy of
the message now includes Janelle's name and address, and a personalized
salutation. With NetMailer's interrelation with a contact database
engine, the city and state were also incorporated. The end result
is a highly personalized message that is a vast improvement over
the original.
NetMailer has many responsible
uses which can enhance installed-base marketing activities. For
example, a software developer could use NetMailer to send out advance
upgrade notices to registered users. Each message could include
the cost of the upgrade based on the customer's current version
and number of registered copies, which is extracted from the database.
A real estate agent could inform clients of new offerings and open
houses, based on the unique criteria and price range of each customer.
Sent on a monthly basis, the publisher of a newsletter could inform
customers when their subscriptions are ready for renewal. The possibilities
are unlimited.
Once again, we see the
cross-over of traditional direct marketing practices into the realm
of the Internet. Products such as NetMailer are exciting and powerful
ways to enhance the continuity with your customers and further strengthen
relationships -- which is what direct marketing is all about.
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