An Example of Business Automation - eCards with pizazz

The last time I spoke and went into a bit of detail on business automation. Today I would like to give you some details of how I actually used it personally so you get to see first-hand what I wanted, how I went about doing it and finally executing it.

Last month was Christmas. Of course, having a lot of customers, friends, family and associates I wanted to send Christmas greetings and/or Holiday wishes. So I thought about this and came up with the following criteria.

1. I wanted to send greetings to approximately 130 people. These people are in my email list.
2. The greetings had to be personalized wherever possible.
3. The greetings had to have my corporate logo with a link to my web site.
4. The greetings had to divided into separate groups for customization purposes.
5. Once setup, the "system" would have to track viewer statistics.
6. I should be able to "select" anyone from my list to send a "special" card.
7. Once setup, the "system" should automate the entire process so I can take a "Hands-off" approach.
8. The system should be capable of displaying a specific font and generate the card on the fly to my visitor. And should also be capable of playing a suitable Christmas carol in the background.
9. Finally, the system should be capable of allowing me to reuse for other occasions.

Armed with these requirements I went about searching the Internet for a suitable application (of course, why reinvent the wheel?). Guess what? I didn't find any. Yes, there are a lot of e-card places out there but tell me which one will match my criteria above?

So, I decided to write a little "system" for myself. The "system" took me 3 hours of development and 1 hour of tweaking. When it was done and tested, I launched it. It took me 5 minutes to send the 130+ cards out. Here's what it did:

1. Allowed me to select groups of contacts based on criteria I provided.
2. Allowed me to select a card and appropriate music to be sent.
3. Customized each email to the recipients name or alternate greetings (ex: John and family, instead of John Doe).
4. Inserted the name of the contact in appropriate places making the email even more personal.
5. Sent the email out with the appropriate link to "view" the greeting.
6. Created an electronic log of who the greeting was sent out to, when (date and time) and details of the greeting.
7. Tracked when a person opened the greeting to view the e-card (and how many times).
8. Created a "on-the-fly" greeting that was customized to greet my visitor the way I set it to be.
9. Brought my contact to my web site (www.netmedian.com) contact page with a personalized message to them.

Not bad for four hours of work. I was happy to say that from all the emails that my contacts received (some did not because of Hotmail accounts - lesson learned), 100% clicked on the link, visited my web site and sent me thank you's, reciprocal greetings or just general comments.

Needless to say I was happy because it saved me hours in going out, getting cards, personalizing it, mailing it etc. etc.. With this "system" I not only saved hours but will continue to save them every time I use it.

Can this system be extended? You bet. My plans are to extend it to start creating gentle reminders to me on special "anniversary" dates of my clients, friends, family. This way, I will let the system do the work from my "working" list. The ultimate idea would be to create a system that would automatically allow me to stay in constant contact with my contacts. Something every business should be doing anyways. talk about a win-win situation.

Would you like to take advantage of my handy "system"? Send me an email and I can see how we can set you up.

Elvin Picardo
Delivering Net Results to Small Business
Author of numerous articles on Web Development and Internet Marketing
10723 159th St, Surrey, BC V4N 3J1 Canada
http://www.netmedian.com
Contact me

---

Employee Induction - Are you Inducting your People - A Practical How To

In today's fast paced marketplace it is easy to neglect... Read More

Dealing With a Crooked on the Take Government Worker

Many government department heads are on the take. Oh they'll... Read More

Do You Need the Help of a Virtual Assistant?

Running a business, whether large, small or in your home,... Read More

Employee Email and Internet Use - A Small Business Guide

IntroductionIt is widely recognised that Email and the Internet is... Read More

Grab Your Consumers Attention in a Cluttered World of Marketing Communications

A cluttered world of marketing communications diminishes the ordinary. The... Read More

Five Break-through Ideas to Immediately Increase Profits and Improve Cash Flow

Too often in business we get trapped into reviewing our... Read More

More Rules for Franchising?

The FTC- Mighty Federal Trade Commission has unilaterally decided to... Read More

Is This The Way Its Always Been Done?

Let's face it, we all tend to get stuck in... Read More

Franchising VS Business Opportunity; What is the Difference?

The modern Franchise business model and the much different business... Read More

Entrepreneur to Employer

You make the decision to go into business and for... Read More

Going Public: The Process for Small and Mid-size Companies to Go Public

It's the dream of every person who starts a business... Read More

What are the COSTS Associated with joining Leads Groups?

When it comes to cost, how much can you afford... Read More

The More you GIVE the More you GET

Why give freebies?We have all seen freebies at trade shows... Read More

Is Your Business Profitable?

What's your job profitability? Do you know?Many business owners are... Read More

Small Business Vendors; Getting the Best Service

If you are a small business you know that you... Read More

Pet Grooming Business

Do you like animals? Would you like to work for... Read More

The Failures Guide to Small Business Success

How many "get rich schemes" have you joined? Or have... Read More

Creating Time the Virtual Way

Time. As a small business owner, it's the commodity you... Read More

Franchise Buyers Lying On Forms

The Federal Trade Commission which governs the franchise industry thru... Read More

Cash Flow: Why Chaos Equals Poor Cash Flow

Recently one of my customers told me the chaos swirling... Read More

Outsourcing ? A Positive Approach For Small Businesses

Outsourcing is the strategic use of outside resources to perform... Read More

Time to Sell your Restaurant? Some Advice from Restaurant Consultants, Inc.

As a specialist in getting restaurants open, it is surprising... Read More

Small Business Marketing Series ? Choosing a Niche Market

Many smaller businesses choose niche markets for various reasons and... Read More

Small Business Mistakes: Are You Making Enough of Them?

That's right ­ are you making enough mistakes in your... Read More

But Weve Always Done It This Way

Sacred cows take a long time to die. We get... Read More

Do Your Best; Hire the Rest

One of the hidden perks of raising six children is... Read More

Dig Deep for Small Business Ideas Before You Start the Wrong Business

If you're serious about wanting to start a business, the... Read More

Get In Touch With Your Competition!

We all know that competition is an ugly word but... Read More

Corporate Shells

A corporate shell could be liken to a house that... Read More

Franchise Sales and Use of Online Franchise Directories

Franchising Directory Sites-Paid Advertising, Lead Generation for FranchisingFranchising Directory Sites... Read More

How to Find Success in the Import Export Business

Take advantage of world politics today and start your own... Read More

Business Owners - Do You Actually Own a Job?

How many hours do you work a week? When was... Read More

Dispute Resolution of Territory for Mobile Franchised Companies

Franchisors of home based and mobile businesses need to carefully... Read More