Article by Staff Writer, Posted: November 24, 2003

Bulk Email Software

Companies are on a constant mission to retain current customers while exploring for prospective clients. To obtain a well-balanced, systematic approach in maintaining positive customer relations—while at the same time advertising to new customers—the usage of bulk email software has been carefully integrated into a company marketing strategies.

Marketers use bulk email software to create email campaigns. These campaigns consist of informative emails regarding a product or service, with the possible inclusion of e-coupons or certificates, which are then appropriately sent to customers, based on the criterion they meet in their consumer profile.

For example, a large department store will be having an anniversary sale next week. On top of a regular storewide sale, they are offering further merchandise discounts to clients who have a store charge card, as well as giving away $100 in spending money to each customer who has had a credit card account since the store opened.

Given the criterion, a smart bulk email software program can custom create and send email advertisements separated with relevant content related to a category in which the customer belongs. Thus, regular customers of this store will receive a general email notice of the sale, those who hold a credit card will be offered an additional discount, and those who have had a store charge card since its opening day will receive a large discount along with an e-certificate for $100. Even infrequent customers, who visit now and again (but at one point opted-in to these types of offers by providing an email address with their contact information), are emailed these special offers.

Each email sent by the bulk email software will be broken down into these customer types, and the content of the emails being sent will differ, depending on where a customer falls. To further personalize these mass emails, bulk email software can address each recipient privately, by merging the names of patrons from a well-kept database into the greeting field of the email.

The database—aside from the bulk email software program itself—is perhaps the most important aspect of creating personalized email marketing campaigns. Without a place to keep consumer information, bulk email software will cease to function, because all of the information it needs to pull to create email campaigns would be unavailable. Therefore, it’s crucial for any and all pertinent data regarding a customer and their purchase to be maintained in a well structured database.

A quality bulk email software program used by companies to market their goods and services should be able to deter spammers from using the same software. Spammers are also on a constant search for a powerful product to utilize to send their mass email campaigns. Most bulk email software used by legitimate corporations include features to deter spammers.

For example, the pricing of most reputable bulk email software fall beyond the cost spammers are willing to pay. They are looking for a cheap and quick way to reach their audience, and only need the most basic elements of email.

From the marketer’s point of view, bulk email software should be able to identify and alert users when certain aspects of their message could be perceived as “spam” to a recipient. Examples of such traits in the subject title of many spam emails include words such as “free,” “secrets to making money,” “lose weight the easy way,” “you could be a winner,” “act now!!” and other phrases. When a bulk email software program runs a compliance test for spam-like content within an email marketing campaign, it should alert its marketer whether or not people on the receiving end of the message might perceive it as junk mail. This feature of bulk email software helps prevent messages from being automatically filtered out by internet service providers, as well as the scrutinizing eyes of wary consumers.

One technical aspect of bulk email software which helps keep spammers away is that emails sent from the marketers cannot hide the Internet Protocol (IP) address from which it is sent. Spammers like to keep their anonymity and a low profile; by giving away their IP address, they are opening up a way for the people they spam to be able to contact them back. Bulk email software also requires its user to enter a valid return email address; those familiar with spam know that a legitimate return address for a junk email comes once in a blue moon.

Many bulk email software programs also have features such as database write-back capabilities (keeping track of specific hyperlinks a customer opens within a personalized email) and automated campaign delivery. These features, along with many others, combine to create an indispensable marketing tool for advertisers.

Through the usage of bulk email software, businesses are able to target all of their consumer audience without having to prepare assorted marketing campaigns. Instead, they can tweak a single leading campaign by utilizing a good bulk email software program. Not only will companies save money, resources, and time through email campaigns, they will be able to gather accurate data for their customer records, which will help strengthen consumer relationships through future correspondence.