7 Ways to Tell If Your Business Has Outgrown Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook has many strengths as an email client, calendar and task manager but it will not do some things that are almost required to be successful in email marketing. Microsoft Outlook falls short in sending out bulk or broadcast emails to ones client email list. If you are still using Microsoft Outlook to send email to your many distribution lists then you have an idea of this limitation. Here are the seven questions that you need to ask yourself to know that your business has outgrown Microsoft Outlook.
1.Distribution Lists Management
If you are having trouble keeping your distribution list organized and you don’t have a clue who is on or off them? You may have outgrown Microsoft Outlook.
2. Duplicate emails
If you send out emails and are not sure if you sent the same email out more than one time to the same person? You may have outgrown Microsoft Outlook.
3. Using BCC over CC
If you are confused or not sure when to use BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) over CC (Carbon Copy) then you may have outgrown Microsoft Outlook.
4. Follow up
If you do have someone who signs up to be on your mailing list and you don’t have a way to automatically get back to them based on the date or how long he or she subscribed then you may have outgrown Microsoft Outlook.
5. Email Campaign Reporting
If you have no idea if the people you send email too even receive or even opened the email message then you may have outgrown Microsoft Outlook.
6. Personalization
If you are unable to personalize your broadcast emails and can’t send the same email message to the many people on your list by name then you may have outgrown Microsoft Outlook.
7. Segmentation
If you have no way of determining who on you list fits the target market in which you are focusing your email messages then you may have outgrown Microsoft Outlook.
So you may be asking if I have answer at least 3 out of 7 questions with a “Yes” then what am I to do? Well 3 out 7 means your company should be in the market for a third party broadcast email service or software.
There are several broadcast email service and software answers. Two of the best hosted services are from Roving Software Incorporated and Broadwick Corporation. Roving Software puts out one of the most popular hosted services, Constant Contact and Broadwick counters with Intellicontact. Both are very similar in features and price. These two broadcast email services are ideal for the micro to small businesses who can’t afford to outsource entirely but do want some of the responsibility of the sending of the email off their hands.
One of the most noted software solutions to broadcast email is a company by the name of Arial Software. Their flagship software Campaign Enterprise gives professionals one of the most advanced permission email marketing programs in the industry.
Last but not least there is one more alternative and that is a Microsoft Outlook Add-on. This is a software program that installs and attaches itself right on the Outlook menu bar. Summit 5 software has a great add-on called SwiftPage email.
No matter which one you choose, all will be able to satisfy your needs when it comes to outgrowing Microsoft Outlook. Take time to test drive each alternative and see which one works better for your type of business. But who knows, once you try one of these alternatives you may find out that your growth spurt just has not happened quite yet. In that case just stay with what you know until it does happen and believe me it will.
May you all continue to take your businesses 2 the next level of success.
