VerticalResponse for AppExchange Blog

What Stats Are Being Updated? An Explanation.

On my last post, I talked about how easy it is to update stats back into your Salesforce org. Let's walk through the type of statistics that are being updated back into Salesforce and where they are being updated.

Standard Objects

For all Mass Email you send when you create your list using VR's Query Tool, VR will log an activity for every Lead and Contact under the Activity History. The subject of the activity will have the following format, "VerticalResponse Mass Email: (subject line of your email)"

If the list you've mailed to was compiled from a Salesforce Campaign, the Campaign History's member status will be updated based on the response of your recipient. The possible values for the member status are: Sent, Opened, Clicked and Unsubscribed. For instance if your recipient opened your email and clicked on a link, their member status will be updated as "Clicked".

Whether you're using a Mass Email- or Campaign-based list, VR will always update the Email Opt-out field for Leads and Contacts who have unsubscribed from your email. Records with the Email Opt-out field checked will automatically be excluded from all future VR mailing list you create.

Custom Objects - VR Email History

In addition to updating standard objects, VR also provides enhanced visibility of statistics through the VR Email History objects. VR Email History will log statistics for "Sent", "Bounced", "Opened", "Clicked", "Clicked Links" and "Unsubscribed". You should be able to expose these objects within the Related List area of the Leads and Contacts page layout. This makes it easy to view any Lead or Contact, and see how they've responded to your emails. You can also click on the Email Name to see a copy of the email that was sent.

All the data found on the VR Email History objects can be further analyzed through custom reports. We've even saved a few reports for you. To access these saved reports, simply go to Reports and scroll to the VR Email History Lead and VR Email History Contact section.

Important: The reports are not specific to users. So, if you have multiple reps within your Salesforce org who send out VR emails, it's a breeze to get an aggregated report of all your VR email activity.

Feedback, comments and questions are always welcome! :)

- Chris Carpio, Product Manager

An Easier Way to Update Statistics...Post Launch

Along with the major changes to the app, we've also made some minor tweaks on existing functionality. Here's a subtle change we've made but I'm pretty sure it puts a smile on many of your faces.

Veteran users of the VerticalResponse for AppExchange know that previously, if you wanted to update email marketing statistics, you can only do it by going in to the Summary Report of each email. Imagine if you have a handful of emails to update, that means updating them one by one. Not fun!

Updating your email stats is more fun and easier than ever. Here's how you do it.

• Go to the VR Email tab and scroll down to the Recently Sent Emails section.
• You should be able to find the last 5 emails you've mailed.
• Place a check next to the ones you want to update and click on the Update Statistics button.
• You're done!

If you can't find all the emails you want to update through the Recently Sent Emails area, click on the View All link (you can also click on VR Statistics). You should be able to find all your sent emails there. Same deal, check the ones you want to update and click on the Update Statistics button.

Now, I know old habits die hard. So, if you prefer the old way of updating stats (one at a time), that option is still there. :)

--Chris Carpio, Associate Product Manager

Personalizing Signatures On Your Emails

What a busy Q1! I know we've had a little bit of a hiatus on providing "tips & tricks"  on our blog (no, Product Managers haven't been affected by the Writer's Guild strike <chuckles>), but I hope to change that. I want us to get back on track with providing our VR for AppEx users with tips and recommendations on how to fully utilize VerticalResponse and Salesforce when sending your emails.

Aside from the Account fields enhancements to the query tool, we've also included better Owner fields to query from and to map in to your VR mailing list. This comes specially important for Account Managers who want to personalize their email campaigns with their contact information.

Say you want to sign your emails with....

Sincerely,

Chris Carpio
VerticalResponse - Your Friendly PM
chris@verticalresponse.com
866-683-7842

Easy enough! Here's how you can do it.

Before getting started, make sure your Salesforce User Information is current. Go to Setup > My Personal Information > Personal Information

Now, when you create your VR mailing list, you'll need to make sure you include the Owner fields you need. To do this, when you get to "Step 2: Map Your Fields" step, map these fields as custom fields:

Owner - First Name --> OWNER_FIRSTNAME
Owner - Last Name --> OWNER_LASTNAME
Owner - Email --> OWNER_EMAIL
Owner - Title --> OWNER_TITLE
Owner - Phone --> OWNER_PHONE

*Check out the screenshot below.

Complete the steps on creating your mailing list and let's move on to how to include these fields on your email.

When you mapped the fields above, you've specified a field name for each in your VR mailing list. To use these fields to personalize your email, simply surround them with the curly brackets ( { and } ). Using my example above, here's how to enter it on your email.

Sincerely,

{OWNER_FIRSTNAME} {OWNER_LASTNAME)
VerticalResponse, Inc. - {OWNER_TITLE}
{OWNER_EMAIL}
{OWNER_PHONE}

 

I hope this helps. If you have an example on how you customize signatures on your email, please feel free to post it here.

- Chris Carpio, The Friendly Associate Product Manager