VerticalResponse for AppExchange Blog

Survey Says, "VR for AppExchange"

During VerticalResponse's Spring Marketing Conference, we announced the launch of our new Survey product.  At the conference, VR for AppExchange users were well represented, and one question has come up often:

"When will VerticalResponse Surveys be available in our Salesforce org?"

Well, we heard you loud and clear, and we think surveys would be a great addition to VR for AppExchange. Your feedback is important to us, though, and we'd like to find out what it is you're looking for in a survey product, and also how well you'd like to see it integrated with your Salesforce org.  Our goal is to offer a valuable tool without requiring too much effort from your end.

Now the irony of sending out a survey to ask about a survey product is not lost on us.  But this is your chance to speak up and shape the future of VR for AppExchange.

So, spill it!  Tell us what you think about the addition of surveys to VR for AppExchange.  We promise to keep it short and sweet - the survey is only 5 questions long!

As always, questions and comments are most welcome.

Jess Greene-Pierson, Marketing Programs Manager

Non-Profits Mail "On the House"

If you're currently enjoying the 10 free Enterprise licenses you get with Salesforce as a non-profit, get ready for something really great.

VerticalResponse has had great success with our business, and always strives to make a difference, whether participating in local volunteer programs, or the non-profit discount we started over a year ago.  We understand how tough it can be to keep a small organization running, especially on a tight budget, so we didn't want to stop there.

So, last week during our Spring Marketing Conference, CEO Janine Popick announced that non-profits now email for free!

Here's How It All Works...

• All approved 501(c)3 non-profit organizations qualify for this program

• You'll be able to email up to 10,000 emails per month for free


• Any unused credits expire at the end of the month, but never fear, your account will be replenished with 10,000 new email credits at the beginning of each new month

• If you need to email more than 10,000 each month, you'll still receive that 15% discount on your your purchase of email credits that you know and love

Ready to Sign Up?

Just fax us the application form; we'll check to make sure you're not fibbing about our 501(c)3 status, and then we'll flip the switch.

If you've already signed up with VerticalResponse to receive the 15% non-profit discount,  shoot us an email at nonprofits@verticalresponse.com with your username to let us know you want to take advantage of emailing for free.

Click here for complete details!

-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

A Breakdown of the New Features

It’s been a little over a week since our latest VerticalResponse for AppExchange product upgrade and we wanted to take a moment to check in and see how things were going.  Have you had a chance to get familiar with the new features?  What do you think of the new look?  We’d love to hear your feedback so if you’ve got some to share, send it our way!

Today we’ll take a few minutes to highlight some of the key feature enhancements that were part of the latest release.  These upgrades were implemented based on the feedback you provided so thanks for helping us make a better app!  So without further adieu, let’s dive in:

Ladies and Gentlemen, “Account” fields have arrived!

Yes, we know this was a thorn in the side of many users and we’re happy to report that you can now created targeted newsletter lists using the standard and custom fields within the Accounts tab of your salesforce.com account. 

Need a real-world scenario? Let’s say you are a software company and you need to send a newsletter to all your partners and resellers informing them about a special training session next month. Done and done.

1. Start by clicking the VR Email tab, then click New List
2. Choose the first option called: Create a list of Leads & Contacts
3. Create a new query and define your filter criteria such as: Account Type equals Partner/Reseller

You’ll now be able to grab all the Contacts for all the key Accounts in one fell swoop and you can include standard and custom merge fields on your mailing list to personalize each email that you send.

This was by far the most popular feature request and we’re happy to see this one crossed off the list – we hope you are too!

Got a favorite query?  Go ahead, save it!

We know you’re busy, you’ve got a lot on your plate and the last thing you need is to jump through hoops to get your email newsletter out the door.  With the new Saved Queries feature you can create and save all your frequently used queries within your account for quick access. When you need to get an email out in a hurry just refresh your saved query to pull all the Leads and/or Contacts that match your search criteria.

Let’s say your company holds an informational webinar series with a different topic each month. To capture registrants, you have a Web-to-Lead for on your site that marks anyone who signs up with a Lead Source of “Webinar Interest.”  So to make your life simpler, why not use the Saved Queries feature to create and save a custom query once, (i.e. Lead Source equals Webinar Interest) and then re-run this each time you want to send out your webinar invitations each month.

To create a new Saved Query, simply follow the steps for creating a new email list and at the end you’ll have the option to save the query for use in the future.

Track “past the click” with Google Analytics

For those of you out there using Google Analytics to monitor website traffic you already know what a slick application this is and for those of you who aren’t yet using it…go set it up today, it’s free!

Now you can incorporate Google Analytics tracking for the email campaigns you send using VerticalResponse for AppExchange. With this one-two punch you can see who’s clicking on the links in your email (VR tracking) and monitor the website traffic generated by this campaign source (GA tracking).  Calculating your marketing ROI has never been easier!

Here are a few quick tips to help you get up and running. The first thing you’ll need to do is create a Google Analytics account (if you don’t already have one) and make sure the necessary tracking codes are correctly placed on your website. For more information on Google Analytics, click here.

Once your Google Analytics account is enabled and you’re starting to collect site statistics you can simply add the domain(s) that you’re tracking into your VerticalResponse for AppExchange account.  To add domains, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Account Information link (upper right-hand corner of the app)
2. Then click on the Analytics Settings tab to see the Google Analytics feature
3. Simply input the domains where your Google Analytics tracking codes exist

Now when you launch your next email campaign we’ll help you tag your links so the traffic generated from click-throughs can be tracked in your Google Analytics account. For more information on our Google Analytics integration, download the User Guide.

Questions? Comments? Bring 'em on!

-- Chris Carpio, Associate Product Manager

New Features & New UI for VerticalResponse for AppExchange

VerticalResponse has some exciting news for all of you VR for AppExchange users. When you click on the VR Email tab in salesforce.com, you'll immediately notice the user interface changes in the application.

In addition to the new bright, streamlined interface, you are now able to:

• Save your most commonly used queries when creating mass emails

• Build a targeted list of Contacts using any Account fields

• Utilize Google Analytics right from your VR for AppExchange account

• Breeze through commonly used tasks via the new Email Menu Page

Login to your account and watch the new demos to see all of these exciting changes in action.

If you ever get stuck, or are seeking inspiration, consult with the Salesforce community in the VR Lounge, or you can always take advantage of your VIP customer support package.

Thanks for being a valued user of VR for AppExchange! Let us know what you think!