This article covers how to log Standard Mailings (also known as post / mail or postal mailings) in Spektrix. We’ll also cover how to add target Events and how to search for sent Standard Mailings.
Before you read this article, you should be familiar with:
What is a Standard Mailing?
A Standard Mailing in Spektrix refers to a postal mailing. There are many reasons why your organisation might send out a postal mailing, including sending thank you letters or a season brochure.
Standard Mailings are used to register in Spektrix when a postal mailing is sent. You can register mailings that are sent from your organisation, or fulfilled by a third party printing company such as a mailing house.
Each mailing you record in Spektrix is logged against each customer who receives it in the Customer Record. Recording mailings means you can segment your customers based on previous mailings you have sent and use the ROI report to track the cost effectiveness of your mailings.
How to log a Standard Mailing
You can log a Standard Mailing using the following methods:
Mailings section of the Insights & Mailings interface
You can log a Standard Mailing from Insights & Mailings Interface > Mailings.
Before you start, make sure you’ve created the Mailing Category you want to log the Standard Mailing against and have created the Customer List you want to send the Mailing to.
TIP: To access Insights & Mailings, you’ll need the Insights & Mailings User or Insights & Mailings Administrator Role. If you don’t have these Roles, ask the Spektrix administrator in your organisation to add these Roles to your User Account.
In Insights & Mailings, follow these steps:
- Go to Mailings > New standard mailing:
- You’ll see a New Mailing Screen:
Complete the following fields:
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Name: Enter a clear and descriptive name for your Mailing.
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Mailing Category: Choose your Mailing Category from the dropdown list. For example, Marketing, Development etc.
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Fulfilment Method: Choose the method you’ll use to send the mailing. For example 1st Class Post, 2nd Class Post. You can create a new fulfilment method by clicking New.
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Send: Enter the date you’ll send your Mailing.
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Expected receipt: Enter the expected date your mailing will be received.
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Send to: Choose All or A Random Sample. If you choose A Random Sample, you can specify a percentage of the total or a fixed number of recipients:
- Output as CSV: Select this option to output as a CSV. For example, if you’re sending the file to a third party mailing house.
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Output as Mail Merge: Select this option to create a Mail Merge.
TIP: Read How to bulk generate letters and labels using Mail Merge for more information.
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Customer List: Select the Customer List you want to send the mailing to. The mailing will be recorded in the Customer Records of each of the customers in the Customer List.
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Target Events: If the Mailing is for marketing purposes, you want to report on the cost effectiveness of this Mailing using a ROI report set. Select any Events which are promoted in the mailing by clicking Edit. Choose the Events from the left list. Click the right arrow to move to Selected Events:
TIP: To include this mailing in an ROI Report, you must choose Target Events. The ROI report helps to track effectiveness of mailing activities by determining the initial cost of sending the email versus the impact of a particular mailing.
Read The ROI Report for more information. - Click Save Mailing:
Using a Customer List
When building or running a Customer List, you’ll see an option to use in a Standard Mailing.
Follow these steps:
- In the Main Filter, Pre Filter or Output, click Choose an Action:
- Select Use in standard mailing:
- You’ll see a New Mailing Screen. The Customer List will be pre-selected:
Complete the steps as you would when logging a Standard Mailing in the Insights & Mailings interface.
Searching for a Standard Mailing in Insights & Mailings
You can search for previously logged Standard Mailings by searching in Insights & Mailings, or by looking at a Customer Record.
TIP: To access Insights & Mailings, you’ll need the Insights & Mailings User or Insights & Mailings Administrator Role. If you don’t have these Roles, ask the Spektrix administrator in your organisation to add these Roles to your User Account.
In Insights & Mailings go to Mailings > Mailings where you’ll see a search screen:
You can search for a Standard Mailing using any of the following:
- Name: Enter the name of your mailing
- Mailing Category: Select the mailing category from the dropdown list
- Fulfilment Method: Select the fulfilment method from the dropdown list
- Sent date from/to: Enter a date range to search for mailings sent between these dates
Viewing a Standard Mailing in the Customer Record
You can see a list of all mailings sent to customers by going to the Mailings section of a Customer Record:
You’ll see the date the mailing was sent and the fulfilment method used.
Reporting on Mailings
To Report on Standard Mailings, you can run the ROI Report by mailing. This can help you understand the cost effectiveness of a Mailing.
How to edit a Standard Mailing to add Target Events
Once you've logged a Standard Mailing, you can edit the Mailing and add Target Events. Follow these steps:
- Search for the Standard Mailing
- Select the Standard Mailing you want to add the Target Event(s) to
- To edit the Standard Mailing, click the pencil icon, or anywhere inside the blue box:
- Click Edit next to Target Events:
- Select any Events by clicking Edit. Choose the Events from the left list. Click the right arrow to move to Selected Events:
- The Event Name(s) will be displayed next to Target Events. Click Save:
Further Reading
This article should give you the information you need to create a Standard Mailing. To learn more about mailings, visit the Communicate with your customers section of the Support Centre.