Use a Marketing Campaign in Business Contact Manager to reactivate your inactive Accounts

Applies to
Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager

When you're doing business, there are often times when customer accounts become inactive for one reason or another. By using Business Contact Manager for Outlook, you can keep track of these customer accounts by using the Active check box in your Account records. You can collect these records in a Search Folder and then reactivate and track them by using a Marketing Campaign.

What do you want to do?

Mark an Account as inactive

Create a Search Folder of your inactive Accounts

Create a Marketing Campaign to send to the inactive Accounts

Track the results of your Marketing Campaign

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Mark an Account as inactive

Occasionally, you may want to review your Business Contact Manager records to identify the Accounts (or Business Contacts) that have become inactive.

To mark Accounts as inactive, complete the following procedure. To mark Business Contacts as inactive, open Business Contact records.

1. On the Business Contact Manager menu, click Accounts.

2. Double-click an Account record to open it.

3. In the Classification section, clear the Active check box so that the record is no longer marked as active.

4. Click Save & Close.

5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each record that you want to mark as inactive.

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Create a Search Folder of your inactive Accounts

You can set up a customized Search Folder that always contains the most up-to-date list of your inactive Accounts.

1. In the Navigation Pane, in the Folder List under Business Contact Manager, right-click Search Folders.

2. Click New Search Folder.

3. Type a name for the Search Folder, such as Inactive Accounts.

4. In the list under Items of this type are included in this Search Folder, select Accounts.

5. Click the Filter button.

6. In the Filter Accounts dialog box, under Account Status, clear the Active check box.

When you open this Search Folder, all your inactive Accounts are shown. This list dynamically updates each time you open the folder, so you know your overview is always current.

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Create a Marketing Campaign to send to the inactive Accounts

By using Business Contact Manager for Outlook, you can create Marketing Campaigns to showcase new products or services and track the results. For example, you can send personalized e-mail messages to your inactive Accounts, detailing new products or services they might want to buy.

Create the e-mail message

First, create a personalized e-mail message for each recipient in Microsoft Office Word by using Mail Merge fields.

1. Start Word 2007.

   A blank document opens by default.

2. On the Mailings tab, in the Start Mail Merge group, click Start Mail Merge, and then click E-mail Messages.

3. Write your message to showcase your products or services, including pictures and links to more information.

4. On the Mailings tab, in the Start Mail Merge group, click Select Recipients, and then click Select from Outlook Contacts.

5. In the Select a contact folder to import dialog box, click the Business Contact Manager Search Folder you created for your inactive accounts, and then click OK.

6. In the Mail Merge Recipients list, review the list to verify that it includes the information you want, especially accounts with valid e-mail addresses, and then click OK.

7. To insert fields from your Business Contact Manager for Outlook records into the document, on the Mailings tab, in the Write & Insert Fields group, click either Address Block, Greeting Line, or Insert Merge Field.

8. Click the options and fields that you want.

   Note: You can only insert fields that are included by default in your Account records. You cannot insert user-defined fields (fields that you created yourself and added to the forms).

   Account or Business Contact fields for use in mail merge documents

   The following list are the fields from an Account or Business Contact form that you can use when creating a mail merge document in Word 2007.

   • Last

   • First

   • Title

   • Company

   • Department

   • Phone

   • Mobile Phone

   • Pager Phone

   • Home Phone

   • Assistant Phone Number

   • Business Fax

   • Home Fax

   • Other Fax

   • Telex Number

   • Display Name

   • Email Address

   • Assistant

   • Primary

   • File As

   • Web Page

   • Business Address Street

   • Business Address City

   • Business Address State

   • Business Address Postal Code

   • Business Address Country/Region

   • Job Title

9. To see what the document will look like, on the Mailings tab, in the Preview Results group, click Preview Results.

Create the Marketing Campaign

Second, create the Marketing Campaign.

When you are satisfied with your e-mail message, you're ready to create a Marketing Campaign. Because Business Contact Manager for Outlook is a fully-integrated part of the Office suite, you can start the process in Word.

1. On the Mailings tab in Word, in the Marketing group, click Create Campaign.

2. If you want to, edit the default title and the campaign code for your Marketing Campaign.

   Note: The default title is the subject line for your e-mail message. The default campaign code is the date and time the marketing campaign was created.

   The following options are already selected:

   • Campaign type list: E-mail

   • Who will see it? section: Select from these options and Custom List

   • Who will see it? section: Total in list box, contains the number of inactive Accounts who will receive this e-mail message.

   • How will they get it? section: Delivery method is Word E-mail Merge

     Tip: The E-mail Marketing Service is available to help you send and track your e-mail Marketing Campaign.

     More about the E-mail Marketing Service

     The E-mail Marketing Service is online service that you can use to send targeted e-mail and track the results. When you register Business Contact Manager for Outlook and provide your business details, you receive free e-mail credits. You can also purchase additional credits.

   • What will they get? section: Contains the filename of the e-mail message.

3. Click the Launch button.

4. Complete one of the following procedures:

   • If Word E-mail Merge is the delivery method, do the following:

     1. In Word, on the Mailings tab, in the Finish group, click Finish & Merge.

     2. In the Merge to E-mail dialog box type a Subject line for the e-mail message and then in the Mail format box, click the format that you want.

     3. Click OK, and then close Word.

   • If the E-mail Marketing Service is the delivery method, follow the instructions in the Business Contact Manager for Outlook E-mail Marketing Service Wizard.

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Track the results of your Marketing Campaign

To view the results of your Marketing Campaign, use the Track view on the Marketing Campaign form.

1. On the Business Contact Manager menu, click Marketing Campaigns.

2. Double-click the e-mail Marketing Campaign that you want to open.

3. On the ribbon, in the Show group, click Track.

Under Recipients, you see a list of all the inactive Accounts to whom you've sent e-mail messages. As these generate leads, Opportunities, or new Accounts or Business Contacts that are linked to this Marketing Campaign, you can see the results displayed under Campaign Results.

To link leads, Opportunities, Accounts, or Business Contacts to a Marketing Campaign, complete the following procedure as people respond to the campaign:

1. On the Business Contact Manager menu, click one of the following:

   • Accounts

   • Business Contacts

   • Opportunities

2. Do one of the following:

   • To create a new record, on the Outlook toolbar, click New, and then complete the form.

   • To update an existing record, double-click the Account, Business Contact, or Opportunity record that you want to open.

     Note: To create a lead, on a Business Contact record, select the Lead check box.

3. Click the Initiated By button.

4. In the Folder box, click Marketing Campaigns.

5. Double-click the name of the e-mail Marketing Campaign, and then click OK.

6. Click Save & Close.

7. Repeat this procedure for each person who contacts you as a result of the Marketing Campaign.

If you used the E-mail Marketing Service, you will see detailed tracking results, including the number of messages not sent, the number of those messages that were bounced because the e-mail address is no longer valid, the number of recipients who unsubscribed to your e-mail service, the number of recipients who clicked and followed links in your message, and the number of replies.

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