Using Marketing Reports to Send Mass Emails

You can send mass emails that contain personalized information for each recipient by generating a report with marketing options. The following reports have this option:

• Account Lists (all types)
• Contact List
• Policy List
• "With This, Not That" (Policy)

This functionality is only available in the Reports/Marketing area. Before generating the report, ensure that you have created a template for the marketing email in Attachment Template Configuration.

Note: The information in this article only pertains to merging data into an email using the Generate Letter option in the Marketing Options. For more information on using the other Marketing Options, see Create a New Report, Edit a Report, and/or Launch a Marketing Campaign.

1. Access the Reports/Marketing area.

   To access the Reports/Marketing area from the Home screen, do one of the following:

   • Click Reports/Marketing on the navigation panel.
   • Click Areas > Reports/Marketing on the menubar.
   • Click the down arrow next to Home on the options bar and select Reports/Marketing.

   To access Reports/Marketing from another area of the program, do one of the following:

   • Click Home > Reports/Marketing on the menubar.
   • Click the down arrow next to Home on the options bar and select Reports/Marketing.
2. The My Reports list defaults when the Reports/Marketing screen opens. If the report is in a different list, click the button for that list on the navigation panel or click on My Reports in the view filter and make a different selection.
3. Click to highlight the report.
4. Do one of the following:
   • Click the Edit button .
   • Double click the report.
5. The Criteria screen displays. Click on a criterion to change the specific items for the report. For example, click on Agency to select the agencies to include/exclude in the report.
6. Click the Include Selections or Exclude Selections radio button to specify whether the items in the Selected list are to be included or excluded in the report.
7. The fields and/or lists on the right vary, depending on your criterion selection in the main list:
    
   • Available and Selected lists

     Available items have no bearing on the report. Selected items are included or excluded in the report, depending on your Include Selections or Exclude Selections radio button selection.

     To move items between the two lists, click on the item you want to move and click the up arrow button or down arrow button .

     To move all of the items in the Available list to the Selected list, click the double down arrow button .

     To move all of the items in the Selected list to the Available list, click the double up arrow button .

   • Dates

     Select one of the following radio buttons to specify which items to include in the report:

     • All dates: Run the report for all dates.
     • Blanks only: Run the report for blank dates. (If no blanks exist the report will return no information.)
     • Fixed date range: Enter a From date or select a date from the dropdown calendar. To leave the From date open, select the Open checkbox above the field.

     Enter a Through date, or select a date from the dropdown calendar. To leave the From date open, select the Open checkbox above the Through field.

     • Relative date range: Run the report for a date range relative to the system date. Selecting the From system date and Through end of system date range. To leave the From system date or Through end of system date open, select the Open checkbox above the field.

     Select the plus sign in the dropdown menu to run the report for the system date plus a specific number.

     Select the minus sign in the dropdown menu to run the report for the system date minus a specific number.

     Select either Days, Months, or Years, from the dropdown menu to choose between the three.

     When running scheduled reports the relative date range for the report will be the date the report is run.

     Based on the date selections the Sample Results Based on Date Selections section gives a summary of what dates have been selected. Showing what dates will be used if you run it today or if you run it one month from today.

   • Months

     Select the appropriate radio button:

     • All: Run the report for all months.
     • Range: Enter a From month and year, or select a month and year from the dropdown calendar. To leave the From date open, select the Open checkbox above the field.
       
       Enter a Through month or select a month and year from the dropdown calendar. To leave the Through date open, select the Open checkbox above the Through field.

     • Select month: The following choices are available in the dropdown menu:

     • • Current Default Month: The current month according to your computer.
     • • Open through Current Default Month: A range of months from the date Applied Epic was first loaded through the current accounting month.

     Select the plus sign in the dropdown menu to run the report for the selected month plus a specified number of months.
     
     Select the minus sign in the dropdown menu to run the report for the selected month minus a specified number of months.
     
     Enter the number of Months. To run the report for the selected month only, leave the default entry of 0 Months.

   • Radio button selections

     Select the radio button that applies to the highlighted criterion.

   • Range of Account

     Select the appropriate radio button:

     • All: Run the report for all accounts.
     • Range(s): In the Range 1 row, enter at least one letter in the From field to indicate the letter with which the report should begin. Enter at least one letter in the Through field to indicate the letter with which the report should end. Repeat this procedure for additional ranges.
8. Each report includes a special criterion called Parameter Page. When you include it, the first page of the report lists all of the criteria you used to generate the report, so you can refer to them later. If you do not want a parameter page, select the Parameter Page criterion and click the Exclude Parameter Page radio button.
9. Include additional criteria if desired.
   1. Click the Add button to the left of the list to open the Add Criteria window.
   2. In the Available Criteria list, double click folders to open them and view the options they contain.
      
      Click Up one folder to return to the previous folder.

   3. To select a criterion, click to highlight it in the Available list, and then do one of the following:

      • Click the right arrow button.
      • Double click the criterion.
   4. Double click or use the arrow buttons to move items from one list to the other. When you are done, click Finish.
   5. The new criteria display in the report's Criteria list. Set the criteria as described in step 7.
10. Optionally click Layouts on the navigation panel to change the report layout.

11. Click to highlight a layout in the list. Instead of using a saved layout, you can also opt to create a new layout or edit an existing layout.
    
    Note: To delete a layout in the list, select the layout and click the Delete button. You are prompted, "Do you wish to delete this record?" Click Yes.
12. Click Delivery Options on the navigation panel.

13. Specify where (or to whom) to send the report. Current User, meaning the person who is running the report, is automatically included as a recipient. You can do the following here:
• Add a Recipient
  1. Click the Add button , or press [Insert].
  2. Click the lookup button to choose a recipient. In the Who to Contact pop-up window, select an Account Type, enter at least the first letter of the Lookup code, and click Locate or press [Enter]. Select the account, then click Finish.
  3. If Multilingual Reports is enabled in Regional Settings Configuration, you can change the language in which to send the report. <Recipient’s preferred language> defaults.
  4. Since you are delivering the report electronically, clear the Printer field by highlighting the selected printer and pressing [Delete].
  5. Choose the Email address to which to send the report, and choose a report format in the Attach as dropdown menu.

  Note: The Microsoft Excel Workbook option allows you to extract the raw data and work with it in Microsoft Excel. Each row visible in the PDF version is visible in the Excel workbook, but the advantage of the Excel workbook is that it allows you to sort and filter the data using columns (for example, to sort alphabetically by account name) and to format the data any way you want.

  The report in Microsoft Excel includes all the raw data needed to create the report, including items that do not display in the printed output (such as data items that exist in some conditional detail sections but not in others). It does not include any totals or calculations created from the raw data.

  6. The Marketing Distribution Log documents all delivery attempts for a marketing campaign, both successful and failed. You can review recipients’ contact information on the report to help you address any issues.

  To generate this log, select the Receive copy of Marketing Distribution Log checkbox and select a delivery option from the Via dropdown menu. Only options that correspond to the delivery options you have selected for the chosen recipient are available for selection from the Via menu.

  7. Click Finish to save your changes.

  Click Add to add another report recipient.

  Click Cancel to close the window without adding the recipient.

• Edit Recipient Information
  1. Click the name of the recipient in the list whose information you want to change.
  2. Click the Edit button , or double click the recipient name.
  3. If you change your own delivery options (Current User) and you want to be notified only under certain circumstances or not at all, click the Change Notification Settings link label.
  1. In the Change Notification Settings pop-up window, select one of the following radio buttons.
  • Successful: Notifies the recipient if the report reaches all recipients.
  • Unsuccessful: Notifies the recipient if the report does not reach an intended recipient.
  • No notification: Recipient receives no notification of the success or failure of the report delivery.

  Note: The notification defaults are set in Notifications Configuration. You must have security rights granted in order to change this selection.

  2. Select the Notify Only checkbox if you do not need a copy of the report but want to be notified of its delivery status (successful or unsuccessful). This selection disables the Printer, Email, and Fax # dropdown menus.
  3. Click Finish.

  4. If Multilingual Reports is enabled in Regional Settings Configuration, you can change the language in which to send the report if necessary. <Recipient’s preferred language> defaults.

  5. If you do not select the Notify Only checkbox, choose the email address to which the report will be sent.

  6. Since you are delivering the report electronically, clear the Printer field by highlighting the selected printer and pressing [Delete].

  7. Choose the Email address to which to send the report, and select a report format in the Attach as dropdown menu.

  Note: The Microsoft Excel Workbook option allows you to extract the raw data and work with it in Microsoft Excel. Each row visible in the PDF version is visible in the Excel workbook, but the advantage of the Excel workbook is that it allows you to sort and filter the data using columns (for example, to sort alphabetically by account name) and to format the data any way you want.

  The report in Microsoft Excel includes all the raw data needed to create the report, including items that do not display in the printed output (such as data items that exist in some conditional detail sections but not in others). It does not include any totals or calculations created from the raw data.

  8. To save an electronic copy of the report, select the Save to Disk checkbox and select a file format in the Save as dropdown menu. Click the lookup button beside the Location field to locate a folder in which to save the report.

  Note: This option is only available when you edit the Current User settings.

  9. The Marketing Distribution Log documents all delivery attempts for a marketing campaign, both successful and failed. You can review recipients’ contact information on the report to help you address any issues.

  To generate this log, select the Receive copy of Marketing Distribution Log checkbox and select a delivery option from the Via dropdown menu. Only options that correspond to the delivery options you have selected for the chosen recipient are available for selection from the Via menu.

  10. Click Finish to save the changes.

  Click Cancel to close the window without saving any changes to the recipient information.

• Delete Recipient
  1. Click the recipient in the list that you want to remove.
  2. Click the Delete button .
14. Enter a subject and message in the Email/Fax Detail section. The Subject field is required. Use the formatting ribbon to format text and add images if necessary. Hover over each button to display its function in a tooltip.
15. Select a From email address in the dropdown menu, or click the Change Sender link label in the Email/Fax Options section. If you want to use a customized email signature, select it from the Signature dropdown menu. Click the Refresh link label to reset the signature to the default (or to clear the field if no default signature is defined).

    Click Change Sender to display the Change Sender pop-up window.

    1. Select a From email address.
    2. Click Finish or press [Enter] to accept the change.

    Click Cancel to close the pop-up window without change the sender.

16. In the Scheduling section, opt to run the report now, or schedule it to run later.

If you choose Schedule, enter a date (or choose a date from the dropdown calendar) and time for the report to run. Select a Recurrence option.

If you choose anything but One Time Only, the report runs automatically at the time indicated in this section. Consider setting up longer reports to run after business hours.

17. In the Marketing Options section, select the Generate letter checkbox, then click the lookup button to open the Available Templates window.
1. Choose a Template folder if applicable, and click to highlight the desired template in the list. See Attachment Template Configuration for instructions on creating templates.
2. In the Marketing Distribution section, select Generate as email as the distribution method.
3. Choose Text in the Insert into email as dropdown menu.
4. Select the Attach email to account checkbox to save the email to each recipient’s Attachments list.
5. Choose a From email address.
6. Enter a Subject line for the email. You can also use variables to insert information into the Subject:
1. Place the cursor where you want the data to display in the Subject line.
2. Click the lookup button to open the Available Description Variables window.
3. Select a variable in the list. The Description column explains each variable’s output. You can only select one variable at a time.
4. Click Finish to insert the variable.
5. Repeat this process to insert additional variables.
7. Do not enter a message. The body of the email populates with the selected email template.
8. Click Finish to apply your selections, or click Cancel to discard your selections and close the Available Templates window.
18. Select the Attach copy to account checkbox to save a copy of this letter in the selected clients’ Attachments lists.
19. To use a template to send a mass email based on your report criteria, select the Send email template checkbox, then click the lookup button to open the Select email template pop-up window. Before sending the email, you may want to add the Record Listing criterion to your report from the Modify Criteria screen to ensure that the report does not send duplicate emails. For example, the Policy List report might send multiple emails to a contact with multiple policies that meet your criteria.

    Many account- and policy-related reports have a Record Listing criterion available on the Modify Criteria screen. You can use it to control the number of records that match your criteria that are included in the report. The specific options available vary, depending on the report selected. This option is useful for sending a mass email using a report, because you can control whether an email is sent for each record that matches your criteria or only once per account.

1. The From field defaults based on your selection in the Email/Fax Options frame on the Delivery Options screen, but you can click the Change Sender link label to select a different option if necessary.
2. Select a Template from the dropdown.
3. The Branding profile and Signature default based on your template selection, but you can choose a different branding profile or signature if necessary.
4. The Subject line defaults based on your template selection, but you can edit it if necessary.
5. The Message defaults based on your template selection, but you can edit it if necessary. Use the formatting ribbon to apply styling.
   Note: If the message contains merge variables, they do not populate with client/prospect information in the preview. The variables will populate with each email recipient’s information when you run the report.
6. If you make changes to the Message and want to revert to the original Template, Branding, or Signature, click the Refresh link label beside the option you want to reset.
7. Click Finish to save your changes and close the Select Email Template pop-up window.
   Click Cancel to discard your selections without saving.
20. Optionally select the Preview/Edit results before processing checkbox. If you select this checkbox, you must launch the marketing campaign from the Marketing area after you generate the report.

Note: The preview option is not available if the campaign is scheduled (step 16).

20. Select a radio button in the Marketing Distribution Contact section to distribute to the corresponding contacts on each account returned in the report:
• Select the Use primary contact radio button to distribute the report to each account’s primary contact.
• Select the Use specified contact classification radio button to distribute the report to the contacts on each account with a particular classification.
  1. Click the lookup button to open the Contact Classifications Lookup pop-up window.
  2. Select a Classification from the list.
  3. Click Finish to add the Classification, or click Cancel to discard the selection and close the window.

  Note: Since you are using the Generate Letter option from Marketing Options, a letter generates for each contact on an account that has the selected classification. Each letter distributes based on the contact’s Marketing dropdown menu selection in the Preferred Contact Methods frame of Contact detail. If a delivery method fails, the corresponding account(s) display on the Marketing Distribution Log.

21. Click Actions > Generate Report on the options bar or the menubar. The email sends to the selected recipients and the contacts that match your selections from the previous step.