Send Business Greetings Via E-Mail

CorpNote is the latest way to send on-line greeting cards that are appropriate for all sorts of business occasions. While on-line cards have been popular for years, they've been aimed at the individual user, says Sarah Miller, one of the originators of CorpNote. "We got the idea of CorpNote because we were looking for online cards for our own business and we couldn't find anything out there that we liked," she says.

Miller and her husband, Mike Miller, are the owners of Set Now Solutions, a website design and development company based in Ewing. Since their business is web-based, they wanted to send cards via E-mail rather than traditional mail. "We wanted a product like CorpNote for our own marketing efforts, but there was nothing available that was business focused and without invasive advertising that would dilute our company message," says Miller. "We wanted a marketing tool that was as cost-efficient as E-mail, but offered us a more attractive delivery than E-mail. The bonus is that our research showed that other people would want to use it too."

What is their most popular card? Miller says the majority of CorpNote clients have developed custom cards with their own logos and unique messages. The most popular categories are thank you notes, birthday cards, and on-line invitations. Up to 200 cards can be sent at one time, and there is an RSVP feature to help keep track of responses.

CorpNote is popular with not-for-profit organizations who find it a cost-effective way to send thank you notes to volunteers and to send invitations to fund raisers, Miller says. "Other industries that have shown particular interest in the product are real estate, insurance and product sales."

CorpNote has been marketed to a national audience with "an aggressive search engine optimization plan, web banner advertising, and an E-mail newsletter, which has proven successful to a national audience," says Miller.

It helps to be unique in your field. "We really don't have any competition," says Miller. "Everything else is aimed at the individual market." They have also marketed the website locally, launching the website at a Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce breakfast and demonstrating the product at local business expos. They will be at the Mercer Chamber business expo in October to demonstrate some of the new features that will be rolled out this fall.

Miller promises a number of "surprises" for the website, but she will say new signature features, including personal photographs, are planned. "Right now the cost is $8.99 per month for an unlimited number of cards. The new structure will be $5.99 per person for groups of 10 to 49, with progressive price breaks for larger groups," says Miller.

A resource page, with tips to more effectively use E-mails in business will also be rolled out this fall. A few of the tips are:

Use the correct salutation. Address the recipient with Mr. or Ms. if you don't have a personal relationship with the person, says Miller. Otherwise, it is fine to use a standard greeting such as "Dear" or "Hello" to emphasize your personal relationship.

Check spelling and grammar. Proof your E-mail like you would a printed letter.

Always be professional and courteous. Keep the jokes to a minimum, she says. "Remember this is a business correspondence and without your personal smile someone may not get a written joke."

Get right to the point. Give as many details as needed to personalize the card, but be brief and to the point. For example: Thank you for buying our new XYZ product. In appreciation, we are offering 10 percent off your next purchase with us.

Provide closure. End an E-mail with an informal closing, such as "best," "regards," or "sincerely."

Include full contact information. Always include ways for the recipient to reach you, such as your company name, phone number, website address, and E-mail address.

Be cool. Avoid the sales pitch, says Miller. Provide the benefits of your service or product, not just the features.

E-mails have become one of the most cost effective ways for a business to market its products or services, says Miller, but they must be done well to be effective. "If you receive a birthday card from someone you don't know it can seem meaningless, even invasive," says Miller. However, if the card says, 'It's your birthday and here's a coupon to use,' then you think, 'Wow, someone's giving me something.' It's all about the way it is presented."

CorpNote is just part of the growing trend to "more closely relate business strategy and technology than ever before," says Miller. "As people shift from brochure-ware web sites to more data driven websites with more programming, we've seen an increase in website development business in the past year," she says. "CorpNote is an extension of our belief that use of the Internet should complement all of your business efforts."

E-mail will never completely replace other forms of communication, such as the phone, mail, or in-person meetings, say Miller, but by using "a combination of proper etiquette and personalization, E-mail can surpass those traditional means of communication because of its immediacy. Sometimes using E-mail is the most polite way of handling a situation. If someone needs information fast, E-mail is often the quickest way to make that happen." - Karen Hodges Miller