How to Use Vehicle Marketing

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Summary

This article explains how to produce the most popular types of reports and mailings such as MOT or Service reminders.

More Information

Go to "Unit Sales" -> "Marketing".

• Here you will see all the reports available to you.
• Select the type of report you require e.g. service reminder.
• You will see all the types of output available from the marketing system.

List
SMS Listing
Email Listing
Letters
Letters + Labels
Labels Only
Export List

Tip: All reports include a filter that looks for the attribute in the "Bulk Messaging" section of an account called "Message Exclusion" or a feature on a vehicle called "Message Exclusion". If either of these are applied to the customer or the vehicle, then they will not appear on any of the above reports.

List

This option produces an list on screen of all customers that fall into the range you entered.

Here is an example of the output:

MOT Due    Stk No   Reg No     Customer Name   Contact Number  Mobile Number   Email
12/09/2009 90015654 RG51RVG    Mr John Smith   0111 2123456    07777 456987    ilikeale@hotmail.com

Tip: There is also a total number of customers at the bottom of the list which can be helpful to find out, for example, the number of envelopes you will need.

SMS Listing

This option produces a file called "SMS.TXT" in '<Platinum Installation Drive>sx\Sxco??'. This is used in conjunction with the bulk messaging feature of the system (referred to in the "See also" section of this article and Here) to allow you to send a single text message to a specific list of people.

Email Listing

This option produces a file called "EMAIL.TXT" in '<Platinum Installation Drive>sx\Sxco??'. This is used in conjunction with the bulk messaging feature of the system (referred to in the "See also" section of this article and Here) to allow you to send a single email to a specific list of people.

Letters

This option produces a letter for all customers that fall into the date range supplied. The Letter output is as follows:

<CUSTOMER ADDRESS LINE 1>
<CUSTOMER ADDRESS LINE 2>
<CUSTOMER ADDRESS LINE 3>
<CUSTOMER ADDRESS LINE 4>
<CUSTOMER ADDRESS LINE 5>
<CUSTOMER ADDRESS LINE 6>

<TODAYS DATE>

                           REMINDER

Dear <CUSTOMER NAME>

RE: Vehicle Reg. No                        : <VEHICLE REG>
Your Vehicle Ref No                        : <VEHICLE STOCK NO>
MOT Due Date                               : <MOT DUE DATE>

According to our records, your vehicle is shortly due for its annual MOT inspection. 
Should you like us to carry out your next MOT, please contact our highly experienced 
service team on the number above to arrange a time and date that you will find convenient.
Remember to book early to avoid disappointment.

Our fully equipped workshop and skilled technicians are prepared for all your MOT and 
servicing needs.

We look forward to hearing from you.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,



<NAME OF SERVICE MANAGER>
On behalf of <COMPANY NAME>

Letters + Labels

This option produces the same letter as above for all customers that fall into the date range supplied, but also prints an address label for each letter to your dedicated label printer.

Labels Only

This option produces labels for all customers that fall into the date range supplied. This is good if you have pre-printed materials that you need to to post.

Export List

This option produces a text file that is Semicolon separated (.TXT) for use in Excel. This automatically appears on the screen in the program that opens .TXT files on your machine. Once the report is finished, this can be saved by going to "File" -> Save As" then saving the file to a location of your choice.

Here is a listing of the information included:

COLUMNS			EXAMPLE RESULTS

Acc Code		CON001
Acc Name		Mr John Smith
Address Line 1		1 Ale Avenue
Address Line 2		Alesworth
Address Line 3		Worthington
Address Line 4		WT1 7DQ
Address Line 5	
Postcode		WT1 7DQ	
Tel No			0111 2123456
Mob No			07777 456987
Email			ilikeale@hotmail.com
Veh Ref			90015654
Reg			RG51RVG
MOT Due			12/09/2009

Opening the File in Excel

• Open Excel.
• Go to "File" -> "Open".
• Browse to the Location of your saved file in the above step.
• Change "Files of Type" to "All Files".
• Left Click e.g. "VSMOTEXP.TXT".
  • This will open the "Text Import Wizard Step 1 of 3" box.
• Select "Delimited" and click "Next".

TIP: At this point you will see the the data split into the appropriate columns in the preview section in the lower part of the window.

• Untick "Tab" and tick "Semicolon" by left clicking and click "Next".
• Highlight each field in turn by clicking each column in the preview section in the lower part of the window and make sure each field is marked as "Text" in the "Column Data Format" section.
• Click "Finish".

This will show the data within Excel split into the appropriate columns, now go to "File" -> "Save As" and save with an appropriate name and change the "Save As File Type" to "Microsoft Office Excel Workbook (.XLS) and save to a location of your choice. You can then use this file with a word processor to merge this data onto a form letter.

See also

• How do I use the Retention Centre?
• How do I send bulk email messages?
• How do I send bulk SMS messages?
• How do I include images in emails?
• How do I Exclude Customers from Bulk Mailing?
• How do I Exclude Vehicles from Bulk Mailing?

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Keywords AND Misspellings

marketing, market, bulk, SMS, Email, export, reminders, reten, retention