|
|
|
Most people realise that a clean, professional image conveys a sense of confidence and reassurance to the customer. The need to project a positive image prevents you from sending letters to your customers that:
- do not have basic details such as name, address, telephone number and signature,
- uses the grotty Arial font, a small font size of 10 points on plain white paper,
- uses over familiar and abbreviated language often peppered with spelling and grammatical errors.
So why on earth do most people persist in sending a poorly constructed, basic black on white e-mail when they would not even consider it had it been a letter.
In the early days of the Internet, such communication was acceptable, there wasn't an alternative. However, nowadays, the availability of simple tools, a small amount of training and a change of attitude means that there is no excuse for not using e-stationery to promote the image of your business. A well constructed e-mail is a sales tool and, because it can be interactive, you can strike while the iron is hot by setting up a link to a specific part of your web site.
How can we help? At Scotz.Net we are able to:
- recreate your letter head stationery in a manner suitable for e-mails,
- recreate your business card to be used as the e-mail signature,
- create a "VCF" file, a standard file format enabling others to easily update their contact database with your details,
- create mail shot templates that, once installed on your computer, can be edited and used many times to keep in regular contact with your customers and potential customers,
- install the e-stationery on your computer,
- provide training in how you use and modify the e-stationery.
Click on any Tex Spex heading to get more information.
|
|
TEX SPEX
E-Stationery.
IS E-STATIONERY DIFFICULT TO SET UP?
Setting up e-stationery can be fiddly. This is because there are so many permutations e.g.:
- e-mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Winmail, Opera, Thunderbird and so on,
- operating systems e.g. Windows, Apple, Linux, Android,
- screen sizes and resolutions,
- smart phones.
Given the above, you can understand why it is difficult to create a template that looks similar in all circumstances.
So, the short answer is that e-stationery can be difficult to set up initially but, the good news is that, once set up, it is very simple to modify and even easier to use.
WHAT ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE DO I NEED??
Probably nothing. E-stationery uses a standard e-mail client such as Microsoft Outlook. So if you can send e-mails then it is unlikely that you will need anything extra.
IS IT EXPENSIVE??
E-stationery is about creating business stationery in electronic form so that it can be e-mailed - a far more cost effective solution than traditional means of communication. The design and production steps are roughly the same, namely:
- create company logo either from existing imagery or anew.
If your business doesn't have a logo or your existing one is looking tired and doesn't reflect your image perhaps now would be a good time to look at your corporate identity,
- design stationery. There may be several types of stationery to be designed including letter head, compliments slip, business card, brochure and advertising flyer,
- install e-stationery on your computer and train you to use and modify the stationery,
- if required, we are able to register your trademark with the Patents Office to safeguard your investment for the future.
Given the above, together with the inherent technical complexities, creating good quality e-stationery that will stand the test of time does require skilled resources and this is reflected in the charges levied. Against this is the much lower running costs e.g.
- cost of e-mail versus the cost of stationery + letter + stamp + labour to stuff envelopes and take to the Post Office,
- no stationery reprint costs as e-stationery is sent by e-mail i.e. you never run out,
- cost of non delivery of e-mails versus cost of undelivered stationery due to lost in post / change of address,
- cost of modifying future e-stationery yourself versus cost of re-design and re-printing,
- cost of storage and wastage of paper based stationery.
|