Using Focus3

Correspondence and Fulfillment

Overview

• Correspondence
  • Correspondence is an Action that schedules printed literature to be sent to a Contact from the assigned Sales Exec.
  • Template-based Correspondence, such as form letters, envelopes and labels, should be printed and fulfilled by designated Users with the "Fulfill Correspondence" Permission on the Date Scheduled.
  • Correspondence may be scheduled for Contacts automatically by Action Cycles. Users may also add Correspondence manually as desired.
  • Correspondence items must be added by a User with the "Manage Marketing Attributes" Permission before the Correspondence may be scheduled for Contacts by Action Cycles or Users.
• Fulfillment
  • Fulfillment is the process used to generate, print, and complete Correspondence.
  • Users with the "Fulfill Correspondence" Permission may generate Fulfillment.
  • The Fulfillment area in Focus3 allows Correspondence to be printed in batches instead of printing each pending item individually.
  • Fulfillment is processed by creating a batch for each pending Correspondence.
  • Users may filter pending Correspondence by a Sales Exec or End Date if desired to create a batch.
  • Fulfillment should be completed at least once per day, preferably at the same time(s) every day, to ensure that all Action Cycle Step Offsets will be maintained.
  • Correspondence may consist of one or more Merge Documents (Microsoft Word form letters, envelopes, and/or labels).
  • Focus3 will automatically generate merged Word documents, based on the related Merge Documents, containing all of the pending items scheduled by any Users for the selected Correspondence.
  • Users must upload Merge Documents into Focus3 where they may be centrally stored on the server.

Related Tasks

• To add a Correspondence template:
  1. Click on the "Admin" tab to display the Admin page.
  2. Click on the "Correspondence/Emails" link to display Correspondence/Emails page.
  3. Click on the "Add Correspondence/Email" link on the upper-right to display the Correspondence/Email Details page.
  4. Complete the fields as desired. See the Field Descriptions below for detailed field descriptions.
  5. Click the "Save" button.
• To upload your Microsoft Word Merge documents (form letters, envelopes, label templates):
  1. Click on the "Admin" tab to display the Admin page.
  2. Click on the "Correspondence/Emails" link to display your active Correspondence (Letters).
  3. Click on a Correspondence Name to view the Correspondence/Email Details page.
  4. Click the "Add Merge Documents" link in the "Merge Documents" section to display the "Upload Merge Document" options.
  5. Click the "Browse" button and select the appropriate Microsoft Word document from your local computer or network.
  6. Select the Document Type -- either "Letter/Envelope" or "Labels".
  7. Click the Upload button.
  8. Upload additional Merge Documents for the selected Correspondence as desired. Each Merge Document that you upload will be generated when you fulfill the Correspondence.
• To manually schedule a Correspondence Action for a Contact:
  1. Navigate to the desired Contact's Contact Summary page.
  2. Select "Correspondence" from the "Add New Action" drop-down menu in the Sales Path section.
  3. Complete the fields as desired. See the Field Descriptions below for detailed field descriptions.
  4. Click the "Save" button. The Contact Summary page will be displayed and the new Correspondence will display in the Sales Path section with a status of "Scheduled".
     • Note: Since this Correspondence is added manually outside of an Action Cycle, it will not automatically schedule a follow-up Action when completed.
• To complete Fulfillment:
  1. Click on the "Admin" tab to display the Admin page.
  2. Click on the "Fulfillment" link to display all Correspondence that has been scheduled. The number Pending Fulfillment (ready to be printed) and the total number scheduled are displayed for each Correspondence.
  3. Click on a the Name of the Correspondence you'd like to generate and print to display the Create Fulfillment Batch page.
  4. You may filter the scheduled Correspondence by Employee or End Date/Time as desired and enter any Notes. Clicking the "Create Batch" without changing the default values will create a batch that contains all Correspondence Pending Fulfillment and will display the Fulfillment Batch Details page.
  5. Click the "Download Word Files" button to download and save a .zip file containing the merged Word documents, or click the "Download Merge File" button to download and save the merge data file only. The "Download Merge File" option may be used to merge data with Word files that are stored outside of Focus3.
     • Notes:
       • If your operating system is older than Windows XP, you'll need WinZip or another third-party utility to uncompress the .zip file.
       • For assistance understanding the data merge process, please review the following Microsoft Office reference: http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/hfws.aspx?AssetID=HA010349201033&CTT=6&Origin=EC010272491033
  6. Minimize the Focus3 browser window. Open the .zip file and the contained Word documents.
  7. Proof and print the Correspondence documents in Microsoft Word.
  8. When the letters, envelopes, and/or labels have been printed as desired, maximize the Focus3 browser window and select "Completed" in the Status drop-down menu.
  9. Click the "Change Status" button to indicate the batch is completed and complete the Correspondence Action for each of the related Contacts and move them to the next step of their Action Cycle.

Field Descriptions

• Correspondence Item
  • Correspondence/Email ID
    • System-generated value.
    • Unique Correspondence/Email identifier. (ex. 1234567890)
  • Type
    • Required drop-down value.
    • Item type. This value is un-editable after the Correspondence is saved. (ex. Correspondence)
  • Name
    • Required text input.
    • Name of Correspondence item. (ex. Intro Package)
  • Active
    • Required drop-down value.
    • Activates or deactivates the Correspondence item. (ex. Yes or No)
  • Requires Tour Data
    • Required drop-down value.
    • Indicates if the Correspondence item contains merge fields for Tour information, such as the Hotel or Check-in Time. Correspondence that requires Tour data may not be fulfilled unless a Tour is scheduled for the Contact. (ex. Yes or No).
  • Message Body
    • Optional text input.
    • Default value for a custom <<MessageBody>> merge variable that may optionally be included in selected Correspondence. The <<MessageBody>> merge variable MUST be included in the selected Correspondence merge file template in order for this value to be displayed. Allows Users to insert a custom message within a pre-defined merge file template. The custom message may consist of a single sentence, paragraph or the entire message body. The value entered into this field will pre-populate the Message Body field as the default value for the Correspondence template. The default Message Body value may be overridden by the sender as desired. (ex. Thanks for your recent inquiry!)
• Merge Document
  • Name
    • System-generated value.
    • Displays the file name of the Merge Document. (ex. intro_letter.doc)
  • Document Type
    • Required drop-down value.
    • Indicates the merge document type. (ex. Letter/Envelope or Labels)
• Correspondence Action
  • Correspondence ID
    • System-generated value.
    • Unique Correspondence identifier. (ex. 1234567890)
  • Updated
    • System-generated value.
    • Record modification Date. (ex. 1/23/2006)
  • Scheduled
    • Required date input.
    • Schedules Date to send Correspondence. (ex. 1/23/2006)
  • Status
    • Required drop-down value.
    • Correspondence status options. (ex. Scheduled or Completed or Cancelled)
  • Employee
    • System-generated value.
    • Name of User that scheduled the Correspondence. (ex. John Doe)
  • Action Cycle
    • System-generated value.
    • Displays the current Action Cycle name. (ex. Request Info)
  • Action Step
    • System-generated value.
    • Displays the current Action Cycle Step name. (ex. Initial Request)
  • Other Letter
    • Optional text input.
    • Name of custom letter. (ex. Handwritten Note)
  • Template
    • Required drop-down value.
    • List of available Correspondence names. (ex. Post Tour Thank You)
  • Merge Documents
    • System-generated value.
    • Filename link to download the merge documents for the selected Correspondence. (ex. intro_letter.doc)
  • Message Body
    • Optional text area input.
    • Custom message. The <<MessageBody>> merge variable MUST be included in the selected Correspondence merge file template in order for this value to be displyted. (ex. Hi John! Hope you're doing well...)
  • Notes
    • Optional text input area.
    • Description of Correspondence. (ex. Sent John a letter about our seasonal promotion.)

Sample Templates

• Sample Letter Template (.doc Microsoft Word Document)
• Sample Envelope Template (No. 10) (.doc Microsoft Word Document)
• Sample Label Template (Avery 5660) (.doc Microsoft Word Document)
• Sample Reservation Letter Template (.doc Microsoft Word Document)