Email Marketing Software

Email Marketing Software

Engage your target audience with expertly crafted, effective emails. Email marketing software makes it simple to organize your contacts, develop successful campaigns and monitor results.

Email marketing software can seriously improve the efficiency of email campaigns, and this is a fact. The main task of such a tool would be that of insuring rapid and quality communication with business clients or prospects by means of newsletters, notifications and special offer messages. The number of subscribers to your informative services should be growing progressively if you have an opt-in box available on your web page for people to leave their contact details. These are in fact the people with whom you can increase sales and improve profit, and the use of a good marketing email software will keep the doors of communication open.
A marketing email software program functions as a bulk mailer that sends mass messages to all the contacts in the mailing lists. Furthermore, the tool imports the contact details from all the common databases and it even allows a merging of the lists for an improved usage. If you purchase a direct or desktop email blaster, then the delivery will be instant to the recipient's mail box. Plus, a marketing email software makes it possible for you to create personalized messages both as text or in HTML format, depending on your choice. Some programs will only work in the HTML encoding systems, hence make sure to check these features before product registration.
A marketing email software will also improve the e-campaign management by the possibility to track the performance of the messages as well as the number of clicks on your links that result from the emails. Thanks to the read receipt function, an email marketer will know who has read the mail and who hasn't. Moreover, there is a also a feature that takes care of unsubscribers, bounced back emails and new subscribers. Your business will grow because of this safe and efficient management of the mailing lists.
Last but not least, any marketing email software should include an unsubscribe link in the messages sent to the contacts in the mailing lists. This will give the recipients the chance to opt-out in order to no longer receive your informative mails. Without the presence of such a link in the emails content, the use of the marketing email software loses part of its legitimacy. The same illegal character applies to the use of a marketing email software for sending unsolicited bulk mail. Do not ignore the importance of such regulations, and don't lose sight of your legal obligations towards the mail recipients.

Why Email Marketing Software?

Whether you want to create and send newsletters, marketing materials, customer correspondences or other documents, email marketing software will help you develop a professional and effective campaign—and, it's easy.

This software has a number of creation features that will help you build an attractive email. You can import HTML pages that you've already developed or use one of the email templates to create a new design. You can add pictures, attachments, background images and even sound files to create an impressive email.

Some of the programs will automatically include an unsubscribe/subscribe button and track the number of subscribers and those who choose to unsubscribe. Additionally, the best bulk email software offers other reports that contain information on the number of successful emails, the number of emails that bounce back, the number of opened emails and more.

Definition of Financial Statement

Definition of Financial Statement

Financial statements are prepared by accountants to provide business owners with an accurate snapshot of their financial status at a specific point in time. In addition, business owners must supply their banker or other lender with copies of these financial statements on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis; therefore, these documents are expected to be accurate representations of the company's financial status. If they are not, it is considered fraud if the business owner realizes the discrepancy and submits them to his lender anyway.

1.     Financial Statement Defined

Financial statements are quantitative documents created monthly, quarterly or annually that show the financial health of a particular company at a particular time, and they generally are comprised of four reports: a balance sheet, an income statement, a cash flow statement and a shareholder's equity statement.

2.     Financial Statement Features

The balance sheet portion of the financial statement shows a company's assets, liabilities and net worth. Assets generally include cash, machinery, land and other items of value. The income statement shows the company's sales, expenses and net profit from operating the business during the period. The company's cash flow statement shows the cash received and the cash paid out during the period analyzed. And the company's shareholder's equity statement is a reflection of what a company's profit total would be if its assets were sold and all debts paid at that particular moment in time.

Culture and Communication

Culture and Communication

The term “culture” refers to the complex collection of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and give a common identity to a particular group of people at a specific point in time.

All social units develop a culture. Even in two-person relationships, a culture develops over time. In friendship and romantic relationships, for example, partners develop their own history, shared experiences, language patterns, rituals, habits, and customs that give that relationship a special character—a character that differentiates it in various ways from other relationships. Examples might include special dates, places, songs, or events that come to have a unique and important symbolic meaning for two individuals.

Groups also develop cultures, composed of the collection of rules, rituals, customs, and other characteristics that give an identity to the social unit. Where a group traditionally meets, whether meetings begin on time or not, what topics are discussed, how decisions are made, and how the group socializes are all elements of what, over time, become defining and differentiating elements of its culture.

Organizations also have cultures, often apparent in particular patterns of dress, layout of workspaces, meeting styles and functions, ways of thinking about and talking about the nature and directions of the organization, leadership styles, and so on.

The most rich and complex cultures are those that are associated with a society or a nation, and the term “culture” is most commonly used to refer to these characteristics, including language and language-usage patterns, rituals, rules, and customs. A societal or national culture also includes such elements as significant historical events and characters, philosophies of government, social customs, family practices, religion, economic philosophies and practices, belief and value systems, and concepts and systems of law.

Thus, any social unit—whether a relationship, group, organization, or society—develops a culture over time. While the defining characteristics—or combination of characteristics—of each culture are unique, all cultures share certain common functions. Three such functions that are particularly important from a communication perspective are (1) linking individuals to one another, (2) providing the basis for a common identity, and (3) creating a context for interaction and negotiation among members.

The Relationship Between Communication and Culture

The relationship between communication and culture is a very complex and intimate one. First, cultures are created through communication; that is, communication is the means of human interaction through which cultural characteristics— whether customs, roles, rules, rituals, laws, or other patterns—are created and shared. It is not so much that individuals set out to create a culture when they interact in relationships, groups, organizations, or societies, but rather that cultures are a natural by-product of social interaction. In a sense, cultures are the “residue” of social communication. Without communication and communication media, it would be impossible to preserve and pass along cultural characteristics from one place and time to another. One can say, therefore, that culture is created, shaped, transmitted, and learned through communication. The reverse is also the case; that is, communication practices are largely created, shaped, and transmitted by culture.

To understand the implications of this communication-culture relationship, it is necessary to think in terms of ongoing communication processes rather than a single communication event. For example, when a three-person group first meets, the members bring with them individual thought and behavioral patterns from previous communication experiences and from other cultures of which they are, or have been, a part. As individuals start to engage in communication with the other members of this new group, they begin to create a set of shared experiences and ways of talking about them. If the group continues to interact, a set of distinguishing history, patterns, customs, and rituals will evolve. Some of these cultural characteristics would be quite obvious and tangible, such that a new person joining the group would encounter ongoing cultural “rules” to which they would learn to conform through communication. New members would in turn influence the group culture in small, and sometimes large, ways as they become a part of it. In a reciprocal fashion, this reshaped culture shapes the communication practices of current and future group members. This is true with any culture; communication shapes culture, and culture shapes communication.

Characteristics of Culture

Cultures are complex and multifaceted. As is apparent from the above discussions, cultures are complex “structures” that consist of a wide array of characteristics. The cultures of relationships or groups are relatively simple compared to those of organizations and, especially, societies. Edward Hall (1959, 1979) is one of the most significant contributors to the general understanding of the complexity of culture and the importance of communication to understanding and dealing with cultural differences at the societal level.

Communicating Within The Organization

Communicating Within The Organization

This article focuses on communication in the organizational structure. In the development of an organizational structure, communication channels are an important consideration. The manager in a hierarchical system becomes a link in the communication chain. It is the hierarchical system that gives direction to and imposes restrictions upon the flow of communications. Management decisions and directions flow from higher to lower levels in the organization. Responses and reports from the lower level managers flow upward in the organization. Managers also spend time communicating with their peers. Therefore, we see from the outset that communications must function effectively in a lateral direction, as well as downward and upward.
Committees influence the communication process within an organization. A well-run committee can serve as a supplementary link in the communication chain and provide a means for disseminating information. However, committees often fail to ensure that Managers A and B tell each other what they wish or need to know. Although they cannot give directions or issue procedures, staff members influence the communication process within an organization. The advice or recommendations of staff members are accepted by subordinate managers, because of the anticipated support by the staff member's superior. When a staff member is given functional decision prerogatives, he essentially assumes the same status as his superior with respect to such matters. T. C. Warner believes that "one's accomplishment is... in a very real sense dependent upon the quality of the communication with others." And John Connor says that "there is no more valuable asset in business life than the ability to express one's thoughts with clarity and precision."
The Communication Process
To set the stage for information and message flow through an organization, let’s review the basic elements of the communication process. These elements include: someone to send the message (the encoder), some means for channeling it, someone to receive it (the decoder), and a feedback mechanism. A multiplicity of encoders, channels, decoders, and feedback mechanisms can be used. However, for the information in a message to be processed clearly, quickly, and with a minimum amount of degradation, management must establish clear, formal communication channels.
Let's assume the message to be transmitted originates with the manager, or that he is serving as the agent for passing along a message from another source. Regardless of the source, the message passes through his (the sender's) filter before it reaches the intended recipient. The sender injects his attitudes and perceptions into the message; determines who should receive it; and the channels through which it should flow, i.e., upward, down-ward, laterally, or a combination of these. The attitudes and perceptions of the recipient, of course, influence the message translation, as well as the feedback he provides. Peter Drucker, noted exponent of good management practices, says:
"The manager has a specific tool: information. He doesn't "handle" people, but instead he motivates, guides, organizes people to do their own work. His tool - the only tool - to do all this is the spoken or written word or the language of numbers. It does not matter whether the manager's job is engineering, accounting, or spelling. To be effective, a manager must have the ability to listen and to read, and the ability to speak and to write. Managers need skill in getting their thinking across to other people."
This describes quite adequately the manager's role in the communication process.
The Communication Channels
The communication channel selected for transmitting a message plays a significant role in maintaining the quality of the original message in its passage from the sender to receiver. The sender, given the opportunity to weigh the merits of using an oral or written communication, or a combination of the two, selects the most effective for the situation.
Regardless of the communication channel selected, the sender will encounter obstacles. In the previous chapter, the various barriers to effective communication were analyzed. Considering the possible barriers, the sender must choose the channel which he feels will best guarantee transfer of the essence and meaning of his message without misunderstanding or distortion.
To counteract possible interference in the communication channel, the message should attract attention, contain redundancy, continue repetition, or use a combination of these approaches.
To attract attention, the message must be different from others competing for the recipient's time. A short handwritten message instead of the usual typed message is one method that can attract attention.
To provide redundancy, the message must be rephrased several times (the technique used in newspaper articles), and/or summarized in the final paragraph. The sender should avoid too much redundancy because this tends to clutter the communication channel.
To provide repetition, the message must be transmitted through more than one channel, as in spoken and written form, or transmitted more than once through the same channel, as in TV advertising.
Now, let's turn our attention to the basic communication channels within an organization. There are three channels: formal, informal, and unofficial.
Formal. The communication within the formal organizational structure that transmits goals, policies, procedures, and directions.
Informal. The communication outside the formal organizational structure that fills the organizational gaps, maintains the linkages, and handles the one-time situations.
Unofficial. The interpersonal communication within (or among) the social structure of the organization that serves as the vehicle for casual interpersonal exchanges, and transmittal of unofficial communications.
A more detailed examination of each of these communication channels will provide a better understanding of these functions.
Formal Communication
Formal communication - written or oral - follows the chain of command of the formal organization; the communication flows from the manager to his immediate subordinates. Each recipient then re-transmits the message in the selected form to the next lower level of management or to staff members, as appropriate. The message progresses down the chain of command, fanning out along the way, until all who have a need to know are informed. Formal communication also flows upward through the organization on the same basis.
Formal communication normally encompasses the transmittal of goals, policies, instructions, memoranda, and reports; scheduled meetings; and supervisory-subordinate interviews.
Informal Communication
No organization operates in a completely formal or structured environment. Communication between operations depicted in an organizational chart do not function as smoothly or as trouble-free as the chart may imply. In most organizations operating effectively, channels of communication have developed outside the hierarchical structure.
The informal communication process supplements the formal process by filling the gaps and/or omissions. Successful managers encourage informal organizational linkages and, at the same time, recognize that circumvention of established lines of authority and communication is not a good regular practice. When lines of authority have been bypassed, the manager must assume responsibility for informing those normally in the chain of command of the action taken.
There is a fine line between using informal communications to expedite the work of the organization and the needless bypassing of the chain of command. The expediting process gets the job done, but bypassing the chain of command causes irritation and can lead to hard feelings. To be effective, the manager must find a way to balance formal and informal communication processes.
Unofficial Communication
Astute program and functional managers recognize that a great deal of communication taking place within their organizations is interpersonal. News of revised policies and procedures, memoranda, and minutes of meetings are subjects of conversation throughout the organization. These subjects often share the floor with discussions of TV shows, sports news, politics, and gossip.
The "grapevine" is a part of the unofficial communication process in any organization. A grapevine arises because of lack of information employees consider important: organizational changes, jobs, or associates. This rumor mill transmits information of highly varying accuracy at a remarkable speed. Rumors tend to fall into three categories: those reflecting anxiety, those involving things hoped for, and those causing divisiveness in the organization. Some rumors fade with the passing of time; others die when certain events occur.
Employees take part in the grapevine process to the extent that they form groups. Any employee not considered a part of some group is apt to be left out of this unofficial communication process.
The grapevine is not necessarily good or bad. It serves a useful function when it acts as a barometer of employees' feelings and attitudes. Unfortunately, the information traveling along the grapevine tends to become magnified or exaggerated. Employees then become alarmed unnecessarily by what they hear. It is imperative that a manager be continually alert to the circulation of false information. When discovered, positive steps should be taken to provide the correct information immediately.
Coordination - Another Communication Function
One of the major functions of the communication process in an organization is effective coordination. Information available within the various functional groups is normally routed to key decision centers. It must be complete, accurate, and timely. When decisions are made, they must be transmitted to all concerned groups within the organization. The messages containing the decisions must be clear and precise. The success of the response to each message is dependent upon the preciseness of the original message, the communication channel used for transmitting it, the interpretation and understanding of the receiver, and the channel selected for transmitting the feed back. Lawrence Appley states: "There is little risk of over- simplification in saying that good managers are good communicators; poor managers are usually the opposite. If an individual has a sincere desire to clarify his thinking, there is no better way to do it than to put it in writing."
Communication Problems
Management must be continually aware of the barriers to effective communication and take steps necessary to keep the channels open. There are some approaches to solving communication problems that are worthy of consideration at this time.
Try to maintain a good relationship. A poor superior-subordinate relationship hampers the communication process.
Don't overlook the importance of upward communication from a subordinate, or lateral communication with a peer. This can hamper the communication process.
Don't clog the channel of communication. Its value may be reduced by a delay in receipt of the communication.
It is better for you as a manager, to pass too much information down the chain of command than to pass too little. The receipt of more information gives your subordinate a feeling of confidence and security; lack of information promotes insecurity and a feeling of not being trusted. The problem in many organizations is that too little information is passed down the chain of command, and too much information is required to be passed up the chain. This problem is discussed in more detail later.
Pay attention to the selection of the form in which the message will be conveyed. A message not conveyed in an acceptable form may fail to pass the barriers in the communication channel, regardless of whether it is moving down the chain of command, up the chain, or laterally.
Overloading
Much attention has been focused on the direction of the communication flow, but very little attention on the quantity of information in the communication chain. In your organization, is the daily message flow high and low? In most cases the organization would operate more effectively if the message flow increased; however, there is a limitation on the number of messages an organization can handle.
The free flow of information within an organization is an ideal to be achieved. When the information received far exceeds that required, the recipients cannot give proper attention to what is really needed. Much valuable time is devoted to the sorting and selection process.
One of the problems of using redundancy and repetition to minimize breakdown in the communication process is possible overload. Therefore, these techniques must be used with caution. If you are spending an increasing amount of time on the communication process, it is imperative to your future success that you develop an efficient information-processing skill.
How can an organization cope with an information overload situation? There is no one best way. The techniques that have been developed are often used in conjunction with one another. One technique involves filtering the messages so that the important ones, those requiring immediate action, get to the decision-maker first. Another technique involves delegating and decentralizing the decision-making process so messages do not go to a single executive. Still another technique involves carefully selecting information sources and eliminating those proven inaccurate or unreliable.
The Need and the Benefits
Sometimes top executives come to grips with basic practical viewpoints which, when carefully articulated, can help all of us. In a presentation to undergraduates, Howard Blauvelt said, "Business needs skilled communicators." This is a more kindly stance than that taken by many leading educators who are appalled at the inability of undergraduates to spell, write simple effective English or express themselves orally. "The ability to listen, digest, distill, and further communicate information is fundamental," Blauvelt said. His message is clear. Robert Sarnoff has said: "Today's leaders are frequently men and women who have mastered the art of communication. They know how to get their ideas across. And successful people - those who are continually sought for key positions - effectively combine their ability to communicate with a solid foundation of knowledge. For knowledge is the predominant quality in the transmission of ideas."
Do you have the basic knowledge to function effectively in your position? Assuming you have, have you developed the necessary communication skills to impart this knowledge to others? Peter Prior says:
"A major factor which must be considered, if the benefits of leadership are to be given full rein in an organization, is the existence of a good communications system, from top to bottom and across. . . . This is an area where a pinch of good practice is worth a pound of good theory."
Are you employing that "pinch of good practice," or are you bogged down with "a pound of theory?" Success in managing your business may depend on your skill in applying the communication process effectively in your day-today activities.