1.       Assuming the e-mail list is compiled and the material to be sent out is completed. How is it transmitted to the c360 delivery service?

        The package is delivered to the Service via outbound HTTP. The C360 delivery then takes over. It is stored at the data centre for the life of the campaign and is delivered to the audience via an SMTP service.

2.       Once c360 has the email list and material to be sent, Who or which SMTP server is sending the e-mail, and what does the e-mail header look like as sending authority?

        It is delivered from C360's SMTP server.  The address that the email appears from is customisable (normally reflects the senders email address.) Behind this is a return path which sits on the C360 data centre. This is called eCommzone.

3.       Is there an automated opt-out function, and is this tracked? Does the person requesting opt-out receive a confirmation?

        Yes, there is an automatic opt out. The template should have an acknowledgement page for opt-out confirmation. (we design this into our standard templates)

4.       How does your company maintain compliance with the SPAM act?

        All of the templates we deliver have an automatic opt-out facility which will automatically "opt you out" of future campaigns.

5.       Have you have any legal litigation resulting in (from?) e-mail marketing? And if so how was that resolved.

        No

6.       What risk, if any, does the client have as it relates to being reported to ORDB and having the IP block or specific IP address being terminated and/or Blacklisted for violation of AUP standards and provider policies.

        The client has no risk of being blacklisted since the IP address of the sender is registered to us  (C360EMM) . We are also intending on implementing our own ‘blacklist’ to monitor frequent bounces etc so that we can proactively deal with customers who could be causing problems before it becomes a real problem.

7.       What network resources will be required on the client side and will there be any special firewall modifications required for access into client side systems? 

        None. The campaign is published on port 80 to a web service. The major bandwidth usage is in the sending of the emails and handling the landing zone traffic which is all done in our service.

8.       We would like to be able to store and re-use email templates.  For example we may send out a mailer on Tuesday and then find a new group of people to send the same mailer on Thursday.  Can you add additional recipients to a communication, so that it will be tracked and reported all together? Yes you can reuse email templates plus you can create new campaigns just from the result of the previous email campaign. Campaign templates are stored as Template entities within CRM. We will help you produce you first 2 templates which can then be edited at your leisure. Use any HTML design tool to create the initial templates. If you add contacts for a campaign that has already occurred then it will be a separate  communication against the same campaign.  You can add new members to an existing marketing list.

9.       Also how are the email templates used for communications stored, are they their own entity or just an attachment? You are uploading HTML templates from any design program you wish.  (Dreamweaver, Front Page, Expression etc...) They are then stored in their own entity within Dynamics called Templates. 

10.   Can you send an email to both contacts and leads at the same time or do you have to create two separate communication records? You would need to create separate communications attached to the same campaign.

11.   How does the c360 Email marketing tool handle unsubscribes?  All the templates we deliver have an automatic opt out facility which will automatically opt you out of any future campaigns. Furthermore, by adding new fields to the Dynamics record you can be more specific with the opt outs, Any Boolean value (or other types) can be updated through a button in the communication pages. This directly updates the CRM database. This could be updating ‘Do Not Bulk Email’ or some custom flag specific to a particular communication type (say Newsletter Subscribe). This is implemented using a form with hidden elements.

12.    How do you insert the option to unsubscribe into an email communication and how does the tool track if a Contact/Lead has unsubscribed? C360 email marketing has a specific piece of HTML which performs the unsubscribe function, this can be embedded in the template. A form can be implemented (with just hidden elements if required) that creates Campaign Responses which can then be acted upon in the CRM system. This allows indirect processing of the unsubscribe and allows a business process to be followed. For example if the unsubscribe is from a particular communication the Campaign Response might include info about unsubscribing from the particular newsletter or all communication. At the appropriate time the CRM user could find the unsubscribe Campaign Responses and bulk update flags or remove unsubscribed contacts from lists. 

13.   Does it update any opt-in/opt-out contact methods in for the Contact or Lead Record in CRM?  Yes there is an automatic opt out. The template will just have an acknowledgement page for opt out confirmation.  see above explanation

14.   Can you schedule a date you want the communication to go out? Yes . The time and date of a communication can be scheduled in advance. 

15.   Who are the emails sent from when you use the tool? The package is delivered to the Service via an outbound HTTP. The c360 delivery then takes over. It is stored at the data centre for the life of the campaign and is delivered to the audience via an SMTP service. The email can be "from" whoever you designate the email to be from.

16.   Can you choose who the message is from? Yes the email address that appears is customizable to normally reflect the senders email.

17.   How is the reply-to handled? The reply to would be handled on your end as a normal email reply

18.   How are bounced emails handled? Bounced emails are recorded in the clickstream analysis. The are broken down by hard and soft bounces  and the specific type of bounce. eg Out of Office, server not available, recipient not know

19.   Is there automatic retries for certain types of bounces? Depending on the category of bounce, some types are retried up to three times. 

20.   Does the use of this tool require any other cost besides the c360 Activation fee and the monthly charge?  For instance does this require the purchase of the External Connector License?  The only other known costs would be for campaign design services should you decide to outsource this. But there is no additional delivery cost.