Getting your emails in somebody’s inbox is great, but what you really need is for your recipient to read your message.

Tracking whether or not your emails were opened may not be necessary if you’re sending emails to family or friends. But for businesses sending invoices or purchase orders, knowing if an email was read can be crucial to maintaining a healthy cash flow or meeting production deadlines.

So how can you tell if your email was actually read? Let’s take a look at some of the tracking tools available and how they work.

Read receipts

Some email clients like Outlook use read receipt tracking. Senders can request a read receipt prior to sending a message, and each recipient has the option to alert the sender that they received or read the message.

However, there are several reasons why requesting a read receipt doesn’t guarantee you’ll actually get one. Firstly, not all email services support read receipt functionality. Those that do are usually functional only when your recipient is using the same service.

But let’s say both parties are using compatible read receipt programs – even then, users can opt-out of sending the notifications. Some companies even require that users disable read receipts to prevent spammers from acquiring information about their email system.

Pixel tracking

Typically used by marketers, pixel tracking works by inserting a transparent 1×1 pixel image into an email. When that email is opened, the image loads, and the server where the image is stored gets pinged with information including the date and time of access.

But pixel tracking only works if images are loaded when the email is opened. Many users do not automatically load images when opening an email. This preference is often set at the request of IT security departments or in an attempt to limit mobile data usage.

Confirmed Email

Secure Email Delivery through AventX for Oracle EBS, AventX for SAP, AventX for JD Edwards, and other ERPs, is specifically designed for enterprises that have a vested interest in knowing if their emailed documents were delivered and read. Unlike read receipts and pixel tracking, AventX doesn’t have any way for recipients to bypass sharing an access notification with the sender.

When recipients download the documents included in an email, unique tracking allows the sender to see when they opened them and can even alert the sender if a file isn’t opened within a designated time frame.

To learn more about business email 
and delivering important documents, 
download a free copy of our latest ebook! 

The post How can I tell if my email was read? first appeared on STR Software.

The post Are your invoice emails getting ignored? first appeared on STR Software.

Willis Felton of Richmond, Inc. (WFofR) is a media buying agency located in Richmond, Virginia. WFofR specializes in purchasing local television time on a regional and national basis which allows their clients to reach a greater number of market segments and maximize their advertising budgets.  For over 30 years, WFofR has successfully worked with their clients and local television stations across the country to help increase awareness for their clients’ brands in a particular region.

The Problem:

A long-time STR Software customer, WFofR originally came to STR to purchase a fax solution so they could efficiently fax purchase order contracts and advertisement traffic schedules to local television stations. Once implemented, a media buyer would fax contracts to the stations, where the appropriate person signed it and faxed it back to WFofR. Upon receipt, the media buyer would manually enter contract information into their customer management system; then the Traffic Department would fax a traffic schedule to the TV station with instructions to run advertisements.

Although faxing met WFofR’s need of requiring confirmed receipt of contracts and traffic instructions, faxing back and forth with stations became cumbersome when faxes failed or receipt was unconfirmed by the specific person who needed the documents. According to Donna Wilson, Traffic Manager at WFofR, buyers could spend up to two hours per day tracking down lost or failed faxes. If the faxes were successful but the buyer received no confirmation from the station, then they had to personally call to make sure the contracts were received by the right individual.

These faxing inefficiencies coupled with requests that contracts and instructions be delivered via email, finally led Jake Willis, IT Manager, to search for an email solution. Because WFofR works to schedule media time, receipt confirmations are critical to ensure that WFofR’s clients are certain the TV stations will uphold their desired schedule.

With these requirements in mind, Willis first evaluated WFofR’s infrastructure and determined that developing a solution in-house was not an option as cost and system requirements were too high. Next, Willis considered and eliminated Outlook because recipients have the ability to opt-out of read receipts, and attachment file size constraints limited the amount of information buyers could include in one email. Willis then decided it was time to shop for a solution offering email with confirmed receipt and the ability to include large attachments. Willis mentioned his challenges during a call with his STR Software sales consultant and soon realized STR Software had the perfect solution.

The Solution:

AventX Mail SC from STR Software provided automated email with the confirmed receipt so needed by WFofR. Upon seeing a demonstration, Willis was excited to learn that AventX Mail SC would integrate seamlessly with their current system and would not drastically change the process users were accustomed to.  WFofR users would be able to send emails to stations, and once the recipient clicked a link to download the documents, the WFofR user would see a confirmed status in the web-based document status table, the AventX WebManager.

As Traffic Manager, Donna Wilson manages the traffic employees and works closely with buyers who regularly communicate with stations. Since implementing AventX Mail SC, Wilson has seen an uptick in her team’s morale and efficiency because “worrying about failed faxes was a big stressor and an annoying part of the job. Chasing down failed faxes took about two hours of our day when a mass fax would go out.” Now, AventX Mail SC has reduced the time it takes for receipt confirmation of contracts and instructions from up to three days to about 30 minutes. Quick email receipt confirmations have given Wilson’s team time to focus on other projects. Wilson and her team “have had a really good experience, and are very happy. Everyone who uses AventX Mail SC at WFofR says the recipients are pleased with the experience as well; it’s a huge positive here.”

In addition, switching from fax to a confirmed email solution allowed WFofR to eliminate 2/3 of their fax lines, thereby decreasing long-distance dialing costs and drastically reducing paper consumption. From an IT perspective, Jake Willis notes, “the best thing about AventX Mail SC and other STR Software products is that we set and forget, then don’t worry about it at all. The benefit of not having to worry if this is working or not on a daily basis is great.”

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STR Software specializes in document delivery solutions for email, fax, and internet fax. The AventX Product Suite integrates with internally-developed and host ERP applications including Oracle EBS, SAP, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, IFAS, EAS, and more in UNIX, Linux, MPE, and Windows environments.

The post Confirmed Email Solution Reduces Administrative Costs at Media Buying Agency first appeared on STR Software.