This article explains how to start a Reply Card Campaign. First it goes over the basic process. Then it details the changes that you will need to make for each specific type of reply card campaign, such as:

• Event Invitations
• Client Awareness Campaign
• Retirement Mistakes Campaign

Get the Reply Card Campaign Started

Go to the Customize workspace and create the Reply Card Campaign Workflow in G5.

Go to the Campaign workspace and set-up the Campaign Instance.

• Name it based on the event or promotion you are using it for.
• Typically, the CRM Operations Specialist (COS) is the campaign manager.
• Add any users who will be making follow-up calls to the campaign in the Support role.
• Select the Reply Card Campaign folder in the document manager as this campaign’s folder.
• Describe what you want this campaign to do in the description field.

Open the Campaign Instance and Add the Reply Card Campaign Workflow to it.

• Configure the 2-Promotion step by attaching the Reply Card Promotion document and selecting the signatories.
  
• Configure the 3-Reply Card Additional Info Requested step by attaching the Reply Card Report document and selecting the signatories.
  
• Configure the 3-Reply Card Meeting Requested step by attaching the Reply Card Thanks document and selecting the signatories.
  

Go to the Document Manager and Replace the Placeholder Attachments with the letters and reports your campaign will use. (Or, if you have run a reply card campaign in G5 before, update the attachments from the previous reply card campaign you ran.)

• Choose the promotion your campaign will send. Attach it to the Reply Card Promotion document.
• Choose the report your campaign will send to those who respond. Attach it to the Reply Card Report document. If your campaign uses a cover sheet for that report, combine it with the report into a single document before attaching it.
• Choose the Thanks letter your Campaign will use. Attach it to the Reply Card Thanks document.

Optimize the Workflow for a Specific Campaign

Detailed below are 3 different campaigns that use this workflow. Skip to the section below that matches the campaign you want to run.

Event Invitations

This campaign workflow is used for Client or Prospect events when you are inviting people you have met before. It is not suitable for mass mail events, when you invite large numbers of people you have never met. Once this campaign has run its course, you would continue tracking the event through a Seminar Event Processing campaign.

• Create and Attach a customized invitation to the Reply Card Promotion document.
• Create a custom Confirmation message. Attach it to the Reply Card Report document. You can use any of the Meeting Confirmation messages as the basis of your custom message.
• Remove the Send Thanks for Response print document action from 3-Reply Card Meeting Requested. Thank You messages for attendees will be handled in the event processing campaign.

Client Awareness Campaign

The Client Awareness Campaign  sends a questionnaire to clients, which gets returned. It does not send out additional information after the promo. Due to this, the tier 3 steps are used a little differently:

• 3-Reply Card Additional Info Requested is used to track incomplete questionnaires for follow-up calls.
• 3-Reply Card Meeting Requested is used to track Completed Questionnaires for follow-up calls.
• 3-Reply Card Not Interested is used to track non-respondents, and make follow-up calls to them.

Due to this, when you start the campaign instance, you will need to make some adjustments:

• Add a Follow-up Call action to the 3-Reply Card Additional Info Requested step. Attach the scripts if you are using any, to that step. Use the Start and End dates of the campaign as the start and end date of the task.
  
• Remove the Send the Requested Report step from the 3 - Reply Card Additional Info Requested step. This campaign does not send out a report to responders, so this step will not get used.
• Choose the Letter you want to use for the Campaign. Download and replace the attachment of Reply Card Promo in the document manager.
• Download the Thank You Letter from the Letters Library.  Replace the document attached to Reply Card Thanks in the document manager.
• Remove the Lead Generation-Perm Off activity plan from 3-Reply Card Not Interested step.
• Add a similar follow-up call action as the one detailed above to the 3-Reply Card Not Interested step as well. Specify that this person did not respond to the campaign in the Description and Notes fields.
• OPTIONAL: Normally this campaign does not need to be cycled back to the start. However, if you would like that option, add it now. Add the 2-Promotion step to the Next available status of 3-Reply Card Not Interested step. This allows you to Cycle the campaign back to the Promotion step.
• Merge samples of the letters attached to steps in this campaign and send them to your Compliance department for approval. Make any changes requested.

Retirement Mistakes Campaign

The Retirement Mistakes Campaign is used to build interest in prospects by sending them information about how to avoid certain mistakes when preparing for retirement.

• Add a Follow-up Call action to the 3-Reply Card Additional Info Requested step. Attach the scripts if you are using them. Use the Start and End dates of the campaign as the start and end date of the task.
  
• Add the 2-Promotion step to the Next available status of 3-Reply Card Not Interested step. This allows you to Cycle the campaign back to the Promotion step.
• Download Retire Mistakes Promo from the letters library and replace the attachment in the Reply Card Promo in the document manager with this letter.
• Download Retire Mistakes Cover Letter and Report from the letters library. Make any adjustments you need to make to them, then combine them into one document and replace the attachment in the Reply Card Report in the document manager with this letter.
• Merge samples of the above two letters and send them to your Compliance department for approval. Make any changes requested.