Keep in Contact by Using an E-mail Auto Responder

People go on vacation to get away from tasks like checking e-mail. You may be able to unplug and unwind, but this is not an option for your inbox. The best practice to keep in contact while you are away is to use an auto responder. This is a helpful tool that will automatically reply to every e-mail with a message like, "On vacation, will return on Monday."

One thing that we all dread during the closing hours of vacation is the prospect of having to comb through dozens or even hundreds of back e-mails on our first day back to work. Auto responder will help to alleviate this burden by making it so that half of your e-mails are not titled, "Did you get my last e-mail?"

Auto responder will instantly reply to an incoming e-mail with a predetermined message. Using an auto responder to notify others that you will be out of the office is one of the most common uses of this tool, but not the only use. Utilizing an auto responder can enhance many different types of office e-mail communication, like automatically responding to a prospect's sales inquiry, or letting job applicants automatically know that their resumes were received.

Many e-mail services have an auto responder setting. In Gmail, the auto responder is called Vacation Responder and can be filled out and enabled through the settings. Outlook's auto responder varies depending on which verion of Microsoft Office you're running. Office's help box will give a walkthrough on setting up an auto responder for your version of Outlook.

More companies are also using auto responders as part of their e-mail marketing strategy. This works by a user submitting a confirmation e-mail where they opt in to receive e-mails from the company. The user will then automatically receive a welcome e-mail. Over the next day or two, the user will then receive a series of marketing emails containing information about what the subscriber was originally interested in. Over the next couple of months, the subscriber will then receive a series of a dozen or two marketing e-mails. These e-mails will be spaced out further apart if there is no response. If the subscriber does respond, then the auto responder kicks off the cycle all over again.

Setting up auto responder with your personal e-mail inbox is a straightforward procedure that involves adjusting your settings. Using auto responder consistently, across many different users over an entire small-to-medium sized business, can be little more complicated; and based on your company's needs, this may require special software.

Computerware can provide your business with many different e-mail tools and solutions, including spam protection and e-mail marketing. Our e-mail solutions will use auto responding to keep in touch with clients and give you one less thing to worry about while on vacation. Call Computerware at (703) 821-8200 to find out more.