Merging Reminders & Marketing Lists

Once the list of clients with reminders has been generated using the reminder schedule, these clients can be reminded about the procedure that is due in several ways. Postcards, Customised letters, Adhocs, Email, SMS Txt or the clinic might choose to phone the clients. The client information in the reminder list, together with the VisionVPM merge facility, make any of this possible.

Make use of the Reminder Schedule options: Target email clients or Target non-email clients to tailor your reminder lists to the channel you are using:

To Merge reminders to a Word Document

Create your reminder list through the Reminder Schedule window. Select the reminder codes, enter dates, and Run.
From the Reminder List window click on Merge.
To send a single letter containing all the animals' names to each client (rather than one letter per animal), select Consolidate the animal names and reminder information for each client.
To add a notified date to the reminder record, select Set the notified date as [today's date].
To merge to a Word document, check Microsoft Word is selected and then click OK.
The Document window will be displayed:

If the letter you require has previously been created it will be displayed in the list.
If you wish to edit or check the document, ensure the Automatically Merge Document check box has not been selected and double-click the required document.
If you select the Automatically Merge Document check box, then double-click the required document, Word will open the document displaying the merged information.

To create a new merge document refer to the Section - TO CREATE A NEW WORD DOCUMENT.

Reminder Merge Fields available

These are the Merge Fields available when creating a Word Document from a Reminder Schedule.

Merge Field	Description	Merge Field	Description
Code	Client Code	Number	Client Number
Title	Client Title	Firstname	Client Firstname
Lastname	Client Lastname	Company	Client Company Name
Street	Client Address Line 1	Street2	Client Address Line 2
Suburb	Client Suburb	City	Client City
Postcode	Client Postcode	JoinDate	Date of First Visit
EmailAddress	Client Email Address	ClientCustom1	Client Custom Field 1
ClientCustom2	Client Custom Field 2	ClientCustom3	Client Custom Field 3 (on the settings tab)
ClientCustom4	Client Custom Field4 (on the settings tab)	ChargingDistance	The number of Km from the Client's Address to the clinic
WrittenOff	The total amount that has been written off for the client	CurrentDue	The clients current balance due
OneMonth	Clients one month balance due	TwoMonth	Clients two month balance due
ThreeMonth	Clients three month balance due	CreditLimit	Client Credit Limit
LastActivityDate	Date of the last payment received by the client	AnimalName	Name of Animal
AnimalDesc	Colour	AnimalNumber	Microchip No.
Species	Animal Species	Breed	Breed of Animal
AnimalDOB	Birth Date	AnimalAge	Age of Animal
AnimalSex	Sex	AnimalNeuter	Neuter
AnimalsWeight	Current Weight	OptimalWeight	Optimal Weight
AnimalPhoto	Will display the animal photo if one is loaded	EquineLocation	Location
EquineSire	Sire	EquineDam	Dam
AnimalCustom1	Custom Field 1	AnimalCustom2	Custom Field 2
AnimalCustom3	Custom Field 3	AnimalCustom3	Custom Field 4
ReferralVetName	Referral Vet's Full Name	ReferralVetFirstName	Referral Vet's First Name
ReferralVetHospital	Referral Vet Hospital Name	ReferralVetStreet	Referral Vet Street Address
ReferralVetSuburb	Referral Vet Suburb	ReferralVetCity	Referral Vet City & Postcode
ReferralVetPhone	Referral Vet Phone	ReferralVetFax	Referral Vet Fax
BodyScore	Animal Body Score	DentalScore	Animal Dental Score
ReminderCode	Reminder Code	ReminderDesc	Reminder Description
ReminderDate	Reminder Date	RemAnimalName	Reminder Animal Name
ReminderQty	Qty of stock invoiced for reminder.	ReminderStatus	Status - used for adding a client marker

To Merge to an Adhoc Report

Create your reminder list through the Reminder Schedule window. Select the reminder codes, enter dates, and RUN.
From the Reminder List window, click Merge.
To send a single letter containing all the animals' names to each client (rather than one letter per animal), select Consolidate the animal names and reminder information for each client.
To add a notified date to the reminder record, select Set the notified date as [today's date].
To merge to an Adhoc check Adhoc Report.
The Adhoc Selection will display.
Select the Adhoc report you are merging to and then click on Print.

An example of the Vacc & Reminder List.ahr.

To Merge to Email Reminders

Create your reminder list through the Reminder Schedule window. Select the reminder codes, enter dates, and Run.
From the Reminder List window, click Merge.
To send a single letter containing all the animals' names to each client (rather than one letter per animal), select Consolidate the animal names and reminder information for each client.
To add a notified date to the reminder record, select Set the notified date as [today's date]
Select Email then click OK.
The VPMMail - Merge Editor displays. Click the Options button to access letters that have already been prepared, or type into the existing screen utilising the merge fields on the right to create a new letter.
Click Send.

An example of a Vaccination Reminder emailed.

To Check on the Status of Emails sent.

Go to:
Main Menu > Client Module > Client > Email / SMS Options > Open Email Outbox > Today > + sign beside Today
This will give you a list of emails sent and also emails that were unsent.

To Merge Reminders to SMS Txt Messages.

Create your reminder list through the Reminder Schedule window. Select the reminder codes, enter dates, and Run.
From the Reminder List window, click Merge.
To send a single letter containing all the animals' names to each client (rather than one letter per animal), select Consolidate the animal names and reminder information for each client.
To add a notified date to the reminder record, select Set the notified date as [today's date]
To merge to SMS select SMS Txt Message then click OK.
To send a single SMSTxt containing all the animals' names to each client (rather than one letter per animal), select Consolidate the animal names and reminder information for each client.
To add a notified date to the reminder record, select Set the notified date as [today's date]
Send SMS Txt Messages window displays. Click on Existing Message. Select the appropriate message. Preview the message then Send.
If you need to create a new txt message click on the down arrow beside Existing message and click on insert and use the merge fields available to compose your new message. Save

To check the status of SMS Txt Messages

Go to:

Main Menu > Client Module > Clients > Email \ SMS Options > Open Txt Message List

To check for Replies :

Click on the Replies button and to refresh the displayed list click on the Refresh.

To create mailing labels

Once the reminder list has been generated, click Labels to create mailing labels for the clients on the list. Options for label setup can be found on the Client tab in Maintenance > System Defaults.

Click the Cut Sheet option to open further label options:

Labels can be viewed before printing by selecting Labels, then Screen as the Report Destination.

To create a phone list

Once the reminder list has been generated, click Print to create a phone list of clients.

This provides a list displaying the client code, name and phone number, the animal name, and the type and date of the reminder.

Refer to the Merging to email section for more detail on the use of VPMMail.