Before processing the invitations and managing responses, review the invitation list:
- Check the contact data for completeness, for example, address information.
Ensure no contacts on the list are included in the *Send No Marketing Communications list. You can do this by first running a search with the following criteria, and then removing the listed contacts from the event folder:
Contact is linked into *Send No Marketing Communications
AND
Contact is linked into [Event folder name]
Your organization may have additional exclusions that you may want to incorporate into this search.
- If a sponsoring department or professional users helped populate the invitation list, you may want to have them review the contacts they contributed.
Processing Invitations
- Mark all contacts in the event folder. Use InterAction’s envelopes, labels, and/or mail merge functionality to generate the invitation mailing materials. Invitations should include an RSVP card, including an area to indicate number and name(s) of guests, if applicable.
- While the contacts are still marked, add a global activity regarding the event of type Invited, with the name and date of the event in the activity Summary.
- While the contacts are still marked, set the Invitation Sent additional field to the date you are sending the invitations.
- While the contacts are still marked, set the RSVP additional field to the default value of No Response. This allows Web Client users to search against this value.
- While the contacts are still marked, clear the flags for the contacts. This indicates that an invitation has been sent.
After mailing labels are printed and invitations sent for contacts currently linked into the event folder, configure Data Change Management to review any new contacts added to the event list.
Set the Add Request Action to Review. If any users add new contacts to the list, a Data Change Management ticket is submitted to the data steward responsible for the event mailing list. The responsible data steward needs to routinely check the Data Change Management Inbox for contacts added to the list, and complete steps 1-5 to print labels for contacts added to the event folder, add activities, and set additional fields. Approve Data Change Management tickets after labels are printed.
Managing Responses
- As RSVPs are received, set the RSVP additional field for each contact accordingly. For contacts bringing guests, set the additional fields Number of Guests and Name(s) of Guest.
- If invitees can bring guests, add each guest as a contact sourced in the Firm Contacts - People folder. Set the additional field Guest of to the name of the contact who is bringing them as their guest.
- Once all RSVPs are received and the RSVP additional field has been set, search for all contacts whose RSVP field equals Yes. Mark all contacts in the search result and a global activity regarding the event of type RSVP with Will Attend the [Event Name] in the activity Summary. Repeat for contacts whose RSVP field equals No and Tentative and record the appropriate activities. This ensures that professionals and their assistants are notified in their alert lists of how their contacts have responded to invitations.
- As the RSVP deadline approaches, search the event folder for contacts whose RSVP field is No Response. Send a Broadcast email message to remind the invitees of the event deadline.
To manage event attendance later, create a Contacts and Guests Attending the [Event Name] saved search, with the following criteria:
Contacts where RSVP additional field is set to Yes
OR
Contacts where the Guest Of additional field has any value
Using Additional Fields and Activities for Events
Several times throughout this chapter you are instructed to set an additional field, and add an activity. For example, when you receive an RSVP of Yes, it is highly recommended to set the RSVP additional field to Yesand add an RSVP activity stating that the contact will attend the event.
Additional fields are useful for searching because the data entry is generally controlled by the additional field configuration. Consequently, additional field values are useful for event management from the marketing perspective and for any professionals who are involved in sponsoring the event. However, additional fields are not readily visible on the contacts associated to the event, and there is no notification process associated to additional fields that alerts end users to the fact that their contacts were invited to an event.
Activities, on the other hand, can be used for some searching but are generally less reliable for searching because they contain free text information. However, activities will appear when a user reviews alerts in InterAction, and therefore notify the end user to the touch point with the contact. Additionally, activities are stored on the contact’s associated company record, and provide a rich record of interactions with the entire company.