Retail

Retailers Increasingly Benefiting from Corporate Email
Retailers, long recognized as one of the last holdouts in the email productivity boom, are saying yes to corporate email. Grocery store chains, fast-food franchisors, department stores, and virtually every other retail sector are now putting email front and center in their communications infrastructure. The benefits they reap are many: more engaged retail employees – regardless of where they work; protection of sensitive corporate data; less expensive HR communications; greater control over network threats such as viruses, worms and spam; and more consistent, unified communications with suppliers, franchisees, channel partners, remote employees and customers.

Centralized and Secure
Until very recently many retailers relied on public email portals in lieu of a corporate email address. But public portals are risky business. Sending confidential information such as POS reports or HR information via Hotmail or Yahoo! accounts may seem like a benign activity, but it leaves the retailer open to data theft, spam, phishing attacks and myriad other threats. By contrast, a centralized messaging system keeps sensitive data within the confines of a secure corporate network. And many email solutions have built-in policy filters that let retailers manage the distribution of sensitive information outside the organization, as well as track distribution by sender and recipient. In today’s highly litigious and heavily regulated business environment, these considerations are increasingly important.

A public email address also precludes the cachet of using the retailer’s domain name. Which promotional email message from a personal shopper to the loyal customers of a high-end department store is more likely to garner response--one sent by marie@hotmail.com or one sent by marie@avenuenoveau.com

Reasonable Cost
Perennially tight margins have prevented some retailers from investing in a corporate email solution. In fact, the price-of-entry and maintenance is extremely reasonable—less than $3 per employee per month for a secure, reliable email infrastructure that protects against data theft, viruses and spam. In addition, the productivity gains to be had from this new communication medium will more than pay for itself within a matter of months.

Keep Channel Partners Informed
As many retailers know all too well, communicating effectively with multiple channel partners can be challenging. And the channel environment is increasing in complexity, adding to the number of communications touch points. A unified communications platform enables retailers to standardize messaging and the delivery of special promotions, new brand, and other time-sensitive information, thereby ensuring that every channel player is informed.

What criteria should retailers look for in a corporate email system? First and foremost, the system must have a web-based component that is secure, reliable, and easy to deploy and use. The interface to the email system—visible not only to employees but in many cases to store customers--should be customizable. User training should be minimal; employees need to feel confident about using the system almost out of the box. Finally, consider only those solutions that allow you to set policy filters that, among other things, block email content (both incoming and outgoing) that may violate corporate polices and workplace regulations.

Customer Testimonials

"Mirapoint offered a complete email and calendar solution that integrated seamlessly with our other PartnerNet (partner portal) resources. Our new webmail interface is user-friendly and was easily branded to match the look and feel of PartnerNet."
Sonic Drive-In

To learn more or to request a free evaluation, call us at (800)937-8118 or email info@mirapoint.com.