SoftVu Enhances Relay Rich Media Content Management and eMarketing Application

Leawood, KS (December 10, 2003) SoftVu introduced several enhancements to its Relay platform, including significant improvements to its Customize Message page (the page where Relay users design email marketing messages) and mail service software. The improvements are scheduled for release to production by mid-December and will be available for all SoftVu clients who use Relay.

"This represents the third major set of improvements to the Relay platform since its release just last year." Remarked SoftVu President Tim Donnelly, "These upgrades make Relaywhich I like to call the content library for your CRM solutioneven easier to use and a more powerful sales and marketing tool."The improvement process involved a complete review of the process used to create email marketing messages.

Message Customization Improvements
Among the improvements that resulted are the additions of Cc: and Bcc: recipient options, a complete set of font and paragraph formatting tools, and extensive documentation.

By adding the Cc: and Bcc: options, "Users can now decide whether to expose all or just a group of recipients. Then recipients can decide to reply to just the original sender or to all listed recipients," explained Sheryl Briggs, Software Developer,"The Bcc: feature works just like it does in other email programs." Messages previously all appeared to be sent to a single recipient regardless of the actual number of recipients.

The formatting tools available in HTML-based emails include the standard Windows font and paragraph formatting options."You could actually add HTML tags to get this formatting in previous versions, but the GUI interface opens up the formatting options to a lot more users," said Briggs.

Finally, the new Customize Message page includes scroll-over/pop-up help messages for step-by-step help.

Mail service upgrades
"All of the changes to our mail service are aimed at improving delivery rates," said Kevin Coutu, the SoftVu Software Developer responsible for the changes. "We decided to make text email the default since some email clients block or strip out graphics elements from HTML-based email. The goal is to deliver as many messages as possible and in the current business and technical climate, text messages are the most likely to make it through to the viewer." Coutu continued, "We also changed the way bounced mail is handled, made it possible to automatically insert first and last name, and made some other mail changes so that Relay messages dont get lumped in with spam when it arrives on the client server."

Stuart Steele, SoftVu's Director of Applications Development remarked, "Since Relay is web-based, we dont really track the upgrades with release numbers, but this is definitely a major set of upgrades."

About Relay
Relay is an email marketing application that utilizes rich media to enhance communications between companies and their customers and prospects. Relay distributes rich media-based presentations via email, tracks the recipients activity, and reports vital information that can help streamline sales cycles. Relay is a completely Web-based application hosted and licensed on an application service provider (ASP) basis by SoftVu.

About SoftVu
SoftVu, LLC, headquartered in Leawood, KS, utilizes the communication power of rich media to streamline traditional business processes. Through a combination of application development, rich media content creation, and hosting services, SoftVu delivers proven Web-based solutions that shorten sales cycles, lower travel costs, and intensify communications between companies and customers. SoftVu's product family includes video interviewing (TalentVu), eMarketing and eMessaging (Relay), and eLearning solutions (partnership with Maritz Learning) that track and report on the effectiveness of rich media sales and marketing efforts.

SoftVu® is a trademark of SoftVu, LLC. The company's Web site is www.softvu.com.