Merce Broadside supports three types of mass messaging applications:
Bulk mail applications are used for one-on-one mass email transmission, for example where account statements are to be sent to account holders. In these applications, each message is unique and is meant for a unique recipient. All messages and their recipient email addresses are loaded into the Merce Broadside system and transmission initiated.
Mailing list applications are used for sending a single message to all recipients. Notifications to subscribers and online magazine broadcasts are examples of this. In such applications, the list of recipients is pre-loaded into the Merce Broadside database. Whenever a message is to be sent out to the recipients, it is loaded into the system, verified with some test transmissions, and then sent out to all recipients using one command from the administration console.
Auto-responder applications are used to allow outsiders to send email to specific email addresses configured within the Merce Broadside system, and pull out pre-defined responses. Unlike bulk mail and mailing list applications, an auto-responder application allows the recipient to pull responses out when needed. The same response is sent to all correspondents. The incoming mail received by the Merce Broadside system is forwarded to a pre-defined email address where possibly further human processing can be done and a customised second-level response can be sent manually.
A single Merce Broadside system can work with multiple instances of each of these application types. Each application instance can be controlled and operated independently and all can work in parallel. Together these three types of applications deliver a complete suite of solutions for mass messaging for an enterprise or academic campus.
