In the real world, for instance at a hotel or apartment building, a concierge is a person who looks after things and gets things done for the guests and residents that they do not have the time or expertise to do for themselves. The Makesbridge Concierge Service is like that. You may not have the time, patience, or expertise to learn how to optimally use the Makesbridge Platform. You want to focus on your business and recognize that what Makesbridge provides is the best tool to help you efficiently keep in touch with your customers and prospects and develop those prospects into paying customers. With the Makesbridge Concierge Service, you can focus on what you want to say and conceptually how you want to say it. We will focus on implementing your message strategy for you in an optimized and expert manner.

You need either a Free 30-Day Trial Subscription or Makesbridge Mini, SMB. PRO, Enterprise, or Engage is required to take advantage of this wonderful value. Subscription to Enterprise or Engage is required to create workflows. Once you have a Makesbridge account, all you need to do is sign-up on the Makesbridge Concierge Services page. You can also sign-up for Makesbridge Concierge Service, at standard rates, during your 30-day free Makesbridge Trial. This is a great way to see how the power of Makesbridge can automate your marketing practices enhance and your productivity, by having our experts optimize your experience.

As we are your hands on the keyboard, we do everything we do in your account. It's your data, it's your content, you are in total control. Anything we create or do is done at your direction and with your approval. The basic process we follow to fulfill your service orders is as follows:

1. You email Makesbridge Concierge with your service order request, and provide us with instructions for what you want done and any content you want to provide
2. We review your submission, follow up with any questions or requests for additional content
3. Once we are sure we have everything we need, we let you know that your job has entered the work queue and give you an expected completion date—3 to 5 business days after the request has been submitted, depending on the complexity of the task.
4. Upon completion, a cover email will be sent to you letting you know what we have done, and ask you to review and approve our work. If any changes need to be made, we will work with you to make sure it is correct.
5. Once we have your approval, we will start workflow(s), schedule the campaign, etc.

Once you have signed up for Makesbridge Concierge Services, the first thing that will happen is a Kick-Off call with your dedicated project manager. The purpose of this call is two-fold. The primary reason is to allow us to understand how we can help you best, what your needs are, and what kinds of tasks you need us to perform for you to help you get the most out of the powerful Makesbridge tool. We also think it is important that you have an opportunity to ask whatever questions you may have about the service. After that Kick-Off call, you will get an email from your dedicated project manager, asking for the login credentials (login id and password) for your Makesbridge Master Account so that we can access to implement your request in your account. Providing us with this information serves as positive consent for us to access your account. Additionally, if you want us to manage the synchronization relationship with your CRM or a private FTP server, we will need you to provide credentials to access those resources as well. Then we will review the state of your account and make sure that it is setup to provide the optimal experience for your users and those who get your messages. In less than a day we will be ready to fulfill your first request.

You do NOT have to get Makesbridge Concierge Services. But, we are confident that it will provide you with faster and better results, and save you money. Our dedicated staff is constantly learning and implementing best practices, and you will be in a better position to optimize your Marketing ROI.

People who don't have any luxury of time, or are short-handed with staff, or just plainly see the value of our own staff running our tool to complete the automation may find this very valuable. Your time is focused on Marketing and Sales strategy, without compromising your business needs. Thus avoids the time constraint needed to understand fully the complexity of the system. We know the system and it's nuances, so you do not have to. Instant ROI and Simplicty

No…just like with Makesbridge. We believe we need to earn your business everyday, and our value of our Platform and our Services is enough to keep customers happy and loyal. It has been working for 10 years, so no need to change that now! All we ask is that you give us 30 days notice of any changes you would like to either Makesbridge or our Concierge services.

MCS is a service designed to make your use of Makesbridge effortless. You provide us with content, we produce templates, emails, campaigns, and workflows. If you need training, you should take advantage of Makesbridge's excellent video tutorial resources, knowledge base, and customer service.

Makesbridge provides back office and support services to many of our clients. We saw the need for a service that was flat-fee based to make using and getting success from software tools simple and useful.

Go to the Makesbridge Concierge Services page on the Makesbridge website for our current pricing. If you need custom packages, we can create one special for you. We want to make it simple for you to use our platform.

Too often, hourly fees turn into over-budget projects. Like you, we like easily defined expectations and costs. You asked for flat fees… we delivered.

If we receive all the information; email content and pictures, we promise 72 hours to build, confirm, approve and test the message. All we ask is you respond to our messages in a timely manner so we can stay on your schedule. This is a collaborative process, and to stay on schedule, we need your help as much as you need ours.

We provide design service on an hourly basis. Our rate is $50/hr, with a 5 hour minimum. We do offer 5 hour prepaid blocks of design services for the discounted price of $150.

We can only access your account with your explicit written permission. We access your account using the Master Account login credentials you provide to us. If your account is a sub-account, we will need you to provide your login credentials and the owner of the master account will need to provide the master account credentials. By providing login credentials to us directly, you are giving us affirmative permission to access your account. Doing so protects us both.

We need access to the Master Account because certain settings, lists, templates, and workflow management features are only available when logged in as the Master Account.

Spam validation and score checking is part of our standard process at the time we build actual emails. (Tests on templates are generally useless as they are content free). We only report on those results if you message raises a concern.

We approach mobiles in 4 ways:

• Our markup techniques are designed to be compatible and display optimally across a wide variety of clients, including mobile devices.
• We focus our layout issues on doing template development, that way we can be reasonably assured that emails built from those templates will format properly on all kinds of devices
• We build both HTML and plaintext optimized versions of your templates and emails. The plaintext version is especially important for mobile users, especially users of older versions of Microsoft and RIM mobile phones
• We test all templates against a variety of mobile phones and mobile phone simulators. Messages are spot tested in a similar fashion or if some aspect of the individual message raises concern.

Our approach for desktop and mobile clients is the same as described above. Our goal is to produce robust output that looks as good as possible across a variety of clients. We do that through a set of special encoding techniques that are optimized for email clients and when the exact appearance is not possible due to the limitations of a given client, we ensure graceful degradation. We test the results against a variety of web and native clients that combined represent the email clients used by 96.3% of users, with a focus on testing the templates and getting those right and test every individual message against a range of clients that comprise more than 75% of email client market share.

While there is more detailed information below, basically when we optimize a message we are preparing the content you have provided for insertion into Campaign, Nurture Track or Workflow. This preparation involves formatting the HTML using special techniques to ensure your message will look great in a wide variety of email clients and formatting any graphics that you provide. We create both HTML and plaintext versions of your message. If the message is going to use a template, we will prepare your content for insertion into the template. If there is no template for the message we will create the entire message from your provided copy, graphics, and specification.

We take the content you provide and use proven techniques to make sure your message is formatted in an optimal manner. We optimize the content to create both the plaintext and HTML version on our own systems, using tools we have developed especially for this task. Then, we insert the messages into Workflows or Campaigns that either you have created or that we have built for you to your specifications.

We take the graphics that you provide and we trim and resize them to meet the required size and resolution to ensure that you graphics can be properly displayed without need to be stretched or shrunk. We then make sure that they are in the proper format for optimal delivery to recipients of your email. Finally, we upload them to the Makesbridge graphics library in your account both for reuse and to enhance deliverability of your email.

When we create a template for you, we create both an HTML and a plaintext version and store your default options settings for sending emails with this template. Makesbridge templates do not have plaintext components, so we store the plaintext version separately. Additionally, we use a number of special techniques to optimize the HTML templates for display on a variety of e-mail clients. Over the years, we have found that there is a wide variation in the display capacities of email clients, we want your messages to look good everywhere and do our best to ensure that.

When we upload a list, we ensure that the list is a properly formatted CSV, check for obvious errors like malformed email addresses or extraneous punctuation, and then upload the file to the Makesbridge list you have directed. When this process is complete, we will email you with a summary of the results and let you know if any records were not properly uploaded and why.

When we setup synchronization with your CRM like Salesforce or Netsuite, we first make sure the connection between Makesbridge and your CRM is established and healthy. Our next step is to create a recurring export, so that Opt-Out information is transferred from Makesbridge to your CRM. We then do an instant import of your data. Finally, we establish either a recurring import of your data or a Peering operation to ensure that your data on Makesbridge stays up to date with what is on your CRM.

Such services are not part of any standard service pack. We recommend you consult with your Makesbridge Deployment Engineer or Makesbridge Customer Service.

In Makesbridge, a campaign is a mechanism for sending one email message, one time. It can send that message either to a list, set of lists, or to records that match a small set of conditions related to dates or scores.

A workflow defines a set of steps, with each step having one or more options, and the actions that should be taken if a contact’s record matches the criteria of a given option of a given step. The Makesbridge system is then able to execute these steps in a defined sequence. There are two kinds of steps, Wait Steps and Work Steps. A Wait Step does nothing but wait a specified amount of time before executing the next step. A Workflow Step evaluates the contact records passed into the step against a set of criteria in each option and any records which match those criteria will have the associated action executed against them. Records that match an option will then either be passed on to the next step or removed from the workflow. Records that do not match any option in a step are removed from the workflow. Each option in a step is a set of conditions that if true can trigger one or more actions.

Actions can be:

1. Do nothing
2. Modify the Lead/Heat score
3. Send an email alert to a salesperson (or soon to an SMS)
4. Send a email message
5. Send a piece of Postal Mail

When we says we will “setup a workflow” it means we will define the structure of the workflow. It means we will convert your definition of what you want to accomplish into the steps needed to define the structure that implements your communications strategy with your customer, and then input those steps into the Makesbridge system. Setting up a workflow is the definition of the order of the steps, the criteria that are are evaluated.

Some actions are internal actions, while others are external. Internal actions are intrinsic to the workflow structure, and are therefore included in the definition of the workflow. External actions involve communicating with your customers and are produced and tested separately to ensure consistent quality, then are inserted into the appropriate slot in your workflow once you have approved them.

The Internal Actions are:

• Do nothing
• Modify the heat score
• Send an alert to a salesperson
• Creating the placeholder slot to insert an External Action

Currently, the only External Action is sending an email message. We are in the process of determining whether or when sending SMS messages qualifies as an internal or external action.

Your package includes a number of 10-step workflow credits and a number e-mail message credits per month. When you place an order for a workflow, we map it out and determine the number of steps needed to accomplish your goals. If your workflow exceeds 10 steps, we will combine workflow credits into a single workflow. If your workflow sends out e-mail messages, each e-mail message in your workflow will use an e-mail message credit. If you do not have enough workflow or email message credits, you can either purchase additional credits on an a la cart basis at $35 USD each or you can defer some parts of your workflows until the next month, if your workflow allows. If need be, we can create a custom Concierge Package for you too.

Regretfully, No. Our teams are standing by based upon your purchase, so are committed to them also.

At Makesbridge Concierge Services we are absolutely committed to ensuring a consistently and uniformly high quality implementation of the services we provide. In order to ensure this we have a set of steps which we go through to ensure that the results you expect are the result we achieve, every time.

When we are processing a workflow, we take the following steps:

1. Verify and Store Instructions
2. Verify Data Acquisition is Working or Complete (syncing or uploading)
3. Build Workflow Structure

1. Step 1 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
2. Step 2 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
3. Step 3 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
4. Step 4 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
5. Step 5 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
6. Step 6 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
7. Step 7 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
8. Step 8 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
9. Step 9 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)
10. Step 10 (could include Option 1, Option 2, Option 3… Option N + Default Option)

1. Test and Verify Workflow/Nurture Track
2. Gather Assets for Outbound Emails
3. Insert Any Outbound Emails (separate to-do lists)
4. Get Client Approval – Send Approval Request Email
5. Turn On Workflow/Nurture Track/Campaign

At Makesbridge Concierge Services we are absolutely committed to ensuring a consistently and uniformly high quality implementation of the services we provide. In order to ensure this we have a set of steps which we go through to ensure that the results you expect are the result we achieve, every time. Creating an email, as mentioned above, is split into two phases, Message Optimization and Message Creation.

In the Optimization Phase, follow the following steps:

1. Verify and Store Assets & Instruction
2. Proof Text
3. Verify Links
4. Upload Graphics
5. Verify Template
6. Prepare HTML for message body
7. Prepare Sidebar or other custom HTML content
8. Prepare plaintext version of message

In the Message Creation Phase, we do the following:

1. Create Campaign Makesbridge or open placeholder message in Workflow/Nurture Track
2. If Campaign, set target lists or auto-trigger criteria
3. Set Basic Options, Subject, and Sender Info to Customer Specification
4. Set Advance options
5. Insert HTML content
6. Insert Plaintext content
7. Check and/or set links arguments for advanced analytics (if needed)
8. Assign Makesbridge Link IDs (if provided)
9. Send Approval Request Email (not needed if part of a workflow)
10. Send HTML Test Message
11. Send Plaintext Test Message
12. Schedule Email (not needed if part of workflow)

Each and every service order we receive from our customers is important to us. We have developed the processes described above to ensure consistency and quality and are constantly reevaluating our procedures to ensure that the service we provided is second to none.

We will be happy to copy and paste your HTML markup and plaintext content into place, rather than content we format for you, if that is what you want. We are here to serve. However, you will still be charged an e-mail message credit for the processing and insertion of your message into the workflow, nurture track, or campaign. As you can see above, we have a 20-step procedure to ensure quality. Creating the HTML and Plaintext versions of your message from your content is only two of those twenty steps.

When we convert your content into a properly formed HTML message, we will handcraft the e-mail using our special techniques. Part of what we do is to make sure that the markup will be understood by the vast majority of email clients, many of which do not support the full set of modern HTML capabilities, especially and advanced styling feature called Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). The editor that Makesbridge includes in there system is among the best available. However, it was originally designed for creating content for display in web browsers, not in e-mail clients. While Makesbridge has made a number of improvements in its output, it generates code that looks great in the browser, but produces less than optimal results in certain widely used e-mail clients, including Microsoft Outlook.

It would be my pleasure.

Like most What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editors (such as Dreamweaver or Frontpage), Makesbridge generated HTML is heavily DIV tag dependent, often using a combination of DIV and BR tags rather than the P tag to define paragraphs. This is a problem. DIV and BR tags are not properly handled by many email programs, especially Microsoft Outlook. As an example as an example of heavily DIV and BR tag dependency, let’s look at a simple paragraph. When you copy and paste a paragraph of text or type a paragraph of text into the Makesbridge WYSIWYG editor, you get the following markup

<div><br>The text of the paragraph.<br></div>

OR

The text of the paragraph.<br><br>

depending on what surrounds that paragraph.

What you should get, and what will assure the highest quality and most consistent output is the following:

<p>The text of the paragraph.</p>

DIV tags and BR tags have their place, especially when doing specialized formatting, and are handled well by modern web browsers, but for most emails that are so-called simple copy and paste messages, you still need clean markup if you want things to look right in a wide variety of email clients. Moreover, you also have the problem that if you are pasting from a word processor (like Microsoft Word), the conversion from the internal format of that word processor to HTML results in code that is both redundantly bloated and optimized for neither e-mail nor the web, but for the conversion process. Makesbridge’s editor tries to solve this problem by including a special “Paste from Word” function. Unfortunately, the way that function works is to strip out formatting information, meaning that more often than not you will need to reformat the content you just pasted. Finally, WYSYWIG editors and other things that generate HTML code (like export functions and the built in Makesbridge editor) rely on DIV and SPAN tags and especially a wonderful web page technology called Cascading Style Sheets (or CSS). That said, our policy is that DIV and SPANs should never be used in emails, unless there is no other option and with the understanding that many clients will ignore that formatting.

This judgement is made on a two part reasoning:

1. DIVs and SPANs are used to impart CSS style information (positioning, fonts, colors, backgrounds, display metrics, visibility, and other styling information).  Indeed they serve no other purpose except to contain structural (DIV) and inline (SPAN) CSS and Javascript information to the rendering engine.
2. GMail (rapidly becoming the most popular corporate mail provider), YahooMail, HotMail (the largest email provider) and most versions of Outlook (the most popular email client with more than 40% of the email reader market and no version that can even pass the CSS-1 standard suite) either intentionally ignore and discard DIVs SPANs and CSS attributes—or mishandle CSS attributes so badly as to render CSS useless.  To make matters worse, some of those services and/or clients will at times discard only part of a CSS definition, ignoring the rest or modifying them to meet some internal standard.  Finally, any CSS that you want to use must be repeatedly repeated because you cannot use CSS classes and ids—instead you have to put all CSS inline.

Thus, we never use DIVs or SPANs in an email unless there is no other option to achieve our client’s goals. Email containing a DIV or SPAN will receive extra scrutiny under our quality controls. We will use a subset of CSS when there is no pure HTML formatting option, with the advisory to the client that many recipients may see a different result, but make every effort to degrade gracefully and embed that CSS information in the style attribute of a tag that would otherwise be present. DIVs and SPANs are essential for modern web design. They are useless bordering on dangerous for HTML email—it’s not that they will explode, it is that they will too often disappear or the essential formatting information they contain will be ignored, disposed of, or misunderstood. The value of CSS is consistent description of web page appearance. Email clients and services are wildly inconsistent in their application of the technology DIVs