Dial B for broadcast - includes related article on choosing a fax service - Wired! - column - Tutorial

Home Office Computing, March, 1992 by Sarah Stambler

Faxing is a powerful communications tool that affects the way we all do business. Yet most businesseshold the mundane view that faxing is just a cheap alternative to Federal Express. However, recent advances in fax technology, coupled with lower pricing of new products and services, have brought us into an ageof enhanced fax services. New options such as fax broadcasting, fax on demand, fax mailboxes, and fax mail merge will change the way we all do business.

Businesses need to determine which fax applications will increase sales and customer contact. They need to evaluate what can be automated and fulfilled by fax rather than by mail.

What happens, for example, if you want to send 1,000 people the same document? How can you easily deliver it to multiple locations? By broadcasting. You can broadcast with most enhanced stand-alone fax machines if you have fewer than 300 names on your list, but using a fax/modem is much more efficient.

THE 19-CENT TRANSMISSION

Last summer I wanted to get a press release out to more than 100 publications. I had no staff to fold, stuff, and stamp envelopes, but I did have a fax/modem in my computer that I hadn't used much. Here was my chance to learn how to work with my fax software and do my first broadcast.

I spent many nights on this project. I had to type my mailing list into the fax/modem's phone book, learn how to scan in my logo and merge it with the text file that contained the copy for the actual press release, and send numerous test faxes. Finally, I was ready to do my first "blast." One night at midnight, with great satisfaction, I hit the "B" key to trigger the start of the broadcast, turned off the lights in my office,and confidently went off to bed.

About 80 percentof the faxes got through that first night. I had to do subsequent "mini-blasts" to get the remaining ones delivered during the day. It seems that some businesses had turned their fax machines off for the night; some had run out of paper; some machines had been busy; and, of course, some of the numbers I had were no good. My cost to fax to the furthest destination at off-peakhours was only 19 cents. If I were sending more than three or four pages, broadcasting would lose its price advantage over stuffing and mailing, although it would still save time.

PUBLISHING VIA FAX

Later, I wanted to move on to a more ambitious project--publishing via fax. I did a brief cost analysis. If I were to print a two-page newsletter and send it through the mail to 1,000 people, my costs would come to about $450. Sending the same newsletter via fax broadcasting would lower the cost to about $350. It would also take less labor to deliver, get there a lot faster, and probably be read a lot sooner by the recipient. All I had to do was create the two pages, load them into the fax/modem, and hit "B." No more printing and mailing. This was obviously the better way to go.

I regularly publish a fax newsletter now, but I have since chosen to use an outside fax service (see "Choosing a Fax Service"). Executing a monthly broadcast to 1,000 people is more detail work than I can handle while running a one-woman business. Using a fax service brings my costs up to $580 per issue, but that includes the help of the service's staff.

For the highest quality output, a fax service should work from your own electronic files. Many services provide special broadcast software packages that enable you to edit and create lists, upload electronic files to the fax service, and monitor transmissions with an electronic mailbox.

Faxing out a newsletter, periodic data sheet, or updated price list will probably save you time and money and can have a positive business impact: It may generate a new source of revenue, attract readers who pay premium prices, enhance visibility, and project a more sophisticated technological image. At the very least, it certainly gives you a competitive edge.

CHOOSING A FAX SERVICE

There are more than 300 fax services in the United States--some are offshoots of big phone companies; many are independent companies. Most are accessible by toll-free phone numbers (see "Fax Service Phone Numbers"), so your location isn't an issue.

Here are important points to consider when deciding to work with an outside service:

Electronic files. Choose a service that accepts files created in the software packages you use. That way, the faxed pages will maintain the same page layout, fonts, and boldfacing as the originals.

Customer service. Look for a 24-hour customer-service department with a good technical staff.

Report quality. A fax service's reports--tracking what was sent, what phone numbers didn't work--must make sense to you. Ask to see sample copies.

Transmission costs. Fax services charge by the minute or by the page. Only after a few tests will you know which is the best deal.

Volume discounts. Some services publish a schedule of discounts; with others you may have to negotiate.

FAX SERVICE PHONE

NUMBERS

AT&T Easylink, (800) 572-3373 Cable & Wireless SureFax, (800) 899-2969 MCI Fax Broadcast, (800) 955-3329 SprintFAX, (800) 366-3297