Monthly Archives: May 2010

Math tutorials for my kids

I contacted my daughter’s former math teacher in grade school and ask if she can teach math lessons to my kids. Naomi and Khalil will have more than three weeks to spend at home so I decided to give them something worthwhile to keep busy at. Besides they are the ones who requested for the tutorial.

Ms. Jael, who is also attending her Masteral Classes, readily agreed to my request despite her hectic schedule. She set the first day of tutorials on June 1. She will come to our house three times a week to devote one hour or a total of six hours to each kid for the period of two weeks.

I hope the tutorial will keep the kids interested to learn new (and difficult) math lessons. Kyle will be in Grade V; Naomi is an incoming sophomore student this year… We’re all looking forward to Ms. Jael’s best teaching technique in Math.

Today’s Postcards in CRMs

Just when you thought postcards were becoming obsolete, the industry has come up with a new and innovative use for the 150 year old postcard. Postcards are being used by sophisticated Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) to provide an added service to a wide clientele. Using the software, a company can send out quick personalized communication to its customers, and the cost of doing this is relatively cheaper than sending letters in envelopes.

While email is faster, you probably don’t want to send a lot of serious business communication over email, especially if most of your customers are from an earlier generation. This is where this new avatar of postcards is finding its greatest use. A number of businesses that offer retirement plans are using CRM-based personalized postcards to remind purchasers of various deadlines and help plan their asset management.

The idea is quickly catching on, given the overwhelming response of appreciative customers. A postcard stands above an automated email reminder, and people can get tired of the thousands of emails that they receive every month. Also, there are certain things that you cannot say in an email. A postcard is more elegant, and you can fold it and keep it in your purse or stick it on the fridge. To do that with an email, you’ve got to take the extra step of printing it. This is precisely the reason why people still like a postcard for the most important communications of their lives.

Businesses are quick to catch on to the residual popularity of postcards. There’s software that can print out colorful postcards with appropriate images and personalized message before important events. Addresses are automatically printed using mail merge software, and postcards are sent out to customers. Many businesses are of the opinion that this new phase of the postcard printing industry is here to stay.