To access your customer mailing list in ServiceDesk, follow these simple instructions:

Abbreviated Version #

1. Alt + F3
2. Choose: Simple Mailing List
3. Choose: A: Pull from all records
4. Save file on Desktop

The Simple Mailing List will have all the basic information you need to create an email marketing list (first and last name, email address, city). If you want your customer email list to have more details (appliance type and brand, phone number, etc.), we recommend using the Scheduled Jobs Report. Learn how to download the Scheduled Jobs Report here.

Detailed Explanation & My Mailing List Update Strategy #

1. Press Alt + F3. Hold short keys Alt + F3 to open the Export window.

2. Choose Simple Mailing List from the list of options.

This option will download your customers’ contact information. You can use this export for compiling both an email marketing list and a snail mail marketing list.

3. Choose export criteria. Service Desk offers 3 versions of your mailing list export. Each option yields different results.

Here’s the difference:

• A: Pull from all records. This choice will export contact information from all job records including jobs in progress. If this is your first time downloading the mailing list, choose this option. You will be immediately prompted to save the file. You’re done!
• O: Also from those older than a specified date. This choice will pull info from all records created AFTER the date you specify. This option is useful for amending an existing email marketing list. I use this option when I’m updating a mailing list for a client who sends out MONTHLY or QUARTERLY emails. Continue to step 4.
• P: Still in progress. If you want a full list of customers, but you don’t want to include any customers whose work is still in progress, then choose P: Still in progress. This will EXCLUDE job records that are not marked complete. I use this option when I’m updating a mailing list for a client who sends out WEEKLY emails. Continue to step 4.

4. Select a Date Range. If you choose O (older) or P (older & not complete), you’ll see a pop-up in the upper left hand corner of your screen. In this window, enter the OLDEST date you want to include in your records. For example, if you want contact information of all customers since January 1, 2017, then enter 01/01/17. Service Desk will only export from job records that were created AFTER that date.

NOTE: If this is the first time you’re sending a newsletter to your contact list, we do not recommend sending emails to contacts older than 90 days. In other words, don’t go back all the way to 2015.

Sending emails to contacts that you haven’t contacted in more than 90 days can trigger SPAM warnings. This is because customers who aren’t expecting to hear from you may mark your email as SPAM.

Once you start sending a regular newsletter, your customers will expect to receive your correspondence, which should make your SPAM reports minimal.

Here’s my recommended process:

• Step A: Create a folder on your desktop titled, “Email Lists.”
• Step B: Download the past 90 days of customer records,: Also from those older than a specified date option, and save the file in the Email Lists folder. The exported file should be saved with a distinguishing title and the current date each time. For example: “Email List 5-21-17.”
• Step C: Mark your calendar to update your mailing list every 30 days.
• Step D: Every 30 days, return to your CTRL + F3 simple Mailing list window and select the O: Also from those older than a specified date option.  When you choose this option, a pop-up window will appear as described above.
• Step E: In the pop-up window, enter the date of your LAST data export, and then press OK. If you can’t remember the date of your last export, reference the last file you saved in the Email Lists folder, which should have the export date in the document title.
• Step F: Save the new export in your Email Lists folder with a NEW title, “Email List MM-DD-YY.” Don’t forget to rename the file.
• Step G: Amend your current newsletter list with the new data via your MailChimp, Constant Contact, or other email marketing platform. If you’re a ServicersWeb client, simply email the new list to admin@ServicersWeb.com and we’ll take it from here.

Attention Service Desk Remote Desktop Connection / Cloud Users #

If you use the Service Desk Remote Desktop Connection, do not use your Remote Desktop’s Excel program to scrub your mailing list data. This may slow down your connection as well as the connections of your other users. After you export and save your mailing list, move it to your personal computer desktop by doing the following:

Right-click on the saved file and select copy.

Minimize the Remote Connection, and then right-click on your computer desktop screen and select paste.

Now you can open the file and work on the data using your computer’s Excel program. I personally prefer this method because I have the most recent version of Excel via Microsoft 365, which has WAY better data sorting and analysis features than the version in ServiceDesk’s remote computer.