Why Email When You Can IM? Outlook Plug-in Makes it Easy

I've mentioned before about how AOL Instant Messanger AIM can be an excellent Customer Intuition Tool. Collecting AIM Screennames is an excellent way to discover the online habits of your customers and prospects. Being able to see when key contacts are online can give you great insight into when to press send on you email newsletter marketing efforts.

Beginning today (Monday 2/28/05) America Online is offering a free plug-in for Microsoft Outlook Users that will enable them to see which of their contacts are online and available to be contacted by IM.

This function will enhance communication with contacts. Email exchanges can more easily be converted into IM chats when online presence status is available within the email environment. While this will enable faster and perhaps more natural communication, environments that need a "paper" trail of communications will require a user to actively save chat logs when chatting with coworkers, prospects and customers.

Overall this is a great step forward for AOL in spreading the use of IM in the workplace.

Get the plug in here.

Read the USA Today article here.

tags: AOL | Instant Messenger | enewsletter | Outlook | life hack