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Email Marketing
Email marketing can be a very cost-effective means of communicating and marketing to customers and prospects. Central to this is to build and maintain a database of email addresses and contact information. However, businesses that want to employ email marketing should use, generally, opt-in tactics to guard against running afoul of new anti-spam laws and regulations.
Here are some suggested approaches to gathering emails:
- Ask your existing customers to provide email information to receive special promotional offers, e-newsletters, product updates,
- Include an area on your web site for visitors to input their contact and email information
- Include a space for email information on customer forms
- Gather emails on marketing items provided at trade shows or industry events
Why email marketing?
- Email marketing is an affordable way to stretch a tight marketing budget. Unlike direct mail, there is virtually no production, materials or postage expense. Email marketing is 20 times more cost effective than direct mail, and can cost as little as fractions of a penny per email.
- Email marketing enables you to proactively communicate with your existing customers and prospects instead of passively waiting for them to return to your Web site or storefront. It is a highly effective way to increase sales, drive site or store traffic and develop loyalty.
- You can easily segment your lists using a variety of criteria or interest groups so that your promotions go to the individuals most likely to respond to your offer.
There are Web-based email marketing products for small and medium businesses. Most include professional HTML templates, list segmentation and targeting capabilities, as well as, automatic tracking and reporting. So, you are free to concentrate on your unique message.
Yahoo - http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/marketing/emarket.php
Constant Contact - http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp
Resources (from Microsoft):
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