What is Small Business Email Marketing and Will it be Profitable for You?

There are many keys to success for a small business and one of the most important is how cost effectively you acquire new customers and clients. The better you are at attracting new business for less money than your competitors the more profitable you are likely to be - assuming that the cost of getting those new customers is less than the revenues they create.

Another key to the profitability of each new customer is how long they remain customers, how much of what you sell they purchase, and how inexpensively you are able to handle their customer service requests.

The Internet in general and small business email marketing specifically make it possible for you to minimize the costs of acquisition and service for both new business and existing customers alike. Your advertising, promotion, marketing, and customer service dollars can be leveraged like never before.

First, let's define what email marketing is. Simply stated it is sending marketing communications via email to individuals who request it. For example you put a special email address in your Yellow Pages ad or on your web site - one that references a particular product or promotion.

Once someone asks to be included - agrees that it's OK to contact the via email, you may wish to use several email marketing channels such as ezines to customers, prospects or vendors; email product or seasonal promotions and so forth. In other words email marketing is the direct marketing solution for the 21st century - the electronic equivalent of sending a printed newsletter or sales brochure except, now it's online.

All product purchases take place via a "buying cycle" from the moment a prospect first hears about it until the sale is consummated. Different industries and different products have longer or shorter buying cycles. Small business Internet marketing gives you the opportunity to pre-sell your products because the cost of communication is so low and inexpensive systems can easily be set up that push people along from one minor point to the next until they are ready to buy.

Whether the individuals are existing customers or new prospects email marketing allows you to pre-sell them, making them more likely to buy your product or use your service by giving them something/information of value before asking them to make the ultimate buying decision. Providing useful information to your prospects helps them make a more informed buying decision - resulting in greater product satisfaction and a more profitable transaction for you and your customer.

Small business email marketing is also a valuable method for communication between a your company, your business contacts and others - not just for pure marketing/sales reasons. When used effectively, it is an extremely efficient and affordable solution for keeping existing and potential customers & clients in the loop regarding up coming events, product offerings, sales, special promotions and much more. The most effective email marketing is targeted as specifically as possible to those individuals most likely to find the message's content valuable, well-timed and relevant to them.

Also, because of its low cost email marketing is the perfect tool for increasing exposure of your products or services. Because most people check their email continually - if you have a valuable relationship with the people on your list, a higher response rate from your target audience over direct mail will be the likely result, all the while saving you time and money.

The use of email marketing as a direct marketing solution for small business continues to grow growing rapidly due to it affordability and effectiveness.

Try it, you'll like it!

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