Electronic Marketing

Electronic marketing has dramatically evolved in recent years. The proliferation of high-speed Internet and low-cost options for using this platform via email has allowed businesses of all sizes to keep in closer contact with their customer bases. New client information has been easier to capture, allowing more follow-up opportunities to close sales and be reactive to needs.

This is especially true for small businesses. In the past, electronic marketing was an expensive proposition, requiring many worker-hours to complete the task. Now, complete e-marking campaigns can be launched and tracked with minimal labor time involved. Moreover, the campaign reporting can be quite advanced, giving you valuable information about how customers interact with your web site, marketing messages and other online features.

For more information, see our discussion about Internet Marketing.

Of course, with all this advanced technology, sometimes nothing beats a good old-fashioned phone call for making the connection.

Telemarketing comes in various guises. We all gripe about the computer-dialed boiler room selling operations that pester us at dinnertime, but there are other ways of using the phone as a sales tool. For a small business, it might be best to start calling people you've been referred to by current clients or networking contacts.

Be aware that many people have opted out of receiving telemarketing calls on the National Do Not Call list maintained by the Federal Trade Commission. Don't make the mistake of calling people on the list. Fees are charged to telemarketers for access to the list.

Look at telephone contact as a way of giving out information or keeping in touch, and avoid thinking of it as a way to close a sale. It gives you a chance for one-on-one contact but carries a risk of being intrusive.

On the other hand, calling on existing customers to thank them for their business and inform them of new products or ideas you may have is a good way to keep in touch with a pre-qualified client base.

Of course, this type of do-it-yourself direct marketing takes up valuable time. And hiring a third-party company to do it for you may not give the personal touch you may want. But in some cases, telephone marketing is the right choice.

No matter what form of electronic marketing you use, you should always be tracking the results and refining your efforts to get the best return on your investment, as you would with any marketing initiative.