Notify people well in advance of a sale or new products.

It is my opinion that the Internet will never completely meet the needs of your business. Regardless of when or if you venture onto the Internet you will have more requests for better solutions to keeping in contact with your existing customers. Don't put it off, test the waters slowly. In my opinion the best solution and first option to get you on your way is email.

Ask your current customers if they have an email address. Tell them it's in their best interest to signup for your mailing list because you usually notify those people well in advance of a sale or new products or services. They will know immediately. With this method you can customize your email message by tracking their favourite purchases and notifying them when it's in their best interests. Most importantly you must ask them how often they would like to be notified and how much advance notice do they feel they need for your sales. In addition to email notification, you should also offer other options such as, faxing, snail mailing or telephone.

The negative side - Your competition can find a way to get onto your list to find out when your next sale is and announce ahead of you. If you have pleasant and helpful staff with a nack for developing and reading customers actions then your competition doesn't matter.

On the Internet you can drop the storefront and become a problem solver that sells the solution.

Okay so you've started with email

It's now time to make sure that whom ever is in charge of sending out or answering email knows how to do it effective and efficiently. Training a person in using email is not a difficult task and should take a couple of days depending on the complexity of the software, teacher and student. It is very important that you write out a set of procedures and train people or persons involved with email properly. Designate an employee for checking email in the morning and evening before they leave. When corresponding with customers, they represent your company and ultimately you are responsible for their actions.

Signup for your competitors' mailings list or any other business directly related to yours to see what they're up to. Maybe there's a new product being developed that you should be aware of.

To help you in your research I've built a database for the sole purpose of listing newsletters. Begin by clicking on the following link http://www.pertinent.com/

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