Give your customers a choice in how you correspond with them and although email has received a lot of bad press, there's still no better or cheaper way to communicate. Ask your customers for their preference, would they rather receive updates, newsletters and discounts via regular mail or email?

While there is still some negative thinking associated with email marketing, most everyone (at least those under 60) is pretty much in agreement that email communication has revolutionized how we communicate on many different levels. With that said, there are still those who would rather have their communication sent regular mail and are not interested in using the Internet as a means to correspond. It's important to respect your customer's choice and try to accommodate their request as much as possible.

Making it a habit when signing up a new client to ask them which type of correspondence they would prefer to receive from you, email or regular mail, is similar to the grocery store bagger asking "paper or plastic?".

Emailing saves money and the environment by not requiring natural resources like trees to be used in generating the message. You may want to chime in when asking your clients for their preference by letting them know that, the more you can email (especially newsletters and discounts), the more savings you can offer back to them.

About the author:

Diana D'Itri is the co-founder of Ravebiz, a leading referral marketing and technology company that specializes in boosting online referral lead generation through its innovative eReferral system software. Since co-founding the firm in May, 2002 with her partner, Brett Duncan, she has played an integral role in the development and implementation of the Ravebiz eReferral system for a number of industries, including mortgage, medical, and retail.