smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Conducting direct marketing over the internet and via e-mail can be very efficient for small businesses and a better option than traditional direct mail, according to a direct marketing expert.

Maintaining an accurate and up-to-date online contact database of potential customers is vital for any small business, claims Robert Dirskovski, head of interactive media at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

However, he also believes social networking sites are less useful for SMEs as an internet marketing tool because they have not been designed with a commercial purpose in mind.

Mr Dirkovski says: 'The entry costs to market are so much lower with email; it is a very efficient method for small businesses to use… It's so much more flexible too… You can adapt the message according to the respondents.

'[Social networking sites are] there for communication between individuals, they're not there for commercial purposes; so if you seek to engage with that community you need to be very careful about the kind of message that you're delivering,' he adds.

According to DMA figures, 2006 saw a big increase in the number of e-mail direct marketing campaigns sent directly by businesses.

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