It's a remarkably simple concept; current and potential customers answer a few questions that provide precise marketing data and in exchange, the person has a chance to win everything from an Ipod, a new car, free merchandise or even cash. Running a sweepstakes online is a fun, hip way to tackle critical issues in customer service, sales, marketing and product development.

If you've never considered using a sweepstakes as part of your marketing strategy, here are seven ways a sweepstakes can help your business:

1. Increase traffic to your web site ? Promoting a sweepstakes is a great way to get more people to visit your web site. Post your sweepstakes in targeted forums and sweepstakes b-boards with a link to your site and watch your traffic jump.

2. Build prospect lists ? When a prospect signs up to enter your sweepstakes make sure you ask for his or her email address not only as a way to contact the winner, but also as a means to build your prospect lists for remarketing. Just make sure you ask for permission to contact them again by providing a box on the entry form to be either checked (or unchecked) indicating his or her desire to receive future promotional emails.

3. Strengthen customer relationships ? Giving your customers an exclusive opportunity to win a sweepstakes giveaway or special offer shows you value their business. If you're in the services industry, offering a discount on the next service purchased is always appreciated.

4. Collect marketing research data ? Increase your response rate for your survey by offering a sweepstakes as an incentive to get feedback before rolling out a new product, logo or Web design. Just think how valuable it would be to learn the consideration for purchase or price elasticity before your product hits the market!

5. Reveal Customer Preferences ? Your customers are your greatest source of knowledge when it comes to new product ideas or service needs. So, consider offering them an incentive for their ideas with a short survey that automatically enters them into a sweepstakes. They'll respond with hopes of winning the sweepstakes and you'll be rewarded with a steady supply of fresh ideas.

6. Motivate employees ? Inject a little fun in the workplace. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a sweepstakes for your employees, yet it can be an effective way to boost moral and improve operations. For example, you could raffle off a no-strings-attached vacation day for the lucky winner or, use a sweepstakes as an enticement to receive suggestions for an internal problem.

7. Build buzz around new product launch ? How do you get people talking about your new product? Press coverage and magazine articles are standard forms of buzz generation, but the Internet enables an additional viral marketing capability. Post a sweepstakes for your company with the winner receiving your new product or service for free. An online sweepstakes can reach hundreds of thousands of people just from one posting on a sweepstakes portal. Imagine what can happen if you post your new product sweepstakes on 5, 10, 15 targeted portals.