When you walk into a department store and all the sales assistants are smiling, it creates a sense of camaraderie that makes you want to return. Personalized attention is the best marketing strategy for improving sales. Everyone likes to feel important and they also like knowing their business is appreciated.

It takes more creativity to generate these kinds of feelings online. Computers and websites can be very impersonal. Auto-responders were developed to help you make sure that your website customer knows how much you appreciate their business. They replace the smiles you would give them on a one-to-one basis.

Grinning With Success

Customers can be very demanding. They don't like waiting and they want to know their order is being processed quickly. It is just a fact of life in the marketplace. If you own an online business or have a business where customers can contact you via email then you probably know how quickly your inbox can fill up with customer emails.

You can pay someone to answer all the emails, but that may not be cost effective. Auto-responders are software programs that will automatically respond to emails with no intervention by you. When someone sends you an email or orders a product from your website, the auto-responder immediately sends a message of acknowledgment.

This assures the customer that he or she is not lost in cyberspace. The customer is smiling with satisfaction and you are grinning with success.

Auto-responders are used as web-based and non web-based programs. The web-based programs run on the server and usually have a specialized script written by the company. Auto-responders attached to email programs usually have programmed pre-set responses to choose among.

The auto-responder has an actual email address. It responds to the customer and gives the customer a way to answer with questions or concerns. But auto-responders are used in a variety of ways to build business.

- Can send auto-responder emails at predetermined times to maintain contact with the customer

- Used as a way to distribute newsletters and articles to current and potential customers

- Creates mailing lists of email addresses

- Broadcasts advertisements, sales events and special discount opportunities

- Distributes new product information

- Offer topical courses that are split up over several lessons encouraging repeated customer contact

- Send reminders

- Send trial versions of a service you sell

- Use to transmit links that the customer can access and that lead to your website

- Email testimonials about products or services

Auto-responders are used to keep existing customers and generate new business. They are marketing and time management tools. They are also cost effective.

Beaming With Pride

Choosing the right auto-responder depends upon your particular circumstances.

- Budget Limitations

- Desire to prevent spam emails being sent from your automated email address collection

- Need for multiple email responses

There are simple and free programs available online, but their capabilities are limited. If you can afford it, the best option is a web-based auto-responder program that offers a large amount of flexibility.

In between the free and web-based programs are stand-alone programs you run with your email program. Whatever program you choose, auto-responders will help you create a customer friendly business whether it is online or not. They are a way to show your customers you and your company strongly value customer relations.

Auto-responders are technology that can also create an opt-in customer base. An opt-in is when a potential customer responds to a pop-up or online form and requests to be added to your customer email list. The uses of auto-responders are unlimited. Anyone who needs to develop a satisfied customer bases should be using auto-responders.