Is your company utilizing the power of e-mailing? Or are e-mails used mostly for setting up meetings, announcing the newest employee and informing the location of the company picnic? Oh, and let's not forget the latest joke that you will get about five times in two days.

If that's all e-mails are being used for in your company you are losing out on a huge opportunity to raise awareness for your company.

I regularly receive a copy of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission's (DDBC) bulletin by e-mail. I also receive a timely tip in my inbox from Performance House Marketing, a Dartmouth business run by Tim and Mike Oldfield. My own clients receive an e-mail from me called Pulse.

Every time your company has some form of contact with a customer or client it is called a 'hit'. The more hits to your target market the better it is for your business. But sending out monthly bulletins or information pieces by regular mailing methods is time-consuming and expensive. E-mailing drastically reduces the time involved along with the expense of stuffing envelopes, making labels and buying stamps.

It is an excellent way not only of keeping in touch but it's a great way to keep your markets informed of new products or services or just providing them with items of interest that could help them grow their business. Many times the Pulse message is a book review or an interview that reminds companies of the things that could help make them successful but maybe they have drifted away from or never tried.

Executive Director Tim Olive of the DDBC writes and edits their bulletin. He says: "It's a simple thing to learn how to use Publisher or similar program, save it to a PDF file and email it to your client list as an attachment." He went on to say: "If you are not utilizing the technology available you won't succeed to the extent of those who are."

Whether you are a CEO of a large enterprise or a small business owner, it would be a good business decision to heed Mr. Olive's advice.

Tim Oldfield of Performance House describes their use of e-mailing as "invaluable". He suggests viewing e-mail usage as a long-term strategy. "The message should not so much be promotional as educational. The recipients should see it as having value for them rather than self-serving for the mailer. In other words, position yourself as an expert."

Mr. Oldfield says their e-mailings drive traffic to their website where past issues can be viewed. This is exactly what companies want to happen because once they are there so many good things can come from it. He also mentioned that e-messages should be permission-based with an unsubscribe option at the end of the message.

To see a good example of the value of e-mailing to clients or potential customers you might want to view our latest Pulse. This e-mail is an excellent educational piece for businesses, big or small. It is a review of a book entitled "The Knowing-Doing Gap- How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action", by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton. It lists and explains eight 'bridges' of the gap that any company would find very relevant. If you would like to have it e-mail me at john.campbell@schooleymitchell.com. You will have it quickly and it won't cost me one red penny to get it to you.