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If you know where to get a good autoresponder, please contact Susan.

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Autoresponders Your Online Messenger Service
Author: ©Scott Lindsay

There was a time when large cities relied almost exclusively on messenger services. Page services are still used by Government officials among others to run errands and deliver documents and important correspondence.

Even in places like New York City you will still find some messenger services flowing through traffic on bicycles as they deliver messages for their clients.

The roll of messengers has a long and storied past. In many ways their role has found an online counterpart in the form of autoresponders.

This function is utilized by online businesses because they believe the customer is important enough to merit a personalized delivery no matter how busy the site owner may be.

These email messengers have become not only an important part of online business, but also a way to let customers know that you consider them V.I.P.'s.

Establishing Contacts
You can initiate the function of an autoresponder by subscribing to a service provider or checking with your site designer or web builder service to see if you have autoresponders available. Tech support should be able to guide you through any special installation issues or questions about applications related to your `messenger' service.

What To Say
It is important to determine what information you intend to send to your customers and at what point that information is sent. For example you may want to send an autoresponder message immediately following a confirmed sale. You can also send an automated message whenever someone sends a inquiry by email, when a product is shipped or even as a follow up to allow the customer to provide feedback about the service you provided and the product they purchased. Each autoresponder message will be unique to the application.

Any Other Tricks?
Autoresponders can also be used to deliver an online ecourse for those times when information is a part of your marketing strategy. You can provide a systemized series of messages for your clients that are sent on a time-released basis. Most services allow a customer to begin receiving those messages at any time. In other words one customer could be receiving the last autoresponder message in an ecourse while another consumer may be receiving the first. It all depends on the customer's sign up date.

Importance Simplified
It can be hard to try to keep track of every email and manage every piece of correspondence. In today's competitive online world customers are used to confirmation emails related to their purchase. Autoresponders allow you to meet that need in a very simplified and practical way. It is designed to make business easier and it lives up to its design.

Why Start Now?
If you're a business that has had a web presence for a long period of time you may have gotten used to living without an autoresponder, but as your business grows it will be increasingly difficult to manage confirmations and follow-up. When you no longer are able to manage these issues personally you can either utilize an autoresponder or you can allow your ability to manage customer service to diminish.

You have communication and it needs to be delivered. Let autoresponders be your primary messenger service.