True Fact: 44-to-50% of small businesses have no web site or online presence.

Reasons for going “web-less” these digital days seem perfectly reasonable:

· Number One: “It costs too much to hire professional web site designers.”
· Number Two: “I’m a local retailer or service provider. Why should I be on the world wide web?”
· Number Three: “I’m too busy running my business. Who has time to keep up a web site and answer emails?”

Not Being Online Costs You Even More. A bigger risk these days to your business survival is being invisible to potential customers who do all their product searches on virtual (online) feet … including the locals. Don’t believe it? Listen to Michael Schultz, who (in the interests of full disclosure) is the marketing director for Microsoft Office Live Small Business unit:

1. Fashion Accessories Makeover Wardrobes At Lower Cost With High Style

· In the current economic climate, retail customers are buying more accessories and spending less of their budgets on complete outfits and apparel. “The retailing industry predicts a rise in accessories sales over the next five quarters.” (Specialty Retail trend forecast, Andrew Beauchamp)

· Retail customers looking for something new that won’t break the budget (or a Teen-Tween-aged allowance) are looking to accessories and wearable souvenirs.

“No matter how much money you spend on advertising, you can’t convince customers that you provide better experiences than you do.”

“Managing Customer Experience is not about ‘selling things;’ it’s about helping customers buy.”

Customers come in all sizes in a global marketplace, from a limited number of large Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Distributors … to multiplied prospects among Buyers and Sellers for Chain Stores, Discount Retailers, Auction Sellers … to unlimited potential customers at the retailing end of the merchandise chain.

Of course, advertising costs total up very differently to acquire, convert and retain a manufacturer or wholesale-sized customer, versus attracting and keeping a retail consumer-sized customer. According to wholesale industry trackers, marketing costs to acquire a single new merchandise wholesaler is estimated to run 15-to-25 times the cost of gaining a new retail customer, whose purchase revenues are smaller but who come from a bigger pool of customers.

Listed here are B2B Email Strategies that produce prospects and leads. Includes email industry statistics and results, plus tips from an email marketing professional, founder of BrightWave Marketing, who shared his suggestions at iMediaConnection in How to Deliver on B2B Email Campaigns.

Talk Benefits to Your Audience: Or, What’s In This for Me? Glitzy graphics-heavy emails with tricky subject lines may work well with tech heads (who must have every new electronics device), with online gamers (who are already hard-wired for video image messages) and with casual browsers who don’t feel information overloaded by their email In-Boxes.