For some folks, everything having to do with "marketing strategy" should be new, newer or newest and as high-tech as possible. For them, the appearance of the words "online" and "marketing" in the same headline make perfect sense - but "faxing"? That's so "1980s," isn't it? Perhaps, but "online faxing" is an "Internet era" development, and has a place in any wide-ranging and enlightened marketing strategy, regardless of the product or service. The fact is, you can do your business a whole lot of good if you simply add online faxing to your business marketing strategy.

The question should always be, "Does it work?" - not, "When was it invented?" The fact is, rudimentary online fax applications and Web forms appeared hot on the heels of the first America Online diskette mass mailing. Online faxing attracted developers right away in the early 1990s, and has attracted them ever since to perfect a range of Web-based and freestanding applications that deliver faxes over the Internet. The reason? Online faxing works well, it's based on a mature technology and people use it every day, millions of times, around the world.

Covering the bases

Whatever business you are in, you are in the "communications industry." You have to tell people, in every possible (and occasionally impossible) way, what you do, where you are, why you're the best - the whole story, told compellingly enough to bring in the business. You will have numerous components, depending on your size and budget, from mass media (TV, radio), Internet, print ads, print collateral and marketing materials, publicity, public and media relations, direct mail, e-mail - and online faxing. You can put the pieces together many ways.

As you plan your marketing approach, and define it geographically and by "channel" (Internet, print publishing, radio/TV), you will have to work out the details to fit your budget and goals. For e-mail campaigns, you have to ensure you do not run afoul of spam laws, and rent opt-in lists or assemble your own list. For printed brochures you will have to arrange design and production. For direct mail, you will need not to handle not only the design and production, but the "fulfillment," too - that is, getting all the pieces delivered, to the right place at the right time. Many of the tasks involved in your marketing campaign are complicated and time-consuming. Not online faxing.

Low cost, no hassles

Because it has been around a while, faxing is familiar. E-mail or no e-mail, many companies have kept their fax machines in service, and a standard entry in any business listing or company directory is the office fax number. A list of fax numbers would be quite easy to assemble from free, publicly available information, and it is important to note that sending faxes is not restricted the way e-mail is. You will not be accused any time soon of "fax spamming."

With online faxing, you can take advantage of what's called "fax broadcasting" or "fax blasting." This means that your message can be sent to multiple destinations in one seamless process, relieving you of having to enter dozens of fax numbers and feed a sheet or two into a machine for each one. With software tools and online faxing, there are no problems, no fuss and no muss, so you can save time while you are saving paper, electricity and employee productivity, as well.

Customize your approach

One thing you want to stay aware of as you tweak your marketing strategy is "target overlap." That is, you want to be as efficient as possible in delivering your company's message, so you do not need to be sending e-mail blasts to the same people who are getting fax blasts. Some small amount of duplication is to be expected, but try to make your faxed messages count by keeping them targeted. This is a good argument for having one consolidated "delivery list" by company name, where you cross-reference addresses to ensure that you use the right ones, at the right time, for the right company.

If you add online faxing to your business marketing strategy, you will enjoy the many benefits it brings to even the simplest uses. Sending a few hundred or thousand faxes would be a big deal if done by hand, but online faxing offers a fast, simple, low-cost way of delivering your message. When combined with your other activities - from your highest-of-the-high-tech Internet social marketing moves to your business cards, flyers, bus bench ads and other low-tech, old-school methods - you can be assured of covering all possible bases.