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How email can be used to benefit your business and keep your customers coming back.           Email has become an important method of business communication. Used properly it is an extremely efficient and effective form of communication that can be used to transmit all kinds of electronic data.           Some of the advantages of using email include:           Price - sending an email costs the same (next to nothing) regardless of distance and however many people you send it to.     Speed - an email should reach its recipient in minutes, or at the most within a few hours.     Convenience - an email message will be stored until the recipient is ready to read it, and you can easily send the same message to a large number of people     Permanent records - a record can be kept of messages and replies, including details of when an email was received.     One of the main benefits of using email is that any type of file stored on a computer can be sent as an attachment to an email. For example, if you have a report that you have created in a word processing package you can send it in its entirety to someone else via email.     Potential disadvantages of using email include:           Spam - unsolicited email that can overwhelm your email system unless you install a firewall and anti-spam software.     Email attachments - one of the most common ways computer viruses are spread.           Email is a powerful, low-cost communications tool that businesses can use to market their goods, provide better customer service and work more efficiently. Customers can be targeted cheaply and instantly and, unlike other forms of marketing, email can be easily and quickly forwarded to colleagues or friends. Email marketing is effective because it is a personal, time-sensitive interaction. However it is most effective when not over-used, as people may simply delete it if they are receiving large amounts of irrelevant and unwanted material. In December 2003 the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations introduced an opt-in consent procedure for commercial emails, which means you can only target people who have agreed to be contacted.  Email can be a useful tool for improving customer service. Encouraging customers to contact you by email can benefit both parties, they do not have to hang on the phone or make contact in working hours and you do not have to respond immediately. However, it's essential to set a reasonable reply period and stick to it. Although an email is less formal than a letter, it should still be professional, a defamatory remark in an email can still lead to litigation. Even a brief acknowledgement email should be grammatically correct and spell-checked before it is sent.