Why Businesses Verify Email Addresses

In the age of the Internet and new technologies, there are hundreds of ways to create an email address. The most popular way for creating an email address is via a free web based host such as Hotmail and Gmail. And although a free email address is useful and provides a cost effective means for communications it can also be used temporarily for bogus reasons such as spamming and other unscrupulous purposes.

Since the process of creating an email is so readily available on the Internet this makes it difficult for businesses to distinguish a bogus email address from one that is active and legitimate. Additionally, reputable businesses prefer to take the time to verify email addresses prior to establishing ongoing communications with their potential customers to avoid being accused of spam.

Verifying email addresses should be one of the very first steps you should take prior to designing a comprehensive marketing strategy. Not only does it get you started off on a positive note with your customers it also ensures that they receive important communications after they choose to join your list and do business with you.

The Importance of Verifying Email Addresses

In addition to getting started off on the right foot with your customers, there are other reasons why businesses verify email addresses as an important step ion the marketing process:

Real Customers Translate Into Authentic Sales Opportunities: Data collection processes that include email verification means accurate contact data which opens up more marketing opportunities. This is because your customers are receiving your message on a consistent basis. And if you are contacting them in terms of where they are in the customer lifecycle this results in highly targeted sales opportunities now and in the future.

Avoid Inaccurate Email Addresses: As a business owner you will invest a lot of time into your marketing strategies and this includes your email marketing campaigns. As your business grows you will likely collect a large volume of data and email addresses via multiple channels that exist in your marketing efforts. Inaccurate email addresses can end up consuming a large part of your information database meaning that important information is never received by your customers. This includes order confirmations, targeted messages, and other important data you want to ensure your customers receive.

Avoid Bogus Submissions: On some occasions you will find that someone will enter the email of another into a business opt-in list without their permission or they will use a bogus email address to submit unsolicited promotional messages. By verifying email addresses business owners are assured that they are communicating with a real person and a customer who has volunteered their information to receive email your messages.

So what is the easiest way for businesses to verify email addresses? Well, the most common way is through the use of email verification tools. Email verification tools start authenticating the email address at the point of capture. By verifying the information as the consumer enters it the tool helps the customer to make any necessary correction in typos. As your customer database grows over time an email verification tool allows you to enter email addresses to verify that they are still active. The tool communicates with a large database of email addresses to easily provide you with the information you need to keep your customer database current.