The ability for consumers to communicate with you over email is no longer seen as anything but essential. Indeed, a recent survey of British consumers revealed that Britons now have high expectations when it comes to emailing all sizes of business. The survey found that a slow response to a customer's email enquiry can negatively affect business image and directly lead 89% of consumers to choose a competitor. Seventy-eight per cent of consumers surveyed had been disappointed by a slow response to email.

A further survey of 500 UK small businesses found that one in five UK small firms had received a complaint specifically about their slow approach to email, and 56% had no policy in place concerning their email.

The increasing importance of email means that running and managing an efficient email system is vital to all kinds of small enterprise. However, unless you are an IT specialist, implementing your own in-house email servers can be a daunting task.

In order to set up a secure, stable and compliant email system for your business yourself, one would need to invest in all of the following: an email server, software and licences for each user, a power failure switch to ensure the server can be shut down safely, a DSL connection, a remote control card for access to the server from outside the office, a firewall for security and perhaps additional considerations such as air conditioning, physical security and remote backup. Inevitably, these elements would require rather costly upfront investments.

The alternative is to pay a monthly subscription to a hosted email service and have your email system supplied by a specialist vendor such as a web host. An Exchange email package from a leading email provider can cost as little as £6 a month, and provides all the functionality, software and licenses for enterprise-class email at a very low monthly cost. The user also benefits hugely from their provider's resilience against downtime and economies of scale, including high network speed and SPAM protection.

The overall business case for hosted email packages is impressive. For the start-up enterprise the solution really can be essential and for small firms an email service is ideal for accommodating fluctuations in staff numbers and workload. Additional user licenses can be added or removed at little cost. A clear benefit to small firms is the removal of the need to employ trained technical staff to run an email system.

A major development in recent years has been the uptake of mobile email. Blackberries and laptops are no longer reserved to larger enterprises, as all types of business have much to gain from email on the go. A recent study of 1,300 UK small firms found that 61% admitted to not using a mobile email solution, such as a Blackberry or mobile email device, to communicate with their customers. Hosted email packages, such as MS Exchange packages, are particularly well suited to mobile and remote working.

"Push" email functionality, included within most subscription email packages, allows a user to send and receive emails from any location at any time via a handheld device. This facility is easy to set up and works with most mobile phone tariffs. Mobile email can maximize on staff time spent traveling, working onsite or after hours. Mobile email can be highly effective in speeding up customer email response times and improving your customer care. Above all else, mobile email is a proven way of increasingly productivity from your team and better enabling flexible working arrangements.

Email packages can also help achieve collaboration and data sharing within your business. Shared calendars, address books and group schedules mean that staff have access to vital information in or out of the office. Regulatory compliance surrounding email is also a factor that needs to be considered these days. A large email provider will be up-to-speed on managing the latest legal requirements for email data retention.

Choosing the right email service provider is of course an important decision. As email can be mission-critical, it is sensible to reduce the risks by purchasing from large, financially stable and experienced vendor who can guarantee server reliability, efficient email delivery and SPAM protection. Focus on their support services, ease of use, technology and, of course, price. Do check that the full version software you need is included in their monthly price and not an expensive extra. As well as cost, remember to research vendors for less obvious aspects such as what technical support they provide and what investments they are making into their network.

A subscription email package can provide an excellent backbone to any type of business. Today's features can free up staff time and improve your customer experience. Large hosting vendors offer easy and affordable ways to access some of the most effective email technology in the world. It could be just what your business needs.

Oliver Mauss is chief executive of 1&1 Internet. For further advice and information visit www.1and1.co.uk [1]