Fax marketing? Have you still got a fax number?

I got rid of my fax machine years ago, dusted one off for a friend to send a fax a few months ago and then promptly unplugged it. He hasn't had a business fax line for several years now.

Personal view is that fax marketing has gone the way of the dinosaur.

Not legal to spam fax in the US.

I do still have a machine fax number, and a email fax number.
It is to get reservations from some of our travel agents, and occasionally
take an individual reservation. The only way to compliantly transmit credit
card data. (PCI compliance is the credit card industry standard in the USA.)

Just like I know the sun is going to set I know there are going to be "fax is dead" comments. As I have pointed out in other threads pretty much nothing ever dies, it is how you do it and who you are aiming at and what your expectations are that matter.

Are there guys making horse shoes on every corner? No.
Is there still someone somewhere in the world making a living making horse shoes? Yes.

Yes I still have a fax number. It is almost never used but when it has it has been used it was for the largest and most important transactions I have ever done in business and real estate.

Also I get emails all the time and many are ignored. I have NEVER received an alert on my smartphone that said "you have received a fax" and not read it. (my fax number is with an online service provider and I get an electronic copy)

As for marketing I am still in touch with a client that I helped develop a fax marketing program with about 16 years ago. He still makes money with it because it works with his demographic of older company owners/managers that have lots of money! He was told a decade ago that his marketing would die a quick and painful death due to his reliance on this method. The guy that told him that is out of business, he is not lol

Why do people still use faxing and who are the biggest users?
faxes are still being used regularly, particularly for transactional documents, such as contracts, invoices, sales orders, billing alerts, legal notices, patient records and lab results. He said the largest users tend to be organizations that are highly regulated, like those in the health, legal and financial industries. - See more at: Faxing (2.0) Is Still Essential For Many Small Businesses

faxes are still being used regularly, particularly for transactional documents, such as contracts, invoices, sales orders, billing alerts, legal notices, patient records and lab results. He said the largest users tend to be organizations that are highly regulated, like those in the health, legal and financial industries. - See more at: Faxing (2.0) Is Still Essential For Many Small Businesses
Faxes are still being used regularly, particularly for transactional documents, such as contracts, invoices, sales orders, billing alerts, legal notices, patient records and lab results. The largest users tend to be organizations that are highly regulated, like those in the health, legal and financial industries. Reasons for use include the need for an actual signature, proof that a document was received and time sensitivity issues.

Of course the faxing game has changed. You may still "fax" but it might be from a smarthphone or smart printer/scanner and may pop up on the other end on a screen but it sure is not dead. I figure faxing will be around as long as dentures ;-)

As far as it being legal meh, there is always a way ;-)

P.S
In regards to using a fax service like the one in the example above many are pretty sketchy. I almost always bought/scraped my own lists and sent for about 6 cents per fax. My client I mention did find a good provider that actually delivered the faxes as promised but the provider was an exception.

I don't see why fax couldn't work today.

I've talked with a few orthodontists and most of them still use fax.

And, yeah, what BizGrower said about fax in the U.S.

Just as Martin and Ron said, A large company I worked for received daily lunch deals from a deli and the secretary would ask everyone if they wanted something that day and would write all the orders down and fax it back.

That seemed to work out best for everyone involved. It was easier than phoning in large orders and it almost entirely cut down on any mistakes from miscommunication over the phone.

You would have better luck with a HAM radio.

Thanks, Ozi.

Getting the offer into the right persons hands is what it's all about.

I love the immediacy of a fax machine. I find that my faxes get handed
to the intended party. No gatekeeper to overcome.

I get the results TODAY, which is what I'm looking for.


In fact, as Peter talked about in post #6, if somebody is looking for income, start a fax service. There are millions of fax numbers available to you. You won't hit the limit.

The detailer I mentioned has over 400 offices on his fax list. Each office is worth about $20/mo. in income to him, at this point.

You do the math.

Ron

No doubt, Fax was a revolutionary invention. At the time when only land line phone available.
I have still a fax but its use not on regularly, i often use it. Today when we see the latest technologies like email smart phone etc, and even you take a picture from your smart phone and send it in seconds to anywhere on the world, but the time when fax was introduce its a great opportunity to send documents. Now a days use of fax is not as its past but we cannot completely rule out its need.