Your email says a lot about you and your business. So much so that an email address can actually lose you business. An email address like all things a client or potential client see is part of your business’s image. Your business’s image is any thing your client or potential client sees and is a direct reflection of your business. If your business image is poor or lacks professionalism, then how will a client or potential client take your business seriously.
Think about any big business, say for example your insurance agent. Do you think they still use a free email account like hotmail, gmail, or AOL to conduct business? Doubtful. Could you imagine if Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon told you to email him at Amazon@AOL.com? Doesn’t look very professional does it? It’s even worse when you know he owns “Amazon.com”. But every day business owners use a free email account to represent their business. That sends a clear message to their clients. It says “I can’t be bothered to do something as simple as have a professional email address. What else won’t I do professionally?”
Now look at this email address: Joe.Smith@MyBusinessName.com How professional does that look? Having an email address like Joe.Smith@MyBusinessName.com costs next to nothing. In fact if you have a website already, you almost certainly have email through your website host. If you don’t, a domain costs roughly $10 for a year and email hosting costs a few dollars a month. So for roughly $35-$45 a year your business can have one piece, a major piece, of your business image. Plus you just secured your domain name for your business’s web site later on.
It also doesn’t take much to setup an email program to manage all your email addresses on any computer and/or smart phone. If you don’t know how, your local IT guy will!
There are a wide range of email hosting services out there. You can Google “email hosting services” Or (shameless service plug…) my company will be glad to offer you email hosting!
But seriously, for businesses who have embraced the digital age, your email address is one of the most seen pieces of your business. It speaks volumes about your business. It says “I take my business seriously and want to be professional.” Isn’t that worth $35 a year?
