It is a struggle for entrepreneurs and new business owners to increase brand equity. A simple way to make you and your business look more professional is to promote yourself with a well-thought-out branded email address. This means your email address matches the domain name for your web site.
Setting up a customized email address with your dedicated domain name probably takes less than two minutes. You can set up mail forwarding of your business email, if you prefer to manage your email from your personal email account
Everything your audience sees, including the email address, helps customers form an opinion. Would it not be wiser to use an email address that works for you instead of against you?
Can you imagine the world without the Internet? Imagine a business without a website. Did you know that roughly more than 40% of small businesses do not have a website. (A facebook page does not count.) When competition is fierce this one way to set yourself apart.
A company called Visible Logic, conducted a survey in the US to prove that an email address says a lot about you and your business. What they learned was that 70% of respondents indicated that an email address matters, and a non-domain-level email address looks unprofessional. Respondents were asked to comment. They cited subtle ambiguities and relevant concerns that we would like to share:
I am leery of email addresses that are free account services such as Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail. It would make me suspect that the company could be a fly-by-night operation or possibly a scam that could be shut down quickly.
Indicates they’re cheap and most likely to cut corners rather than provide quality work.
Would any successful business believe that investing in their own domain and email is too high a cost?
Using a gmail account is just the height of laziness (or cheapness). If a company doesn’t bother to get a domain name with email ... I wonder what else they don’t bother to do.
I can’t imagine taking anyone seriously when they hand me a business card with a generic email address on it, that anyone can get.
Why put yourself in a position where you have to overcome extremely poor brand perceptions? Free emails from Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook or Microsoft are not a business tool, they do not promote your brand; you are promoting “their” brand and disappearing into a crowd.
You may spend a lot of time talking to your clients on the phone. You may have a significant number of conversations via email. Neither one conveys body language and facial expressions. Arguably, email conversations are harder because you cannot use a pleasant voice to make good impressions or emphasize a point. Your use of words and uniqueness have to suffice.
Communicating with First Time Customers
If you use email to communicate with any of your first-time customers, it is extremely important to be mindful of how professional you appear. This is your first opportunity to make a personal impression.
Reply quickly: Consumers expect a prompt reply. The length of time it takes to reply is directly proportionate to the impression you make and could mean new business or lost potential. Read your emails regularly and ensure you have time to reply.
Reply Accurately: There is nothing worse than misreading a question and sending a reply that frustrates the potential customer. It is equally frustrating for a consumer to get a reply to one question, when they asked two or more questions. They feel that their time has been wasted and that the business did not care enough to read the entire email. Read the email carefully and reply to every question or concern. That is the way to make a solid impression. If you do not know the answer, tell them so, and tell them what you are going to do to find the answer and how long it will take you to do so. And, don’t forget to follow up.
Use a professional greeting. You want to be friendly but also perceived as serious and respectful in these early communication where you begin to develop rapport. Saying a simple hello and using the person’s full first name is suitable. Avoid a slang greeting like “how’s it going?”
Use Paragraphs or bullet points: An email that runs on and on with no breaks between points is hard to read and confusing. If you are answering more than one question use a line break between each. Put spacing between your greeting and the body of the email.
Include a Signature: Let the person know who is answering their query. Your full name, your title, and contact information are all important elements of your credibility and make it easier for the customer to get in touch with you again.
Proofreading is paramount: An email full of spelling and grammatical errors makes you appear unprofessional. An email is one of your business documents. It is a valuable touchpoint, representative of your brand. Ensure the content reads exactly like you intend. Before you click “send”, proofread it for accuracy of content. If you are receiving business emails in your personal email account, be careful that you send the email using the right email alias to identify you and your email address.
Encourage a response: Encourage the reader to ask a questions or make a comment or take part in a user survey.
Cautions
Animation, motion, video: Using effects in email adds emotional appeal to your message and increases response. However, beware of sending your complete message as an image. Many customers turn off images in their email clients and may see only blank space.
Be careful of the “reply all” button: It is easy to click the wrong button when replying to an email. Clicking “reply” means you are replying to the sender specifically while “reply all” could send your email to multiple addresses. Making that mistake might be costly.
An email list of all the people who have bought from you or inquired about a purchase is a valuable asset because these people have already said yes to your business or are open to communicating with you. They should be more receptive to doing so again, even if they do not buy right away or read every email.
Utilize your email list wisely
Retail Systems Research studied a significant portion of the 500 major retailers to determine email effectiveness. Most of the companies failed to earn a passing grade from the recipients of their emails. This is good news for entrepreneurs who can take the time to do better and outshine the large competitors. The key is to maintain the consumer trust while sending regular emails that they are inclined to read and act upon. To do that you have to know:
Send regular emails: Regular contact means they will not forget about your business. Be careful that you do not inundate their inbox and they end up unsubscribing. Newsletter experts say once a month is the minimum for keeping yourself in customers’ minds. Some retailers send one email every day. You could survey your best customers or your target market to learn their preferences. You could research the marketing campaigns of your competitors – sign up to see their content and frequency. But, don’t copy what they do. Do it better! Adjust your email frequency by using your analytics, tracking your unsubscribe rates, and heeding what the consumer tells you.
Write a great subject line: Think of it like the headline of a newspaper – short enough to display in the preview window. The subject line should clue the recipient into what is in the email. Beware: If you’re counting on discounts in the subject line to get subscribers to open your emails, you risk teaching them never to pay your full prices.
Always say something useful: Share insights, promote products and offers, and answer FAQs. You can also promote specific blog posts or social media discussions that are current or interactively going strong. If you have testimonials from satisfied customer or significant helpful hints, send those along, too.
Court new business: Small business owners know from experience that people are more likely to buy from businesses that friends and family recommend. If you have a loyalty program or referral program do not forget to promote it in your emails.
Ask for a referral. If you have high profile clients, you might want to interview them and include the highlights of that conversation as well as a link to where the whole article appears on your website.
Optimize your emails for mobile viewing: Use of smartphones to access the internet far exceeds access by other devices. This means if the font is too tiny, the copy too wordy, or buttons are hard to see on a mobile screen you are missing opportunities. Learn how to use mobile-friendly templates for mobile viewing if you want your customer to read and act on your emails. Add a voice search option so customers can find what they are looking for on your website.
Learn more about the advantages of voice search
Add a menu: Each marketing email should include a menu at the top so your customer can go directly to a page they choose.
Keep an eye on trends to adapt your email strategy program: Keep an eye on trends because they keep evolving as quickly as technology changes. For example, people are more inclined to use voice search options than they were five years ago. When you land new customers, ask them how they found you, what piqued their interest, and learn about their preferences to adapt your email program to fit those needs.
An effective email marketing strategy converts prospects into customers, and turns first time buyers into recurring customers. However, as your subscriber list grows and your email marketing strategy evolves, you have to be careful how you read your analytics. If you have a long list of email subscribers that are not truly interested in your content or what you are offering, it can distort your analytics. For example, a survey sent out to your subscribers may garner replies, but those responses may not necessarily be from people who will ever buy your product. Subscribers may have been enthusiastic in the beginning but, for some reason or another, they do not feel obligated to engage anymore. They may even think of your emails as a nuisance. They may find clicking “delete” easier than taking the time to unsubscribe. You may be creating content for such a diverse audience – many of whom who do not care – that it is weakening your message. If you are paying for hosting subscribers, you can be wasting money, too. Wouldn’t you rather create content for a loyal audience that represents your strongest potential for business growth. Wouldn’t you rather have your recipients view your content as a desirable benefit?
You may want to start by growing a robust, receptive list by securing your subscribers’ opt-in permission before you communicate with them. You may want to audit your current list so you can concentrate on streamlining your content for people who want a connection to your brand. To create a robust list, you could invite subscribers to opt out, make your unsubscribe button more visible, and ensure it is “one-click simple”. Alternately, you could send inactive subscribers an email letting them know that their subscription has expired and provide a link for them to re-subscribe if they wish. Here’s an example:
No pressure, but time's running out to stay subscribed to our XYZ newletter.
Why do we care: Because we hate to be one of those brands who spam customers with information that they are not interested in.
On top of the great deals and programs we run for our community, we should probably show you what makes XYZ so special....our LMNOP
Should we keep you subscrived to our newsletter
If we don't hear from you shortly, we will take the hint and remove you from our system.
Caution: When a subscriber does not engaging regularly, it sends a signal to their email client (particularly Gmail or Yahoo) that your messages are not essential. This can often result in your email automatically being labeled as junk and never making it into your recipients’ inbox.
Track your metrics, adjust your email marketing strategy to adjust to subscriber preferences and audit your subscriber list at least once per year.
As a small business owner
you should assess whether you are sourcing enough good ideas from outside your
immediate think group. The more ideas generated, the greater the chance of
finding innovative ways to combine them into something new.
Inspiration can strike when you least expect it, but that is rather an inefficient way to drive innovation and creativity. Want a do-it-yourself approach to decision-making and problem solving? Try one of these brainstorming techniques to develop your ideas.
Professionalism is what you do visibly that impresses and inspires others and what you do behind the scenes – integrity, self-regulation, conscientiousness – that allows you to fulfill your role to the best of your ability and gives you a sense of satisfaction and self-worth.
When you are overworked and under pressure, try these two super easy-to-implement strategies to fend off procrastination. They can be completed quickly and more importantly they work best to set the tone for an excellent day.
Kindness should extend to our colleagues and work family. In the workplace, kindness is a catalyst that helps to build trust, drives morale, improves well-being, engagement, and productivity. Kindness makes you feel good and that is a good way to spend your day.
As a professional, you want to get the job done – and done well. You do what is necessary to produce results that exceed expectations. You recognize whatever you do to keep advancing personally and professionally also helps your business to thrive.
