It’s almost impossible to do business these days without an email address.

Importance of Professional Emails

While it can be tempting to try and save funds by using one of the many free email options available, when you’re running a business it’s important to have a professional email address, and it will be well worth the dollars you spend. This is why.

Maintaining a professional image

In business, maintaining a professional image is important for keeping your customers’ trust and appearing credible online. When potential or existing customers contact you with questions, or if you reach out to them or to other businesses, using an address like john@smithsplumbing.com.au definitely looks more professional than johnsmith280475@hotmail.com. Routing your email through your business’s domain name shows that your business is well-established and genuine, and is likely to make customers feel more comfortable dealing with you.

Clear link to your website

A professional email address using your domain name makes it easy for customers to look up your company and your website for more information. This also contributes heavily to reassuring them that you are a legitimate and established business, and engenders trust. It’s a great marketing asset too – any email you send, or any time you leave your contact details with someone, you’re also giving them an easy link to your website.

Reduce risk of being marked as spam

Exactly because anyone can sign up for a free email address quickly and easily, they are frequently used by spammers, and as a result are often viewed with suspicion – this is why having a professional email address connected to your own domain is such a trust marker. Some spam and malware filters will automatically disable, or reroute to Junk Mail folders, emails from providers like Hotmail, for example. A professional email address reduces the risk of your business emails bouncing or being sent straight to the trash can. If you think Gmail is a more trustworthy free email provider, we have strong reasons to convince you otherwise.

Organise your emails by purpose

Organising your incoming mail by assigning particular email addresses to departments or purposes – for example accounts@yourcompany.com.au, info@yourcompany.com.au - not only helps you from the perspective of managing your workload, but adds credibility to your business by further reinforcing that you are an established presence.

Collaborate with your team

Professional business email hosting typically come bundled with other features like shared calendars which make collaborating with your colleagues much easier. You can send and manage meeting requests, view your workmates’ calendars and check their availability, and even hold virtual meetings and work on shared documents at the same time using these kinds of tools. While on the surface you might appear to be saving money by using a free email address for your business, you’ll often find it’s costing you dearly in other ways like consumer confidence, your business’s credibility, and even in productivity. Professional email solutions such as Microsoft 365 Premium are a great investment to help attract more potential customers to your business.

Lisa Shannahan