When it comes to your business e-mail communications, you need to make an impression that can lend to the determination that you are someone that will be a pleasure to do business with.
For your consideration below are the "Top 10 e-mail issues targeted at business men and women. These are the issues business owners and their employees minimally need to be aware of in their day-to-day online communications.
1. SUBJECT: Field: The SUBJECT: field is the window into your e-mail and can many times determine even if your e-mail will be opened. If this is your first contact with a customer based on their request through your site or otherwise, be sure to have a short SUBJECT: that indicates clearly what the topic of the e-mail is. Never be misleading in this regard! Typos, all caps or all small case can give the impression you are a spammer.
2. Level of Formality: Never assume a position of informality in your business e-mail. Only time and relationship building efforts can guide when you can informalize your business relationships. And, in some cases that time may never arise. Do not assume that e-mail is impersonal or informal when it comes to your business communications. It is very personal - a window into the type of person you are and how you run your business. Remember, people do business with people not companies. One should communicate as if your e-mail is on your company letterhead at all times. This is your business's image you are branding!
3. Addressing: How do you address your new contacts? I would suggest initially that you assume the highest level of courtesy: Hello, Mr. Anderson, Dear Ms. Jones, Dr. Osborne, etc. Until your new contact states, "call me Andy" or "you can call me Diane. Keep it formal until it is clear the relationship dictates otherwise. You will also be able to get clues by how your contacts approach you and their tone. Most business people do not mind being called by their first name, however, in a global economy that can be perceived as taking premature liberties in the relationship if used too soon.
4. TO:, From:, Bcc, Cc fields can make or break you:
..In the TO: field make sure you have your contact's name formally typed. John B. Doe - not john b doe or JOHN B DOE.
..In the FROM: field make sure your have your full name formally typed. Example: Jane A. Jones. Not: jane a jones or JANE A JONES. The later two give the perception of lack of education or limited experience with technology. Always use your full name. By only including your first name or e-mail address you are giving the perception you have something to hide or do not know the basics of configuring your e-mail program.
..Bcc: use this field when e-mailing a group of contacts who do not personally know each other. By listing an arms length list of e-mail addresses in the CC or TO fields of contacts who do not know each other or who have never met is conducive to publishing their e-mail address to strangers. No matter how great the list of people may be to you, never make this decision for others! This is a privacy issue! With those you are forging partnerships with, visibly listing their e -mail address in with a group of strangers will make one wonder what other privacy issues you may not respect or understand. Not good.
..Cc: Use this field when there are a handful of associates involved in a discussion that requires all be on the same page. These business people know each other or have been introduced and have no problem having their e-mail address exposed to the parties involved. If you are not sure if a business associate would mind their address being made public, ask!
5. Formatting: Refrain from using it in your business communications. Unless you would type something in bold crimson letters on business letterhead, don't do it when e-mailing for commercial gain. Even something as simple as using a different font makes your e-mail's display contingent upon the recipient having that specific font on their system or it defaults to their designated default font. The recipient may not have their e-mail program configured in such a way as to display your formatting the way it appears on your system - if at all.
6. Attachments: Do you think your relationship with a potential new customer is enhanced when you send them that 5M Power Point presentation they didn't request and you fill up their inbox causing subsequent business correspondence to bounce as undeliverable? Nope. And, if they don't have Power Point they couldn't open the file anyway! Never assume your potential customers have the software you do to open any file you may arbitrarily send.
If you need to send a file over 200,000 in size, business courtesy dictates you ask the recipient first if it is O.K. to send a large file. Next, confirm they have the same software and version you do and what is the best time of day to sent it to them to ensure they are available to download the large file and keep their e-mail flowing. Do not send large attachments without warning, on weekends or after business hours when the recipient may not be there to clear out their inbox and keep their e-mail flowing.
7. Using Previous E-mail for New Correspondence: If you want to give the perception of lazy, find a previous e-mail from the party you want to communicate with, hit reply and start typing about something completely irrelevant to the old e-mail's subject. Always start a new e-mail and add your contacts to your address book so you can add them to a new e-mail with one click.
8. Down Edit Your Replies: Don't just hit reply and start typing. Editing is a skill those you communicate with will appreciate as it lends to reflecting a respect for their time and clarity in your communications. Removing parts of the previous e-mail that do not apply to your response including e-mail headers and signature files removes the clutter. In addition, by making the effort to reply point by point keeps the conversation on track with fewer misunderstandings.
9. Common Courtesy: Hello, Hi, Good Day, Thank You, Sincerely, Best Regards. All those intros and sign offs that are a staple of professional business communications should also be used in your business e-mail communications. Always have a salutation and sign off with every e-mail. Here again - think business letterhead.
10. Signature files: Keep your signature files to no more than 5-6 lines as this can be viewed as a bit egocentric. Limit your signature to your Web site link, company name, and slogan/offer or phone number. Include a link to your site where the recipient can get all your contact information from A-Z - that is what your site is for.
Don't forget to include the "http://" when including your Web site address within e-mails and your signature file to ensure it is recognized as a clickable URL regardless of the user's software or platform.
The above Top 10 items will certainly allow your business communications to rise above the majority who do not take the time to understand and master these issues. When forging new business relationships and solidifying established partnerships, the level of professionalism and courtesy you relay in your business e-mail communications will always gain clients over the competition that may be anemic, uninformed or just plain lazy in this area. Went it comes to business, regardless of mode of communication used, professionalism and courtesy never go out of style.
About the Author:
Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse who has been playing @ http://www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade. Check out her popular E-mail Etiquette site @ http://www.NetManners.com
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
An autoresponder is useful for, well, responding to people who... Read More
Most business people on the web subscribe to at least... Read More
It's happening. Again.The Internet marketing 'game' is rapidly changing... again.Email... Read More
When I coach my clients on how to... Read More
Free email accounts are great if you want to hide... Read More
Sending autoresponder messages is one of the most powerful email... Read More
This Stanford University study surveyed the leading research on virtual... Read More
"Repetition is the key to advertising (marketing)". Those words were... Read More
For the sake of your long term survival and your... Read More
I've been sending out email camapigns for clients for over... Read More
Email is a vital part of doing business online, but... Read More
Hi you may or may not know that your Autoresponder... Read More
Email is THE medium of communication for business transactions. Unfortunately,... Read More
You hear it all the time... email signature, sig file,... Read More
When we speak about viral marketing, we are not talking... Read More
1) Website FocusMake sure your site is focused on a... Read More
1. Make the effort to learn about the etiquette (these... Read More
If Gutenberg were alive today he would be in publishing... Read More
Running a contest for your e-zine subscribers or web site... Read More
Another powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More
How many times have you realized that your email simply... Read More
Everyone at some point in their Internet experience has received... Read More
Do you have a list of e-mail addresses of your... Read More
Website promotion is certainly a main focus of all business... Read More
Do you read all your Ezines? Or do you file... Read More
For those of you who aren't familiar with the term,... Read More
? Are you tired of searching for e-mail messages you... Read More
I bet you want to know what that one great... Read More
In this digital day and age, communicating through email is... Read More
Delivering email newsletters and sales messages to opt-in subscribers and... Read More
Everyone who has been marketing online for sometime already know... Read More
The goal of all marketing is to attract interest in,... Read More
In this article I will give you several tips that... Read More
A term that confuses just about everyone is "autoresponder". When... Read More
If you're like me, there are certain types of email... Read More
Hey, using eBooks, eReports and eCourses is a fantastic way... Read More
If you are not using a follow up autoresponder until... Read More
It appears that Mr. Gates' prophetic prediction that charging marketers... Read More
Delivering email newsletters and sales messages to opt-in subscribers and... Read More
Have you ever heard email described as, "the killer Internet... Read More
Answering emails can take up a significant portion of the... Read More
For those of you who aren't familiar with the term,... Read More
Among internet marketing strategies that most marketers are not using... Read More
Free email accounts are great if you want to hide... Read More
Autoresponders are, without a shadow of a doubt, one of... Read More
Here are the ten most important tips to ensure you're... Read More
It's true that "content is king," but equally important to... Read More
Imagine going to bed and waking up in the morning... Read More
Did you know one of the most important tools in... Read More
The war on sp^am has so far been waged on... Read More
Are you running ads and marketing with tag lines that... Read More
It seems that Google is revolutionizing the Net in more... Read More
Congratulations, you just made a sale!Congratulations, you just made a... Read More
When you are an expert, you sometimes forget that others... Read More
Good thing in emarketing business today is that many people... Read More
We all know that email is probably today's most popular... Read More
Writing ads for either your own products or affiliate products... Read More
Every marketer needs leads, they are the lifeblood of your... Read More
Newsletter publishing has always made a lot of sense. It... Read More
Yes, the headline is spelled right. What if you had... Read More
If you're in business and use email, you've likely learned... Read More
The consumer of today is increasingly bombarded by marketing messages... Read More
Have you noticed the marketing frenzy? Have you felt the... Read More
If you are just starting out as an Internet entrepreneur... Read More
A powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More
E-mail promotion Internet marketing can help your home-based business expand... Read More
Email Marketing |