Business is constantly evolving and building credibility has become an essential component of keeping customers hooked to your brand. Where there is trust, the scope for better growth and sustainable relationships is inevitable. Getting people to spend their money on your product or service is not easy and it is even more difficult when you present yourself more like a person rather than a reliable entity.
“Credibility is a business leader’s currency; with it, he or she is solvent; without it, he or she is bankrupt.” – John Maxwell
One mistake that small businesses or start-up owners commit is to send business emails from personal email addresses like gmail.com or outlook.com. This can cost everything that you are trying to build in the market. Such mistakes can increase doubts among your potential customers that you are not a legitimate business and can not provide quality services. Perception is everything when you are trying to build trust and credibility with your customers and hold on to them for life.
The email address that you use to send your emails has a major effect on your business’ credibility and reputation. Would you trust a business with an email address that ends with @gmail.com? Even if you are not dealing with classified information, it is always best to avoid using a personal email address for business purposes.
Why to avoid using a personal email address:
It is unprofessional: Your customers or clients expect your business to look professional online—and the same applies to your email addresses too. When you send a pitch or company profile via an email address that you created in your 10th grade, it looks so unprofessional.
It doesn’t show growth: What will happen when you are ready to hire an employee? Because if you use a personal email address, it means you are not growing as a business and people will not show trust in your organisation.
It lacks credibility: When you use a personal email address, it demonstrates that you do not want to be associated with your business. Therefore, personal email addresses disconnect you from the important parts of your company branding.
Initially, having a branded email may seem insignificant but there is a bigger takeaway here than just the email address. A branded email address will inspire more customer trust than one that is from a free service provider. It is all about establishing credibility and branding; the first impression of your business for the outside world. And needless to say that in today’s competitive market, branding is how one business stands out from another.
Reasons to have a branded email address for your business:
It promotes your brand
When you send an email, your brand name is seen by the recipient. So here, you are promoting your business, not a free email service. It is a valuable and cost-effective way to create brand awareness without creating a hole in your pocket.
It helps to build trust
Scams are bad for businesses as well as customers. A potential client will not be comfortable sharing personal information to @gmail.com or hotmail.com. By offering a branded email address, you are providing a sense of security and reassurance to people that you are running an authentic business.
It boosts email marketing efforts
If you send emails from your company’s email domain, your target audience will immediately
know about the authenticity and be more likely to open and act. Your business will be taken
more seriously as it will appear more established and professional.
It is to note that credibility is a hard-won outcome and it will take some time – months or years to come into shape. All businesses should actively instill trustworthiness in all phases of their business operations. Most clients will engage in long-term business relationships with a business that is mindful of its market reputation and commercial standing. Therefore, you must invest substantial efforts to win the confidence of your clients, customers, and investors and a branded email can be the first step in that direction.
©ContentPie