| E-mail Professionalism | | | | will receive all your e-mail, even when the |
| | | | sender misspells the contact name (slaes |
| | | | instead of sales @businesscabinets.com, for |
| | | | instance). Is this more professional? |
| "What is an e-mail address? How does it | | | | Absolutely. |
| affect my business?" | | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | The myth that a domain name, 25 personal |
| Good questions. Think of the customers of | | | | e-mail addresses, and a basic website must |
| Australian telecommunications giant OneTel. | | | | cost a business thousands of dollars is just |
| When e-mail addresses such as abcCompany au | | | | that-a myth. It can be achieved for as little |
| became useless within the span of a week, the | | | | as $200.00 per year. |
| majority of customers turned to DingoBlue for | | | | |
| a new one, such as abcCompany | | | | |
| @dingoblue.net.au. A year later, it was | | | | |
| DingoBlue's turn to close its doors, leaving | | | | So what is an e-mail address? Part of a |
| those same customers to find a new e-mail | | | | complete and professional image, as basic as |
| address altogether. | | | | wearing washed and ironed shirts. One of the |
| | | | many promotional tools that businesses must |
| | | | use to compete in today's tough environment. |
| | | | And a registered domain is yours for life, as |
| A personal or business e-mail address such as | | | | long as you pay the domain registration fees. |
| bob.brown is like a business card: "This is | | | | Think of it as the Internet equivalent of a |
| Bob Brown from Business Cabinets, and we make | | | | business name registration. |
| Cabinets," it says. Getting the right e-mail | | | | |
| address is equivalent to printing your name | | | | |
| on business cards with your company name and | | | | |
| business details. It's well worth the effort. | | | | Although e-mail should never be used as the |
| | | | sole method of dealing with customers-it can |
| | | | never truly replace face-to-face contact-what |
| | | | it can do is help you stay in touch with your |
| When signing up with an Internet Service | | | | clients, or update potential customers, as |
| Provider (ISP), most new customers accept the | | | | long as you have their permission. Besides |
| name they are offered, even when the name is | | | | e-mail, how else could you contact 100 |
| limited to eight letters. The result? An | | | | customers simultaneously at 5 p.m. on a |
| e-mail address with no correlation to any | | | | Friday about next week's special offer? |
| business or product of the customer's own. | | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | You can send your e-mail as personally as you |
| One business cabinet manufacturer, when | | | | like. Either bob or may be used. |
| offered a limited selection of names, ended | | | | Communication personally sent from you, |
| up with jandlcc au. How did this help the | | | | addressed to your customer, containing |
| business? It didn't. Not only was the e-mail | | | | details of your client's company as well as |
| address disjointed, but also it failed to | | | | projects he or she might be working on that |
| identify, much less promote, the company. | | | | are related to your business, will be read. |
| Later, when the ISP went broke, the cabinet | | | | How often do you talk to, or contact, EVERY |
| manufacturer selected a new e-mail address, | | | | ONE of your customers or prospects? |
| changed stationary, replaced business cards, | | | | |
| and updated as many of the contacts as could | | | | |
| be remembered. It was an expensive exercise. | | | | |
| | | | Used well, e-mail will make you more |
| | | | productive. E-mail messages can include links |
| | | | to web pages, even if it is only the page |
| If the cabinet manufacturer had chosen a | | | | that comes with your ISP. Hence, every e-mail |
| domain name of the company's own, time, | | | | message helps promote your product or |
| money, effort and frustration would have been | | | | service. Business these days is about |
| saved. | | | | promoting your business at every turn, and |
| | | | turning even half-an-opportunity into a sale. |
| | | | This applies to work-at-home businesses such |
| | | | as Avon or Amway as much as it does to major |
| Think of your domain name as your business | | | | corporations. |
| name on the Internet. Let's say that | | | | |
| "businesscabinets.com" will be the domain | | | | |
| name used by our fictional Bob Brown. Bob's | | | | |
| Web address would be www. businesscabinets | | | | E-mail allows you to ask non-urgent questions |
| .com. Bob could use a country code with his | | | | or send information at a time when it is |
| domain, such as www. businesscabinets | | | | convenient for you, outside of 8:30 to 5. |
| .com.au, since he lives in Sydney. | | | | Have a question? Ask it before the other |
| | | | party has arrived for work, between meetings, |
| | | | or late at night, and take it off your To Do |
| | | | list. How often have you waited on the phone |
| Every person, every section of the company, | | | | to ask a question like, "What time is |
| could have a private e-mail address, even | | | | Friday's meeting?" Just e-mail it. They will |
| Mum, Dad and the kids. For example: sales | | | | answer when they get the chance. |
| @businesscabinets.com, bob (work e-mail), dad | | | | |
| and mum (home personal e-mail), and | | | | |
| HomeShowOffer If Bob likes, he can use | | | | |
| anything @businesscabinets.com, because he | | | | Business uses for e-mail There are many uses |
| has an unlimited number of e-mail addresses | | | | for e-mail, limited only by your imagination. |
| available. Every e-mail address is separate, | | | | Use it well, and it's like having a phone for |
| with its own password that can be set up from | | | | every part of your business, only cheaper. |
| within a control panel. | | | | Common uses are: |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| If Bob comes home early, he can still receive | | | | * Sales @yourdomainName for sales questions.* |
| his important work-related e-mail. If he | | | | StaffName @yourdomainname for a particular |
| travels to Melbourne for the week, he can go | | | | staff member.* magazineadname @yourdomainname |
| to an Internet Cafe and check his own | | | | for your magazine, to measure responses.* Faq |
| e-mails. He doesn't need someone to check his | | | | @yourdomainname for Frequently Asked |
| messages, fax them to him, or phone him with | | | | Questions, combined with an "auto responder" |
| questions. | | | | that sends a list of questions and answers; |
| | | | you review the questions later to see if any |
| | | | need a follow-up.* Support @yourdomainName |
| | | | for support or help questions.Note |
| What does this mean to your business? To | | | | |
| start with, every time you give out your | | | | |
| e-mail address, you are giving out your | | | | |
| business, trade, or product name. You are | | | | Hosting.com, Plans have Multiple e-mail |
| promoting your website or future website. You | | | | addresses included for free. |