Shakespeare famously posed the question, “What’s in a name?” hundreds of years ago, and the question is relevant even today. Nowhere is this more evident than in the choice of an email address name and domain.
In the most basic terms, your email address is an electronic postal address – but done correctly, your email address can be part of your brand, as well. Your email address conveys something about you and about your business. And while it’s easy to create an effective email address, it’s also just as easy to create a problem where there shouldn’t be one.
Think of the email addresses that you’ve committed to memory, the ones that you can type into your email address bar without a second thought. Chances are, one of the reasons you remember these addresses is because they clearly identify the person and their company. An email address that reads name@company.com communicates a wealth of information and makes it clear who will receive the message.
But what if you have a name that’s difficult to spell or your company name is lengthy? There are any number of alternatives in this scenario, but the first best course of action is to abbreviate difficult or lengthy names in such a way that they are still memorable while also being easy to spell. If your name is Barbara Jankakowski and your company is called Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Sweets, you might want to consider an email address that reads Barbara@SuperSweets.com or BarbJ@SuperSweets.com. Obviously in this instance, spelling out your entire company name is asking for trouble. (Not to mention, your signmaker is going to make a pretty penny from lettering your store sign, Barbara.)
Oftentimes, businesses get the (erroneous) notion that they will look more impressive with a generic email address, such as info@company.com. Don’t be fooled into thinking that such an address makes your company look larger or more successful. Your customers want a real, live person to receive their email, and a generic “info” address doesn’t give this impression, regardless if the generic address is actually routed to the company president. Your customers don’t know where it goes when they hit “send.” Not exactly the way to create a positive company image, is it?
And while we’re on the subject of positive company image, let’s take generic domain names into consideration. If your email client is Hotmail or Gmail, a surefire way to appear less than professional is to use these generic domain names as part of your email address. While you can still use Hotmail or Gmail as your email client, consider creating an address that automatically forwards messages to your account.
Email is indispensable in today’s modern business climate. Given the 24/7 nature of commerce today, an email address allows customers and prospects to contact businesses at any time, anywhere, regardless of actual business hours. In many ways, email is a direct line to your customers. An effective email address can help to brand your company and create a personal relationship with your customers. Make it as easy as possible for them to contact you via email… your bottom line depends on it!
Lieberman Technologies provides email hosting services (webmail, Google Apps for Business, Hosted Exchange, etc.) for companies of all sizes, and we can guide you in the creation of effective email addresses for your business.
Contact us to learn how easy it is to extend your brand with email.