Reminder: Business Email Etiquette IS a Pretty Big Deal
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Since I have many websites and participate in many others, I am probably involved in more written communication than most, whether that be in groups, forums, communities, or emails. I get lots of emails.
While businesses have dramatically improved their email communications over the years, I still see business folks dropping the bar in public and private communications, including employee-to-employee communications. What an epic mistake.
When it comes to business, formality matters. Your approach to written communications should always put your best foot forward when using a business email address. Always.
Recently, an individual emailed me stating that I was making a “big deal” out of nothing. This was an email in response to one of my many articles on the topic. This person’s email lacked a greeting, proper punctuation, and sentence structure.
In response, I simply asked that he reformat the email he sent me to match the same format and vocabulary on his business letterhead, noting what a difference that would make to potential partners or customers. Crickets.
Business professionals communicate like business professionals at all times. That’s what true professionals do. It’s also what separates the wheat from the chaff. Most importantly, that style builds trust, which is critical to any business relationship.
#History
For those who only know me as a WordPress Consultant and Business Coach, back in the day, Earthlink dubbed me “Miss eManners” for the digital world. I was also on the Sally Jesse Raphael show in New York about the topic.
(Yeah, I know — I’m dating myself…)
While some assume that email is an informal communications tool, that assumption can cost you business. Email etiquette and proper technology use should be part of any business’s best practices, relayed and practiced consistently by every employee.
This is why I have promoted the topic for decades across this and my other websites. And continue to do so to this day.
I consider these websites and my books my contribution to the online world. Trust me; there’s no money in “email etiquette.” But as long as the websites get traffic and I see clients who can use coaching on these topics, I will keep tapping away at this keyboard.
Yeah, Business Email Etiquette IS a Thing
Another emailer said that all this “email etiquette stuff” really doesn’t matter if you do a good job, if people know you, and run an established business. So, who do I think I am setting these rules? “Who made you judge, jury, and executioner regarding email?”
Executioner? Yikes! By the way, I didn’t set the rules or invent them. Intel did in 1995:
This document provides a minimum set of guidelines for Network
Etiquette (Netiquette) which organizations may take and adapt for
their own use. As such, it is deliberately written in a bulleted
format to make adaptation easier and to make any particular item easy
(or easier) to find. It also functions as a minimum set of
guidelines for individuals, both users and administrators. This memo
is the product of the Responsible Use of the Network (RUN) Working
Group of the IETF.
And I took that document and started promoting it to a world that had yet to embrace email and technology in general. Way ahead of my time.
Especially in business, formality matters, and professionalism helps you build relationships. So, who would you prefer to do business with? The person you can count on to be professional at all times, or who tosses that aside the minute they believe they can?
The smarties know that communicating like a professional who commands their language and the technology they use is just smart business. It is good for their brand and bottom line.
First Impressions Could be the Last
Everyone judges you by your email, whether you know it or not. I’m sure you’ve done the same, if only subconsciously. I wrote about someone on my business email blog who uses his email etiquette skills to his advantage. And boy, are folks impressed.
It is natural, then, to wonder how those who neglect proper business email and technology practices run the rest of their business. If they don’t take the time to communicate as an educated professional, what else are they cutting corners on?
Or maybe they don’t prioritize? Could this company be sketchy—maybe I should find someone else to spend my hard-earned dollars with.
Perception is the Only Reality
You cannot care enough about how you are perceived, especially in the rabidly competitive online business arena. Your Brand is literally at stake.
Most business-savvy folks get up early, take a shower, iron their clothes, and groom their hair. They care about how they look and want to make that all-important good impression on anyone they meet throughout their business day.
Not necessarily because of what others may think, but also because they always want to put their best foot forward. You never know when an opportunity will walk through your door, send you an email, or invite you to a meeting.
When you send an email in all lowercase, filled with typos and grammatical errors, what is the person on the other side of the screen thinking about what it will be like to do business with you? No opening greeting or closing, and you are perceived as bossy or terse. Yeah, who doesn’t want to do business with someone like that?
Those who know you very well will probably shrug and wonder why you don’t make the simple effort to communicate like the professional they know you are. Those who do not know you will form an impression about your business, attention to detail, and credibility.
First impressions happen, even when you are not looking. You have control over what that will be. You often only have one chance to rise above your perceived competitors. Why not practice proper Business Email and Technology Etiquette to gain that edge?
The benefits are many, and believe me—it won’t hurt, I promise.
At your service,
