To this day, email reigns supreme in Businesses, but not everyone uses it optimally. Are you getting the most out of email?
Even amongst the many different digital channels of communication that are commonly used in businesses in 2023, one of the oldest remains one of the most popular. Email has been around since the 1970s, and it’s certainly not going anywhere anytime soon; so, it’s in every professional’s best interest to be using it the right way. We discussed this matter with TechQuarters, a managed IT services company in London, and they gave us their top tips for maintain best practices with your email.
Why is Email So Important?
While direct messaging and video meetings have felt like the most common form of communication for the last few years, they are really more suitable for internal communications. Email remains the de facto channel for external communications – i.e. partners, clients, business connections. This means that your email etiquette is indicative of your professional identity. So, with this said, what are some common examples of mistakes people make with email?
Common Mistakes with Emails
As we mentioned, email etiquette says a lot about you as a person. There are a number of common mistakes that one can make that can affect how other people business view them. As a provider of small business IT support London companies rely on, TechQuarters has seen many of these examples; the following are their top 4 email pet peeves:
- Sending Emails to the Wrong Contact
Though this is not likely to ruin your reputation, it is definitely a faux pas. You at least want to make sure that all your recipients feel that you hold them in high priority. If you haven’t realised that you accidentally sent an email to the wrong John Smith, for example, your intended recipient might be left waiting days (or weeks) for your email.
- Keeping Autoreply On
While the autoreply feature that many modern email services have can be very useful, it may also be very frustrating for colleagues or other business contacts to always be met with an automated response to their email.
- Repetitive Responses
Like with the previous point, receiving a response that clearly wasn’t specifically crafted in response to the contents of your email can be very frustrating. While it may just seem to you like a time-saving shortcut, it may make your correspondence feel devalued if you’re always using the same cookie-cutter response with them.
- Not Responding to Emails
Finally, the cardinal sin of emailing is neglecting to respond to something entirely. This is without a doubt the most frustrating outcome for anyone expecting a response from an email.
Emailing Best Practices / Hacks
Now that we’ve gone through some of the main email faux pas, let’s look at some simple ways to get more out of your email. When we asked TechQuarters, they drew from their experience providing IT support for Schools and other institutes and organisations where communication is crucial, and came up with the following tips:
- Use Multiple Email Addresses
Most people understand the frustration of having an inbox cluttered with useful messages – promotional emails, junk mail, etc. The easiest way to combat this is by using multiple emails. At the very least, most professionals have a personal email and a business email; but it is also a good idea to have a throwaway email that one can use for websites or services that require an email address for sign-ups.
- Keep Your Inbox Clean & Organised
Following on from the previous point, it is very important to keep your inbox clean – though it may feel like a chore. If you can make a schedule to go through your inbox, deleting or archiving mail you no longer need there, pinning important emails you may need to review several times, etc. then you can avoid that frustration.
- Keep Emails Concise
This ties in with the issues of overusing auto-responses, or cookie-cutter responses. If you can train yourself to write shorter, more concise emails, then responding to every email in a timely manner won’t feel like such a chore.
