In our last blog, we examined the importance of establishing friendly and professional voice greetings over the phone. Whether your callers are hearing either live voices or those of the recorded variety, it’s important that they encounter respectful and courteous representations of your company. The importance of voice greetings can never be understated because the good old telephone remains the most effective way that people communicate today. The importance of email, however, should also not be underestimated.
Why should the importance of email not be underestimated by business owners? In today’s business world, emails are every bit as much important as phone calls. In some cases, they are even more important considering the attachments that can come along with them. Many people conduct business over email on a daily basis. So the ways in which you send your emails should not be taken lightly.
Because you may be emailing so frequently, you do run the risk of getting a bit lazy. Forgetting to address your subject or not offering up simple pleasantries before getting into specific business-related matters can sometimes serve to hurt your business relationships. Remember that no one can assume tone and inflections through the written word. So being particular about what and how you write your emails can significantly improve your company’s reputation.
How important are email salutations? Salutations in business emails are just as important as those in business letters. In fact, it’s important to never forget the “mail” part of “email”. You should write them just as if you were putting pen to paper. Think of your emails as letters that you would put on your company letterheads. What is the impression you’re trying to give off when they are read?
Don’t be afraid of the “Dear” salutation. It’s actually quite appropriate whether the email is of a personal or professional nature. As well, unless you’ve already established a rapport that enables you to be on a first name basis with the party you’re emailing, be sure to use the appropriate title of Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. etc. You may also choose to use a more formal salutation such as “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” to begin your emails.
How should you begin emails to groups? Many business emails are sent to several people at one time. It’s one of the great benefits of using email that completely separates it from traditional “snail mail”. How you open emails to groups all depends on how big the group is. Five or more people generally constitutes something along the lines of “Good day team” or “Greetings everyone”.
When you are sending an email to four or less people, it’s not a bad idea to greet everyone individually. “Dear John, Kathryn, Mark and Lukas” works just fine in such cases. Again, keep in mind that it’s important to determine how familiar you are with your email recipients before deciding whether to address them by their first or last names. It should be reiterated that the use of names is integral to building your relationships. Do your best to avoid using “sir” and “madam”.
How should emails be closed? The most respectful and professional emails have closings that are well-wising and/or complimentary. Some good examples are “With many thanks”, “Best wishes”, “Respectfully yours”, “With kind thoughts” and “All the best”. At MeloTel, we like to consider ourselves pretty proficient in the world of writing professional emails. And we also provide our customers with the technology to write their own!
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