It is key that you set up and manage email addresses for your firm, so you can interact with customers, allowing you to sell more products and services. A key consideration is prefixes, as the word you put before the “@” in your emails, determines how customers communicate with your team, impacting your ability to generate business. Turner Little explains which prefixes you can use for email addresses.
Generic prefixes
Generic prefixes like “info,” or “sales” can be useful. This kind of address can serve as a good first point of contact for consumers, without clogging up individual team members’ inboxes. These messages go into shared inboxes, sorted out by categories. With this system, the email will be available to everyone in your team, increasing the likelihood that the consumer’s query will be acted upon.
With this approach, it is all too easy for customer messages to fall through the cracks, reducing your ability to supply a first-rate service. You should develop a process, for how emails are acted upon, once they arrive in a shared inbox. Ask staff to use the “4D’s” approach – either they do act upon it, do not upon it, delay response to ask for advice from a senior team member and then delete it.
Exciting prefixes
Email addresses can be more than just communication tools. You can utilise a more exciting prefix in your branding efforts, allowing you to familiarise consumers with your core brand ideals. This depends on your industry. If you operate in sectors such as finance or law, generic prefixes work better, as you need to project a serious image to foster consumer trust in your ability to handle sensitive matters.
But if your business operates in a creative sector, you can use your email prefixes to display your flair for creativity to consumers. This can show that you have the imagination required to develop the unique products you purport to specialise in, setting you apart from the crowd. If you run a bakery, for instance, something like “worldsbestcakes@yourcompany.com” would achieve this aim.
Personal prefixes
It is crucial that you develop a good relationship with your consumers, to position yourself as a trusted provider of products and services. It can sometimes be a better idea, especially if you operate a really small business, where you speak to customers face-to-face, to use personal prefixes. Using first names e.g. “mike@yourfirm.com,” in addresses prove advantageous, because it shows customers that they are important enough to communicate with a real team member.
Personal prefixes can be used alongside generic prefixes, allowing you to streamline your communications handling system. You can re-route emails coming into generic addresses to personal inboxes, providing a first point of contact for consumers and ensuring that the right team member handles the query. This is a more versatile solution, as you can re-direct the generic address to other team members when staff leave, so you do not lose the traffic from this well-established address.
Full name prefixes
You should keep in mind, if you adopt personal prefixed-email addresses, that your company might not stay small forever. You may create the address “kelly@yourbusiness.com” for one staff member, but as your firm expands, you may hire another Kelly, so what should you do then? It can be wise to use full name prefixes e.g. kelly.taylor@yourbusinsess.com” instead. This allows you to establish a personal connection between your staff and consumers, without causing confusion in your office.
Handling system
It is likely, especially as your business grows, that you will adopt multiple email address prefix styles. Some will be generic, making the information available to the whole firm and some will be personal and it is critical that you develop a successful email handling strategy. Business portal Start-Ups advises you to clearly assign the correct people to receive commutations in shared accounts and specifically state which actions they should take. This way, every customer email will be dealt with properly.
User-friendly website
We should note that the majority of consumers will look on your website, to find your company’s email addresses. Therefore, it is key that you develop an effective company portal, which consumers can navigate easily, to find your firm’s contact information. You may want to enlist Turner Little’s help here. We supply first rate internet services, including website hosting and development, allowing you to communicate easily with customers at all points in the purchasing process, to generate sales.
Turner Little
Turner Little was founded in 1998 and it has since become a well-established UK based professional Company Registration Agent, Registered Bank Intermediaries and Business Consultants, as well as Trust provider. You can receive our monthly newsletter by signing up using the form below.
