An email is just an email, right? Well when you are running a business, it really counts to appear as professional as possible, as well as having a set up you can rely on. Creating an info@ for your website can help you look the part - plus there are so many other advantages...
Who provides your email?
Email has been around for some time now, and has changed a lot along the way. There were at one stage many providers to choose from, and what they offered was much of a muchness. Yet today, some of these services are not what they once were, with some companies becoming behemoths and dictating the industry, whilst others have somewhat slipped behind, and struggle to offer the same level of reliability.
This isn’t to say that those who provide your email are bad at what they do (they might be), but that there is a fair chance it’s no longer their core business; not a service that they actively invest in or continue to support. Rather, it's something that they do, simply because they once did, and not necessarily the best choice for you today.
Building Trust
Many of us may use the likes of a @hotmail or a @yahoo email address - which to clarify, is perfectly normal for personal use. If you’re lucky you’ve got one that includes just your name and not too many additional characters, numbers and symbols to make it unique.
But, as someone who runs a business and provides a service, having this type of email doesn’t necessarily look great. Consider this, a prospective customer wants to get in touch with two similar holiday lets. The contact information for the first owner is info@somersetlettings.co.uk and the second is prettyprincess7@btinternet.com… who are they going to choose?
Assumptions will be made and if something as simple as your email isn’t doing you any favours, then your first impression may not be a good one. You also have to factor in that the end goal here is to exchange money, and a guest is more likely to part with their cash if you appear reputable. Don’t let your email become a barrier that prevents customers from trusting you.
info@yourdomain.co.uk
It can be simple to appear more professionally online, especially if you have a website domain. We own the site scrumpy.co.uk for instance, which allows us to create emails for the likes of help@scrumpy.co.uk and onboarding@scrumpy.co.uk. This helps us to separate and organise mail that comes in from different clients. So if a support email comes in, it has a dedicated place to go, or if it’s correspondence from a new customer, similarly it can be assigned to and be answered by the most relevant person.
Admittedly, not all holiday lets will have multiple staff members or require separate inboxes for these sorts of purposes. However being a ‘one man band’ shouldn’t mean that you appear any less professional. Having an info@yourwebsite.com will definitely make you appear more business like and is a sure fire way to be taken seriously. With both free and paid methods of achieving this, is there a reason why you don’t already have one set up?
The free option
If you have access to your domains control panel, or someone else is able to do so on your behalf, then a forwarder can be set up. This would allow the likes of an info@somersetlettings.co.uk (or anything @ your websites name) to be created, and for any emails that are sent to it, to then be forwarded onto another email address such as a personal @gmail.com account.
It’s worth clarifying that you would not be able to reply to any emails as the info@. A forwarder does just that - it forwards an email, onto another email address’s inbox. So any replies would actually be coming from the personal account - as this is where they are sent.
In some cases, this can be confusing to the customer, as they would be sending an email to one address, to then get a reply from another. Similarly, you would not be able to start a conversation and send from your info@ email. However it is a great way to look the part in the first place.
Business email
The alternative is to create a dedicated mailbox. A business email would allow for the sending and receiving of mail, whilst utilising your website's domain. In most instances we would recommend that you adopt an info@, as the prefix is general enough to cover all bases, whilst also being short to type. Although a hello@, bookings@ or enquiries@ are all very suitable and commonly used.
An added bonus to having an email address that contains your website is the brand awareness that it brings. Without necessarily meaning to, every time you send out an email, you will be inadvertently marketing your self catering business. This almost free form of advertising allows you to promote your brand’s name in place of the mail provider, and better still, instead of the likes of other OTA’s such as AirBnb, Booking.com or TripAdvisor… so when your guest looks back through their inbox, it’s your name they’ll see, and not someone else's.
Google Workspace (Formerly Google Apps/G-Suite)
As a Google Partner, SCRUMPY can offer business email for Property Owners and Agencies via Google Workspace. It’s Google’s very own collection of cloud based productivity tools, offering you a professional selection of software, that’s seamlessly available from your office computer and your smartphone. With free mobile and desktop apps, as well as being accessible through a website browser, you can use Google Workspace anywhere, with or without an internet connection; plus unlike traditional software, there’s no need for installation or an upgrade every few years. Googles toolbox is constantly expanding, take a look below at what’s currently included:
| Calendar | Drive | Hangouts | Google+ |
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| Docs | Sheets | Slides | Forms |
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Gmail
Google’s mail client is head and shoulders above the competition. You may already be familiar with some of its features is you have ever used their free personal version. It’s what we choose to use ourselves and comes with the below features:
- Custom email - Utilise your domain to create the likes of an info@yourwebsite.
- Undo sent mail - Accidentally sent to the wrong recipient? No worries, just press undo.
- No Adverts - Unlike many free mail providers, there are no adverts in your inbox.
- Aliases - You can also create multiple emails that all forward into the same mailbox.
- Apps - Dedicated applications available for desktops, tablets and smartphones.
- Autospell - Intelligent email composing predicts with your commonly used phrases.
- Reliable - Industry leading uptime guarantees delivery of in and outbound emails.
Is it time you started treating your business like a business?
Get in touch if you would like to talk about your options and whether you would like to set up a professional email for your holiday let or lets.