How a professional email address can help your business

This article is sponsored by Verisign as part of the Enterprise Nation Go and Grow Online campaign.

A professional email address is a vital part of your web presence, but why? Verisign explains the benefits it can deliver to your small business.

A strong web presence is vitally important in ensuring that your business is able to reach a wider audience, better engage with customers and potentially break into different markets.

While a .com website should be the priority for your business and the central part of your web presence, a professional branded email address is another important tool that can help improve marketing and branding, while providing numerous other benefits, too.

First, however, let's take a look at why the use of a generic email address may not be the right choice for your business.

Don't be generic

A generic email address, while of course handy for personal use, is less so for a business. If you are in touch with a current or potential customer and are using your personal email address, the customer may be less likely to take you seriously, especially if your personal email address is something that may be fine to message your friends, but would be inappropriate for business.

An email address along the lines of info@yourbusinessname.com, however, may help convince your customer that they are in safe hands, and that you take your business seriously. A recent Verisign survey found that 67% of consumers agreed that they are more likely to remember a company-branded email than a free email account*.

Indeed, perception is a powerful tool, and a generic email address can give the impression that your business lacks experience and staying power. If a professional email address is the difference between customers taking your business seriously and not, the choice should be a no-brainer.

Think professional

We've already mentioned that consumers are more likely to remember a professional branded email address than a non-professional branded email address, but a professional branded email also adds an element of trust. By making your business seem more legitimate, customers are granted a sense of security and reassurance that they're dealing with a company that knows what it's doing.

It also helps to give the right first impression. If your first interaction with a potential customer is with a generic email address, customers may be concerned about both your professionalism, and whether you are even a real company. In-fact, the same research found that younger and higher online spending consumers were more likely to believe a brand using professional branded emails.

Indeed, if the first impression isn't a good one, your company may risk losing sales, and with so many fraudsters out there, ensuring your business gives off the right first impression is key.

Whether your company is still in its early stages or somewhere further along, promotion and ensuring brand awareness will still be a priority.

With a professional branded email address, you are promoting your company every time you send an email. It's both a cost-effective and useful way of marketing your company.

Cost control

While some businesses may be concerned about the costs associated with professional branded email addresses, the fact of the matter is that establishing one is quick, easy, and cost-effective.

Whether it's through your domain name provider or web hosting company, or if you decide to turn to online office suites, there are different options for your business to choose from at various levels of costs. With these options, you can get what's right for your own company's needs.

So, what are you waiting for? Give your company a leg up with a professional branded email address. In our next article on this topic we'll look more in-depth at the options available to businesses looking to set up a professional email address.

To get your business' online presence off to the best possible start, you need to get the right domain name. Check out Verisign's suggestion tool to get the best available domain name for your business.

This article is part of Enterprise Nation's Grow and Grow Online campaign, helping you build a better business on the web. Access content, offers and events here.

Related content:

• What are you going to call it? A guide to choosing a domain name

• Making the most of the digital ecosystem

*Verisign conducted an online survey in the UK in June 2016 with a sample size of more than 1,030 respondents