Should Your Business Stick to a Gmail Address?

So you’ve done the hard part and secured yourself your perfect domain name. On top of that, you’ve built an eye-catching website to promote your business or activity.

You might already have a Gmail account setup for your business you think is fit for your purpose, but there are serious reasons why having a branded email like (hello@yourcompany.com vs. yourcompany123@gmail.com) could be the smarter choice.

Professional

Your first point of contact with your customers is often via email so your email address needs to create a great first impression. How many times have you paused for thought when choosing between suppliers or services and gone with the one with the branded email over a Gmail address?

A survey conducted by the .ie registry showed that 74% of responders trust businesses that use a professional email address. A branded email instantly implies expertise and reliability in a way that a grungy Gmail simply cannot.

Brandable

Unless you work for Google, shouldn’t you be promoting your brand, not theirs? Having a branded email address also looks great on a business card or on the Contact Us page of your website. Not only does it say you are who you say you are, it powerfully states that you believe in your brand and that you are here to stay.

It’s also a simple, cost-effective way to get a headstart on your competitors who choose to remain in the amateur leagues.

Trustworthy

Doing business online demands that your customers trust the communications between them and your brand. The .ie registry survey last year showed that only 39% trust businesses that use a free email address like Gmail.

Having your own branded email address tells your customers that emails between you and them are legitimate while minimising the threat from impostors and bad actors. If customers know to only trust emails coming from anything@yourcompany.com, then they are less likely to be tricked by scammers phishing from a Gmail address similar to yours.

Relevant Inbox for Every Department

Imagine your business growing alongside your website. Fantastic! Now imagine all your emails with your customers and suppliers coming into one Gmail account. And what happens if an employee, who’s been using their personal email to conduct business, leaves your company? It’s enough to make you googly-eyed! With a customisable branded email address you can create individual inboxes for each department of your business. Why should your Sales team be distracted by email relating to IT or Admin? Share the inboxes, share the workload and win back some of your precious time.

Unique

Whatever your business, whether you run an aardvark abattoir in Aarhus or own a ZZ Top-themed zebra zoo in Zimbabwe, you want it to be easily identifiable and specific to you. Unlike with Gmail, you will not be competing in a crowded field for the snappy name that will differentiate you from the masses.

Consider which of the following looks better to your customer, smartdressedzebras_123@gmail.com vs. hello@smartdressedzebras.com? No contest, right?

More Control

Having a branded email allows you more freedom to set up your email the way you want it, not how Google wants it. Google can make changes to its Gmail policies at any time which can negatively affect users. These can result in Gmail users’ emails being deleted and lost forever. Many Gmail users also complain of an overly aggressive spam filter policy over which they have no control. This can result in vitally important outbound emails arriving in your customers’ spam or inbound emails sitting in your spam. Not great scenarios whatever way you slice it. Not to mention the deluge of ads with which Google hijacks your inbox on a daily basis. Setting up your own branded email is the best way to stop the flood. 

Unless there are voices in your head telling you that you really really love Google, there is no real excuse for not setting up your own branded email. It is as easy as…well, setting up your own branded email.

There are tons of different types of email hosting options available. At OnlyDomains all our hosting packages include email hosting so you can set up your website and email using the same package. We also offer built-in spam filtering and virus protection to ensure your website and email channels stay safe and healthy.