Branded email is an email address that includes the same name as an overall brand. For example, if an employee works for the company Great Job, their email would be staffname@greatjob.com. Perhaps the two strongest arguments for having a branded email for your business are about first impressions.
First Impressions Are Critical To Marketing Success
- Branded email immediately sends the message that your business is professional. Your business has clearly demonstrated a commitment to taking steps to go beyond using free email accounts that are available to everyone, everywhere. Your business is a serious enterprise. As such, the first impression is of an established, trustworthy professional organization.
As the saying goes: You only get one chance to make a first impression.
- Incorporating your business name into your email creates instant and repetitive brand recognition. Every time your business is referenced or accessed on any social media platform, your email account pops up and provides one more opportunity to expand your brand further. Whenever you send an email, hand out your business card, comment online, or add your email to a directory – online or printed – your brand is promoted! Consider the number of times you send emails, and you can chalk it up to free advertising.
Why advertise for Gmail when you can advertise for YOUR business?!
Promotes Consistent Corporate Identity
Once you have established your business as professional and trustworthy, it is essential to carry this positive message into all future communications and marketing campaigns.
Branded email is an effective opportunity to promote corporate identity by including images, color, and fonts.
A few statistics:
“…incorporating a brand’s color alone has been shown to increase brand recognition as much as 80%.”
Citing a 2019 survey, 60% of company leaders said that having a consistent brand was also “very important” for generating leads.
Consistency creates familiarity and comfort, leading to confidence and trust, and resulting in action. If there is a breakdown or deviation from brand consistency, consumers can be made to feel uncomfortable. If a company’s email marketing doesn’t match the branding on their social media or website, the comfort zone has been violated, and consequently, marketing emails will be less effective.
Consistency is key.
Reduces the risk of getting lost in SPAM
Reducing the risk of being flagged as SPAM depends on multiple factors. Even if you have ensured that you have strong subject lines and vetted mailing lists, approved subscribers may not “remember” you if your email address does not effectively identify the sender. Branded email helps to establish a sense of familiarity through instant recognition.
To prevent being separated out into the “generic” pile of emails sent with free addresses, make sure that the branding in your emails reinforces your brand recognition, sparks memory, and matches the branding on your website.
Don’t get lost or tossed.
Simple, Cost-effective & Worth It!
Chances are when you first formed your business, you just took the easiest route and used the same email provider as your personal email accounts — one less thing to decide. But, many website hosting plans come with free email addresses – sometimes multiple free addresses – even unlimited! If your current hosting company doesn’t offer this valuable benefit, consider switching to one that does. Check with your hosting service.
Selecting a naming format that includes your full business name or an easy-to-identify abbreviation is step one. The best choice will match your website domain.
These are the most common configurations:
- firstname@yourbusiness.com
- firstname.lastname@yourbusiness.com
- firstinitiallastname@yourbusiness.com
Using your hosting service’s online user manual, follow the instructions on how to activate your new email. Make sure mail sent to your old account automatically redirects to your new email. Send a few test emails from different accounts to be sure that the forwarding feature is activated. Redirect help.
Get ready for the next phase of your professional online profile. Congratulations!
IMC is a full-service website and digital marketing firm located in Saratoga Springs, NY. Services include website design and programming (including eCommerce database and custom software integrations), branding, content creation, print collateral materials, and hosting. IMC’s hosting service is comprehensive, secure, and affordable and includes multiple free branded email accounts. Contact us today about a free consultation. https://imediaconsult.com/contact-us/
https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/how-clients-benefit-from-branded-email/