subject: Does Business Email Etiquette Really Matter? [print this page] Does Business Email Etiquette Really Matter?
Sometimes I wonder if I am a bit too sensitive about email etiquette. Does the state of our email correspondence really matter? Consider how many business letters you receive, compared with the number of emails that overflow your inbox. Business emails are so ubiquitous now that they are generally considered to be almost the same as business letters. If your emails to clients, prospects and associates are not as polished as your other business correspondence, perhaps you need to consider the effect that this might have on your brand image.
Now that emails are emerging as the most common form of business communication, we can't underestimate their importance. In fact, it's best to have a specific company policy in place with regard to email correspondence, no matter how large or small your company is or how many emails go in and out of your business inbox every day.
Here are a few of my favourite DOs and DON'Ts that you will want to keep in mind as you are developing your policyor at least each time you click on the SEND button.
DO include complete contact information in your email signature block. It is one of the most common "no-cost" ways of letting people know who you are and what you do. Remember to use your signature block even when you are sending a personal email because anyone can be a potential business associate. This type of signature block also cuts down on additional emails sent to request further contact information.
DO remember that email is not really private. Anyone with access to your computer or network can get in on your communications. Remember that the FORWARD button works like a charm, too, and your email can end up just about anywhere. Whenever you forward an email, remember to delete other email addresses and irrelevant parts of prior messages.
DON'T contribute to a breech of privacy, since you should actually have the writer's permission before you publish their email message or their email address. In fact, it is a good idea to compose or adopt a legal disclaimer and use it in every email.
DON'T ever send angry emails. Always give yourself time to cool off. Write a reply if it makes you feel better, but DON'T send it, no matter how brilliant you think your comeback is! Be careful about using sarcasm, colloquialisms or foul language. Set those aside for your personal correspondence or, better still, come up with a more creative way to get your point across.
DON'T make any remarks that could be interpreted as racially prejudiced, sexist, or libellous, and DON'T forward emails that contain these kinds of sentiments. DON'T use emails to criticize others, because it can come back to you in one form or anothereventually. Remember that emails, like gossip and rumours, can live forever.
DON'T forward those bothersome email chain lettersthe ones that promise riches if you do, and predict disaster if you don't. Emails don't have the power to change your luck, good or bad, so take a chance and hit the DELETE button. The same goes for anything inappropriate that finds its way into your inbox. If you must forward these things to your friends, use your personal email account.
DO be careful about your grammar, punctuation, spelling and typos. My personal rule is to proofread three times before sending, because it's not an easy (or a very effective) task to review your own written messages. Hopefully we all know by now not to write an email in all capital letters, but an email written in all lower case or with phonetic "chat" spelling (do u see what i mean jim?) doesn't look very good either.
DO try to make your subject line as specific as possible, and if you are forwarding or sending a reply, take the time to write a personal comment at the top of your email.
DO make the effort to edit out all the stuff that comes up when you forward an email and be very wary of using the "REPLY ALL" button. Unless every person needs to know the answer, respond to one person at a time.
DO use the "CC" function sparingly, and never send emails to a large list of recipients. DO use the "BCC" function to protect the privacy of your recipients' email addresses.
DON'T tag your email as "urgent" in the subject line or use the "high priority" flag unless it is really warranted. DON'T bother your recipient with a delivery receipt request either, unless it's really vital that you have proof that they've received your message.
The quality of what we put forth to our audience forms an impression about who we are as a person as well as what we represent as a company. The small amount of care and effort that it takes to produce courteous and professional business emails will help to project the professional image that you need to maintain in order to be both competitive and successful in business.
