What worked for your personal email may not be sufficient for a growing business.
Not every small to medium business is aware of the impact that their email address can make on both the perception of your company as well as its inner workings. While this detail may not seem significant, in reality, your chosen email address can affect your credibility, security, and potential scalability of your company.
Public Email Domains vs Custom Email Domains
So what are the options one should consider when picking their business email, and what’s the difference?
Firstly, a public email domain is a popular choice that most everyone has had at some point in their usage of the Internet. Public email providers like Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc. allow almost any user to make a free email account. These free email domains will look like addresses such as , and can be observed everywhere online.
A custom email domain, on the other hand, use a private domain that the user owns and are seen as such: or with whatever domain you choose following the @ symbol.
So why does your choice matter?
For a small to medium business, your choice of email can have more impact on your brand, marketing, and security than you might think. Although both options have their pros and cons, there is one choice that far outweighs in the other in matters of efficiency.
The benefits of a Public Email Domain
- Very user-friendly and accessible
- Low maintenance
- Familiarity
- Low cost
Cons
- Lack of Scalability
- Security Vulnerabilities
- No Admin Control/Independence
- Emails are often caught in spam filters or blocked
- Some public email providers scan their users’ inboxes for advertising
The benefits of a Custom Email Domain.
- Enhanced Security and Encryption Options
- Increased Customer Credibility
- Ability to Scale
- Full Admin Control
- Better Branding
- Meets Professional Standards
Cons
- Hosting Costs
- Maintenance
- Technical Expertise
Some business owners are teams of one, and it’s not uncommon for them to get by sufficiently with a free public email address; however, the additional security enhancements, admin controls, and credibility benefits of a custom domain are worthwhile investments to consider.
While free public email addresses are convenient due to low costs and familiarity with the average user, it doesn’t do much to enhance or protect your business documents and messages. There is also the chance that your public email provider will discontinue its services and with that comes the possibility of losing access to important messages from clients, employees, or partners. In addition, large scale email marketing is much more difficult using a free public email address due to spam filters and and heightened phishing scam awareness.
If these are concerns for your team, it might be time to reconsider your choice of email.
Where to start?
For businesses that are in the process of growing their teams or even ones that frequently handle private customer information, a custom email domain can help your credibility with both old and new customers as well as protecting the information for all parties. When you’re building a business that you want to last, consider even the little details — they could impact your success both now and later down the line.
Setting up a customized business email domain is easier than you think, especially for those with their own website domains. It’s also never too late to switch from a public email to a custom one even without a website! Talk to one of our experts today and we can get your business ready!