I’ve stopped counting the number of times I’ve seen people use free email services (like Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo) as their business email addresses. Those addresses create the wrong impression, especially when all other customer touchpoints – business cards, websites, store signs, brochures and so on – are carefully and professionally designed.
The contradiction still makes me wonder. My three main concerns about using free email services for business are:
- The fly-by-night image.
- Concerns over data use.
- No control over your email.
These are real concerns that can cause businesses real problems. I wrote at length about this common branding oversight for GoDaddy’s blog. You can read the post here. (Note: The blog post text posted here was edited from my original submission.)
Is this the most common oversight businesses make today? Do you see others that need to be corrected? Let me know in the comments below.