We all want to cut overhead costs any way we can, but that must be done without taking unnecessary risks in exchange. The technology support that you choose provides great example of this dilemma. Many business owners assume that using free Gmail accounts for business purposes will work just fine, but that can actually be a bad idea for several important reasons.
It gives the wrong impression. Clients might wonder whether your infrastructure is outdated, if you’re “with the times”, or even assume you might not be a legitimate business. Using Gmail can simply make you look unprofessional.
Communications won’t reinforce your brand. While Gmail works fine for personal use, its design capabilities are limited. All communications with clients and business contacts should ideally utilize your logo and colors, and that usually is not possible within Gmail’s limited parameters.
Security is at risk. Gmail puts all responsibility into the hands of employees, leaving you essentially powerless in the event of password changes and separation from the company. If an employee leaves, you must trust that they deleted their email account and no longer correspond with customers and/or suppliers. You will also lose access to old emails that might be needed later.
Lack of customer support. Google supplies Gmail as a free service in exchange for the advertising benefits they receive from you using their service. There’s nothing really nefarious about that, but the point is that the service was never designed for business applications. As such, Gmail lacks adequate customer service to deal with issues that could severely impact your business security and operations.
What you should do instead. Avoid the above risks by setting up a secure email address using your company domain. Choose a service that offers premium tech support in the event that something goes wrong, and consider establishing an encryption method to keep sensitive data secure. Finally, your email service should possess the design capabilities to allow your communications to remain consistent with your branding.
Give us a call at 888-RING-MY-TECH to discuss these measures and more. We can provide you with a secure, encrypted email that accurately reflects your business. And, should anything ever go wrong, our support team will provide timely, personalized assistance.
