Professional email etiquette for your business

Statistically, anyone in a professional position can send up to 80 emails a day. Sometimes it feels like a lot more, doesn’t it?! Have you ever thought about what you said and how these mails looked on the receiving end? An email between you and a client can seem rather insignificant, but it’s hugely important.

Your company/brand has a voice and tone. Think of yourself as a soldier in the front line. More often than not, you are the first point of contact with a client and an important mouth piece. So here are some tips on professional email etiquette…

Use the subject line wisely

Think of it as a heading to an article and try to keep it under seven words. Make sure it’s an accurate summary of what’s in the email – and if you want the recipient to take some sort of action, include that in the subject line, e.g. ‘Please respond – authorisation of March expenses’.

Courtesy tip: If you’re email is quite lengthy, include the word ‘long’ in your subject line. Your client will then know that it will take some time to read.

Don’t procrastinate when responding

The reason people use email is because it’s easy and quick – with the emphasis on ‘quick’. Don’t wait too long to reply. Try to do it within 24 hours or the same working day – even if it’s a mail that requires a long response. If you don’t have time to type that lengthy one, simply reply and let the sender know you’ve received it and can’t respond right away – but assure him/her that you will do as soon as the dust settles.

Save templates and commonly-used emails in your drafts/Word

These are extremely handy when you have to send the same reply over and over again – plus you’ll save a lot of time. Templates might include bank details, directions to your office, etc.

Take some time to write these templates properly, and when you reuse them, they will always make you sound friendly and helpful. Even if it’s the 27th time that you’ve had to answer that question.

Avoid the read receipt

For most people, read receipts are a massive irritation. Hardly anyone ever honours them, and some people are so put off by them that they don’t even want to continue reading the email once this notification pops up upon opening. Just don’t use them. If you want to know if someone has read your email, ask them to send a quick confirmation reply, or simply phone them after a reasonable period of time.

Be thorough

If a client asks you ten questions, don’t just answer four. And if you send a list of questions to your client, make sure they are visible (preferably bulleted) and give a clear indication of when you need them answered by.

Stay in context

If you are still discussing a topic, it’s fine to just click ‘reply’ on a mail. This makes it easy to go back into an email thread to double check facts and points.

But when the conversation moves onto something else, it’s fine to hit ‘reply’ – but change the subject line. That way the thread is not lost, but you won’t tear your hair out looking for an old email that has a completely irrelevant subject line.

Oh, and everyone will thank you for getting rid of a subject line like this: ‘RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Marketing budget’!

Final tip: always include your contact details

Many email programmes are configured to attach an email signature to the first mail, and not to replies and forwards that may follow. But think about it. If an email between you and a client consists of a thread of 20 replies, and he/she needs to give you a quick call, would you want to scroll through 20 emails to find the telephone number you’re looking for? Just adjust your email settings to include your signature in every mail. It might save your client some frustration and valuable time.

About the author:  Louis Nel works at Peppermint Source, a marketing and communications agency. When he’s not creating newsletters or managing websites, you can find him behind his drum kit.