If you're using a gmail.com, yahoo.com, aol.com, or the like as your customer facing email address, read on for the benefits of getting an email setup using your business domain similar to: myname@mybusiness.com
It’s Easy!
It's much more simple than it seems. Especially, if you've already purchased a website domain. All you have to do is attach a business email service to your domain. You simply sign-up for a business email plan and update a couple of DNS "MX" records with whichever company you bought your website domain from. Don't worry, the DNS update process will leave your website in place.
The companies that you bought your domain from or host your website with also usually have a means of reselling email services from other providers. We recommend either Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace with Microsoft generally offering the most value in features provided. Going with another email provider besides the big two will likely leave you with less 3rd party integration options down the line.
Your domain registrar or website hosting service will guide you through the process, or at Technology Porter we also resell email plans bundled with our support services. Click here for assistance.
Security
Your email is the single biggest target for hackers. Once they have access to your account they can penetrate into your data, financials, or use your account to get to your customers.
Business email services have more tools in place to harden your email domain. Either with built-in features or integrations with 3rd party solutions. At a minimum you’ll want anti-phishing and attachment scanning services protecting your incoming emails.
Features
Microsoft and Google have bundled a TON of features in with their email services. Don't miss out on the productivity gains you can achieve with the collaboration tools included. Microsoft's Teams has turned into a central part of many organizations business processes internally and externally. Instead of paying for an extra Zoom subscription you can use Google Meet or Microsoft Teams for virtual meetings.
Another big value add is cloud storage. Both companies offer robust storage capabilities for all your business data.
Overall we think Microsoft is adding the most value here with some other features, Here are just a few:
Power Automate - allows you to automate actions or approvals with triggers for emails received and numerous 3rd party integrations.
Power Apps/Forms - low code options for creating powerful mobile enabled apps or forms
Planner - offers options to manage your projects/tasks
Bookings - allows you to schedule appointments with your customers
Credibility
I was talking with a colleague the other day; and they mentioned when going through the voter's pamphlet, they generally steer away from candidates that have gmail.com emails vs those with name@candidatename.com. That little extra effort helps show your customer you're not just in it short term.
Conclusion
Those are just a few reasons to dive into business email. Once you’re setup we do recommend some additional baseline configurations to harden your systems, and we HIGHLY encourage utilizing a 3rd party cloud backup solution for business continuity reasons in case Microsoft or Google encounter issues.
Take a look at all the options available to you, and if you need assistance getting setup contact us.