Reasons To Stop Using Free Email Services For Your Business

The scenario:

You are at a trade show or networking event, you meet a prospective client. They are very impressed with your product and service offering and ask to get your business card. You are happy to oblige and excited for the opportunity. Unfortunately, you lose credibility when your prospect sees your email address is a free one provided by the likes of Yahoo and Gmail or an Internet service provider such as Comcast or AOL.

How can a potential customer or prospect really take you serious when your email account does not really reflect your real company?

1. An email address of yourcompany @ gmail or yourcompany @ comcast looks unprofessional and prospects will perceive your products and service as second-rate.
   
   Any business organization that relies on free email services for business correspondence will find it difficult to convince its target market that its products and services are not inferior. Perception is crucial in the business world and remains one of the key elements that influence a person's decision to do business with you, or not.
   
   Using free email services may be a major deterrent to potential clients. You do not want to lose a big business deal because of the wrong perception clients have of you. You can overcome this hurdle by simply getting your domain name registered so that you can use business emails for your correspondence and open your company to significant business opportunities.
2. Not making the small investment in registering a company domain gives the appearance that you are cheap and not a serious business organization.
   
   Since registering a domain name comes at a minimal cost, it is expected that a financially stable organization would be able to secure its own identity. Your lack of effort and small investment in acquiring a domain name leaves your prospects with the impression you are not a viable company and perhaps, weak financially.
   
   When you are perceived cheap, your products and services will be labeled mediocre in the minds of your existing and prospective customers. This could negatively affect your sales, hamper the growth of your organization, and threaten your survival in the market space in the midst of your competition.
3. Using a free email service for business implies lack of credibility and prospects may wonder if your company is stable and you are here to stay.

Credibility is a major component in achieving business success and this cannot be over-emphasized. Your clients need to know they can trust you with their money and information before they will do business with you. Small businesses need to prove to their prospective clients that they are trust-worthy and able to handle big projects and keep their personal information safe.

Potential clients need to be absolutely sure that you are here to stay. A stable business relationship is required of all prospective clients. Your clients need to be assured that you will stand the test of time. Having your own business email sends the signal that you are stable, dependable, and here for the long run.

1. Your company may be subjected to hijacking and leave your customers vulnerable to fraud.
   
   With the abundance of information now being communicated through email, the security level of your electronic communications must be sufficient enough to handle the delicate nature of business correspondence. Strict regulations require a high level of privacy and security with regard to the exchange of information, which cannot be guaranteed by free email services.
   
   Not only do free email services tend to come with lots of adverts and linked to spam mails, these types are subject to hijacking by fraudsters to defraud your clients. Several cases have been reported where unsuspecting businesses have had their professional bank accounts compromised by scammers who specialize in intercepting the emails of companies that use free email services. Trying to save a few bucks by using a free email service is not worth the agony the financial loss will cause to both you and your clients.
2. A business email coming from yourcompany @ yahoo or yourcompany @ aol will be presumed unsafe or spam.
   
   Along with the many security issues that come with a free email service is the fact that many emails from free providers are flagged as SPAM or Junk, just by the email domain itself. Your correspondence will likely become stuck in spam filters or assumed as unsafe or junk and will likely be rejected, not delivered, or immediately deleted and never opened.
3. You get what you pay for.
   
   While the option to send online messages at no cost may seem alluring to a small business owner with a small budget, the drawbacks are not so visible on the surface. You are left with many limitations when using a free service such as Gmail. Trying to get support and help through a free email provider is almost impossible. Because the service is free, these companies have very limited support resources for its users.
   
   If you are using an email account provided by your Internet services provider, what happens should you need to switch providers? What if the provider becomes acquired and you are forced to change your email address? Suddenly, your current and prospective clients are unable to reach you. In addition, you have the high cost of reprinting business cards, letterhead, and other literature. Then there is the daunting task of changing your information anywhere your company appears online such as directories and social media sites -- and don't forget all those user accounts you'll need to update so you don't miss a crucial notification.

Having email addresses such as info @ yourcompany, support @ yourcompany, or sales @ yourcompany creates the impression that your business is reputable and well-structured and ready to do real business.

Clients tend to respect and place a higher value on firms that can be reached through separate business email addresses for different types of correspondence. This gives the impression you are organized and proficient in processing inquiries, requests, and comments. Likewise, it makes it easier for you to sort out your emails in a more efficient way and therefore your response to such inquiries will be faster.

Apart from having a personalized domain such as you @ yourcompany, the major difference between the types of email accounts mentioned above and having your own is simple - control. As the owner of your domain, the email account belongs to you as well, meaning you have control of where and how it is managed. You can determine what security features are implemented in order to keep your customer's information safe and your company compliant with regulators.

A small investment will go a long way in boosting your company to the next level... and beyond!

It is imperative you portray your business as a reputable brand by registering your domain name. When your emails reflect your own business identity, it provides a sense of credibility and makes your small business look big. Free webmail and ISP accounts might serve benefits to the average user, but as a business owner, they will do nothing but limit your potential.

Having your own company email establishes credibility with your audience, and being it's associated with your online presence, such as your web site or social media page, it makes you much easier to find via search engines. By owning your email address you can distance yourself entirely from a third-party company and have more authority over the fate of your business.

If your business relies heavily on email to communicate with prospective and current customers, the growth and reputation of your business may depend on making that small investment to register your own domain.

There's no question that email is one of the most important things small business owners rely on every day. You depend on your business email correspondence to accomplish so many things - so security and reliability is crucial. The U.S. Small Business Administration states that "Your domain name represents the Internet identity of your online business..."

So do yourself a favor and secure a domain (around $15/year) and sign up for a business hosting service. There are plenty of powerful email management solutions available to budget-conscious businesses. Many IT Service vendors offer bundled packages which include domain registration, web hosting, and email services.

 

Getting the Most Out of Your IT Set Up

As a not for profit organisation, you will have lots on your mind. There are endless donor lists, causes, campaigns to be planned and much work to be done. All of this naturally needs the backing of a sound IT set up and, for this, good IT Support is absolutely essential. Most small, not for profit organisations feel that this is something they can easily work around. Hiring a part time IT professional, who may not be all that qualified, is what most places resort to; however, in the long run, this is not a good idea.

When setting up a not for profit organisation it would be a good idea to start up strong. This way you will not have issues going forward. Rather than visit discount sales for hardware, speak to suppliers and see if they can give you quality products for a good price. This way you know you have good computers and hardware to begin with, remember the total cost of ownership is the primary consideration, the investment in getting equipment setup to your specific needs can be more valuable than the cost of the actual hardware - reliable hardware is cheaper in the long run.

When it comes to IT Support, it would be a good idea to hire a professional who knows what they are doing. Don't be fooled by a slick image, look for someone qualified and with experience working in the not for profit sector.. Have them come and look at your organisation and recommend the best way of maintaining the equipment.

You could also consider hiring managed service providers or MSPs. These are computer professionals who take on managing your IT as their responsibility. This means you do not need to train your own staff. They are readily available, around the clock if necessary, and can fix any problems that you may have.

In choosing an IT service provider you will need someone who understands the requirements of the not for profit, such as funding, privacy and compliance. A provider with a portfolio of not for profit clients will have vast experience with the related applications such as DHS systems, donation and fund raising software, accounting system and accessing discount opportunities relevant to your sector.

There can be several problems in not having a good IT set up in place. It can cause glitches in your fund raising campaigns. It can prevent you from being organised in your approach as well as the dispersion of funds. It can make simple correspondence, which is integral to the not for profit organisation quite the task. Being smart about your IT management is the key.

IT Connexion offers special discounts on our IT Management - Melbourne services for Non-Profit IT Support organisations. Give us a call to see what we can do to assist you. We have the best team of IT professionals for your IT Support - Melbourne.

All You Need To Know When Buying a New Motherboard

A computers motherboard is fundamentally the most important component inside the PC. It is responsible for all the communication between devices internal and external. If you get it wrong then many things can go wrong and other components can get damaged.

Motherboards can come with all major devices such as audio and graphics fitted onboard or without these components, allowing for better performance audio or graphics cards to be fitted independently. This decision is usually determined by the final use of the PC. A gaming PC would usually have a separate graphics card fitted to allow upgrading as gaming is a fast paced industry and the requirement for the latest hardware is based upon the types of games played.

When replacing a motherboard there are a few things that should be considered to reduce the risk of damage or generally getting it wrong.

The first thing to consider is your existing system. If you are replacing your existing motherboard then you need to know what specification you have. Your computer may be a branded PC such as HP, Sony etc and the motherboard may have their branding stamped on it. This makes things a little bit difficult as a replacement may only be obtained from the manufacturer and sometimes this may be impossible due to age of the machine. If this is your situation then a look at the motherboard may help you to determine who originally manufactured the motherboard. (PC manufacturers do not make their own components they are usually made and branded by the component manufacturers). When looking at the motherboard write down every visible number or word that is written on it. Now turn to the internet and use a search engine to search these numbers and names and see what comes back. Usually it will not take long before you have the original manufacturer and model number of the motherboard. User forums can be very useful when trying to obtain this information.

f building a new PC from scratch it will be necessary to decide which processor brand and type you wish to use as this will directly affect which motherboard series you can buy and install. The motherboard contains a socket which holds the processor. AMD and Intel use different styles of socket and this determines the motherboard that they can be fitted to.

The next consideration is the case size. Motherboard sizes are called their "Form Factor", this determines the size of board required. It is important to note the form factor of the PC case or chassis as the motherboard should be the same. For example a micro ATX motherboard is designed to fit in a micro ATX case.

After determining the above points you are half way there to determining which motherboard you require. The next important thing to note is the availability of ports and slots that hold other devices. These need to be considered carefully if you have existing devices to connect such as printers, digital cameras or external hard disk drives etc.

Make a list of all the hardware that you need to connect to the motherboard internally and externally. Once you have this list check each requirement off against the motherboard specifications to determine that it can support the devices you have. Pay particular attention to the amount of USB devices you have. All the ports you see on the rear of your computer are part of the motherboard. Also make sure there are enough internal connectors for your hard disk drives and CD/ DVD disk drives.

Motherboard Checklist 
1- Check the computer case or chassis size also known as the form factor. 
2- Determine your processor type and supported types and sizes. 
3- Check the memory type and how much the motherboard supports. 
4- How many internal devices does the motherboard support such as hard disk drives, CD / DVD drives. 
5- Determine the amount of expansion card slots the motherboard has for installing Graphics cards, sound cards etc. 
6- Check how many external devices you may need to support and determine how many ports the motherboard has for these devices.

The author has worked in the IT industry for approximately 15 years and has worked in various support roles for companies and public bodies. The company, IvoryEgg for which he now works is a supplier of motherboards and consumer electronics.