As small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shift to fully embracing digital technologies, there is also the need for enhancing communication within and beyond their organisations. Email remains a vital communication mode for coordinating with other departments, disseminating updates and memos, and corresponding with clients, business partners, and stakeholders. With these integral roles of email communication, business owners must consider how they can maximise the utilisation of emails to enhance their business’s operations.
Free email providers have been around for a longer time than email hosting providers and many private users and businesses continue to utilise them. However, as business needs evolve, there is a need for enhanced security, reliability, and customisation options, which email hosting can provide. Here, we’ll touch on the differences between email hosting and free providers, and discuss why investing in a paid email solution is often the best choice for businesses looking to optimise their email communication.
Control and Customisation
Entrepreneurs prioritise control and customisation when it comes to their business operations. They need to ensure that no message gets left and all relevant ones are given attention. Free email providers offer basic features and limited customisation options, which will not be enough to meet the growing number of emails many businesses handle these days. In contrast, email hosting services provide a wide range of customisation features, empowering users to tailor their email experience to suit their specific needs and preferences. From customising email layouts and folders to setting up automated filters and rules, businesses can personalise their email workflows for maximum efficiency. Some advanced email hosting plans include a personalised email address with your domain name, spam protection, and excellent deliverability that enhances professionalism and brand identity. Other email hosting plans include advanced features such as customisable email signatures, branded templates, and integration with other business tools, allowing businesses to maintain a consistent brand image across all communications channels. Email hosting services also allow email owners and administrators to customise email layouts and folders and set up automated filters and rules, allowing for streamlined email workflows for maximum efficiency and seamless communication.
Security and Privacy
Security and privacy are vital for the efficient and sustained operation of businesses. Internal and external communications are essential for organisational workflows and inter-departmental coordination. Free emails may provide a convenient and easy-to-use resource for communication, but they are often vulnerable to hacking, phishing attacks, and data breaches. These disruptions can cause hefty losses for any company. On the other hand, email hosting services provide robust spam filtering features, malware detection and protection, and other security features that help protect sensitive information communicated through emails. Private and confidential correspondences between business partners, clients, suppliers, and other entities are also protected by using a reliable email hosting service.
Professionalism and Branding
As mentioned earlier, professionalism and branding are valued in the business industry, and your business’s email communications should reflect that. Free emails may provide convenience and cost-efficiency but do not help establish a professional or memorable brand image. Email hosting, unlike free email or messaging platforms, helps business owners create custom domain-based email addresses, meaning they can use their business domain name in an email address (e.g., [email protected]). This will instil trust and credibility into the recipients of your business emails. In addition, email hosting services often offer branding options, such as customisable email signatures and branded templates, allowing businesses to maintain a consistent brand image across all communications and signal their dedication to their brand and industry.
Reliability and Support
Similar to other paid services, email hosting services provide reliable support for their subscribers in the event of downtime and other errors. Free emails often do not have support services or uptime guarantees. Take for example Gmail, Google’s free version of email. While it has its word processor along with spreadsheets and presentation applications, it doesn’t have 24/7 support that users can call when their email services bog down. However, if you subscribe to Google’s paid version or an email hosting service, you are provided an uptime guarantee. This ensures your email service operates optimally every time you use it. Email hosting services offer dedicated customer support to ensure smooth and uninterrupted email communication. This adds another layer of reliability on the off chance that your email service experiences downtime. Email hosting services also provide automatic backups and cloud storage that allow users to keep copies or store memos and other vital information. All these reliability and support features ensure business productivity and efficiency and allow business communication to bounce back and continue.
Cost-Effectiveness and Scalability
Free email services often emerge as a starting point for some individuals and businesses, due to their low cost. But basic and limited features aside, ads plague free emails. If you’re wondering why, advertising is a way for free email providers to make money. Email hosting services remove these ads and clutter your email to ensure you only receive business-related and relevant emails. While email hosting plans are expensive, they come in customised packages that meet customers’ specific needs. This flexibility offered by email hosting services allows businesses to pay for only the features and resources they need, making them a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes
Businesses grow and expand over time, and will often need to increase their email usage. This means more storage capacity is needed due to increased email volume and user demand. Free emails can’t keep up with growing mailbox storage needs but email hosting services can. The capacity of a hosted email mailbox can be expanded according to the growing volume of business email.
From the discussion above, we learned that although free email providers can provide convenience, they often fail in terms of security, reliability, and customisation. By investing in a paid email hosting solution, businesses can gain increased security, professionalism, and control over their email communications. With advanced security features, branding options, and reliable support, email hosting services provide businesses with the tools they need to optimise their email operations and succeed in today’s competitive business environment.
