Email is such an essential part of business communication in the 21st century that it is hard to imagine a workplace environment without it. Here, we explore why email may not be benefiting your company quite as much as you think.
PROS TO USING EMAIL
Most of us have used email at one time or another, be it at work or in our private lives. In fact, according to Statista, the number we send is increasing by the year. By 2025, we are projected to send 376.4 billion emails a day, up from the 319.6 billion we sent in 2021. Clearly, we cannot get enough of this way of communication. As such, here are some of its plus sides.
Fast communication
When you need to get information or a message to a client rapidly, one of the fastest ways to do this is via email. All you have to do is write the email and press send; it doesn’t matter if they are located in the same town as you or on the other side of the planet, the recipient will have the message within minutes and will be able to reply equally as fast.
Email is simple to use
Creating an email account has never been easier and there are numerous email providers out there offering both free and paid domains. Once you have an account, using it is equally as simple. You just log in, compose your message, add any attachments, and then hit send.
You can track an email
If you need to know if an email was opened, who read it, and who watched the video that went with it, then certain platforms will give you this information with ease. If you’re running a marketing campaign, this can be particularly useful, as you can judge whether or not you are getting a good response.
DISADVANTAGES OF EMAIL
Although there are a lot of excellent advantages to email, there are also some rather large disadvantages.
Email is very accessible
You can check your email at any time of the day, no matter where you are. This is great in some ways but can also make it hard for you to switch off. Furthermore, this accessibility can mean that bosses deliberately or inadvertently put undue pressure on you to do work outside your normal hours. Either way, this can really hurt your work-life balance.
Sometimes email just doesn’t seem personal enough
Email is great, but sometimes it lacks the personal touch. You may not be able to get your point across with the same level of passion as you can with face-to-face, telephone or video link. In these cases you might benefit from unified communications – you can check out Gamma’s beginner’s guide to communication packages here (https://www.gamma.co.uk/resources/blog/beginners-guides-to-uc-what-is-unified-communications/).
Written communication can be misinterpreted.
Emails don’t contain voice inflections, body language or any other innate clues that we often rely upon. As such, meaning can be misunderstood and because the person isn’t with you, you may not realise this.
As you can tell, there are times when email can still work well. However, there are also times when something much more sophisticated is needed. As such, many companies are now turning to something known as unified communications. This is where several types of technology and communication methods combine and collaborate, ensuring that you can switch seamlessly from one method of communication to another. This means your clients will always be able to reach you easily using the method they wish and vice versa.
