It’s only words! | How tone and structure in emails can make a huge difference in your business relationships.
Running a small business is not for the faint-hearted.
There’s a lot to do, a lot to know, and a seemingly never-ending list of things you need to deal with that you hadn’t anticipated.
As a small business owner, you are responsible for building relationships; nailing your messaging; uplevelling your marketing; making sales; managing your team – and growing your revenue (this is not an exhaustive list, it’s just the tip of the iceberg).
What’s the key to managing all of this well, and maintaining your sanity?
Communication.
In our view, there is no substitute for proper communication.
We talk a lot about the value of good communication in our extensive Resources, and on the Rise Up in Business podcast. Good communication can be the difference between a situation escalating and getting out of control, and a quick and effective resolution. It can be the difference between a smooth negotiation, and a negotiation that goes off the rails and the deal falls through.
I am sure you know yourself when you are fiercely emotional or upset, or when you are deeply vested in the outcome, sometimes you will say things that don’t do you any favours in achieving the best outcome.
Our view is that in the current business climate proper communication is more important than ever. We are seeing an increasing number of small businesses operate online, whether it be a service provider operating virtually, or an e-commerce store selling products globally. The way we interact with our clients and customers has changed. We are more digitally connected than ever before, and at the same time, more disconnected in terms of proper, meaningful communication.
The use of emails as the primary means of communication for small business owners has skyrocketed over recent years. Many businesses no longer see their clients or customers in real life, instead building a relationship entirely online via email or similar.
How can you make the most of your email communication?
When it comes to emails, your business' tone and structure are vital to building long-term sustainable relationships with clients.
In emails, the tone is the attitude you want to present to the recipient. Your email tone can convey many attitudes, such as professionalism, friendliness, or optimism. Being clear in your business values and your brand voice is essential when you are building relationships online.
What does your business stand for?
What words do you associate with? What words are not consistent with this?
How do you want to greet your clients or customers, and how do you want to sign off?
Are emojis consistent with your business values?
Our number one tip here is to have a communication guide or a ‘brand bible’ to allow your team to communicate clearly, effectively, and consistently across the board. Having a central resource can be a game changer for small businesses especially when there are several team members all communicating with your audience.
Remember, the recipient of an email doesn’t have the benefit of the author’s humour, facial expression, sarcasm, or intent. Often, the mood and state of mind of the recipient will play a part in how your email is received – and that state of mind is outside your control.
Should you use emojis?
This is a topical question these days, and is likely to become more so moving forward. Thought of once as an insignificant add-on to an email or message (SMS, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM), the once ‘innocent’ emoji has developed a different slant.
Courts all around the world are dealing with legal cases where emojis are central to the issue being determined. This is a concern when it comes to contracting obligations for small business owners.
When communicating in your business, give some thought as to whether emojis have a part to play.
Our advice – they don’t! There is nothing to be gained by including emojis in your professional communications, and if anything, they have the potential to compromise the intention of the communication, and the meaning interpreted by the recipient.
In Australia, the courts have ruled on the role of emojis in defamation legal proceedings (Burrows v Houda), in the intention when forming a will (Nicol v Nicol), and by the Fair Work Commission in an unfair dismissal case (Singh v Aerocare Flight Support). Trust us when we say this is just the beginning and cases involving emojis will continue to rise.
If you are using messages such as SMS, Facebook messenger, or Instagram DMs for your professional business communications for things such as quotes, proposals, or formalising an agreement, we suggest you take steps to stop this practice now, and instead, have proper systems and processes in place, with compliant, tailored business terms & conditions that work for your business. There’s no cookie-cutter approach here, but having these things set up properly will save you bucket loads of time and money if things go awry – as we always say, in business prevention is better than cure, and there is a lot you can do in your business now to minimise the risk attached to your communications (if you’re interested in reading more on this, we share why we believe prevention is better than cure here).
If you need a hand developing your business’ systems and processes, including having compliant and tailored terms and conditions developed for your business, please reach out! We would be delighted to support you with this – you can book in for a free 20-minute consultation here and we can work together to get your business set up properly and protected.
Keen to learn more about building your small business? You may like to head on over and read our Beginners Handbook.
