You might think that your email address itself just isn’t all that important – it’s the messages themselves that matter, right? While that’s true in some respects, the email address that you provide to your customers as a primary contact point can also say a lot about your business without you even realising it.

Lot’s of small businesses are still using free email accounts provided by Gmail, Hotmail and Telecom (sorry, Spark) to operate their businesses, but it’s worth taking some time to think about the repercussions of that choice.

Imagine a scenario where you’re considering hiring a new accountant or lawyer. You email them to get some initial information about their services and whether they can help. Their reply comes promptly, and you are happy with the articulate and well-written response. Then you notice their email address is jayne_doe_2001@orsomemail.co.nz.

Would that add some doubt about how well established and professional this person is?

Well the same could be true for potential customers of your own business. Luckily, this is an easy fix!

A custom domain name is a marginal cost that will help you promote your brand. There are also many different ways that a custom email address can be configured to work and in many cases you can set one up to work with your existing free email service should you choose to.

So do your business a favour and get yourself a custom email address and ditch that @xtra.co.nz one! Afterall, with all the hard work that goes into running a business, it would be a shame to let something as simple as your email address get in the way of you and your next customer.