Feature Article: 10 tips to make
you email more effective
by Piers van der Merwe, Managing Director, Saratoga
Software (Pty) Ltd.
Every
wave of new technology has a "killer app" that is instrumental in
the success of the technology. Websites may be the flashy side of the Internet
craze, but it is email that has really driven the popularity of the Internet.
Not since the advent of the fax machine has a new communication tool come
along that has so thoroughly revolutionised the way we work. Internet based
emailing provides an astoundingly efficient communication tool.
Although
the impact of email is overall very positive, there are however some negatives
that we have to cope with. The volume and frequency of email messages can
be overwhelming. Junk mail has been replaced by spam. And despite the increased
volume and frequency of our communications the quality may be lower.
Here
are 10 tips to improve your email experience:
1.
Make sure you are virus protected
You
are most vulnerable to viruses through your email. Make sure you have a good
virus protection program and keep it up to date.
2.
Organise your emails into folders
You
don't file all your paperwork in one file, so why keep your emails in one
folder? Filed carefully into appropriately named folders, your "Inbox"
can be a very powerful storage and retrieval system. Add the use of rules
(see next point) to make this even more effective.
3.
Use rules as much as possible
Most
modern email systems allow you to create "rules" for the handling
of emails. For example, you may communicate regularly with a certain company.
By setting a rule you can a) store all emails from the company in one folder
automatically and b) instruct your email client to warn you when a message
comes in from that company.
Other
use of rules could include automatically deleting junk mail; automatically
forwarding certain emails to a colleague when they arrive in your inbox and
much more.
4.
"Sign" your messages
Before emailing became so pervasive, business correspondence consisted largely
of letters and faxes. Both of these documents usually contained a logo, address
and telephone information. And they were normally signed along with the person's
designation. You cannot always tell from an email address who the author is.
It is therefore important to set up a "signature" that is automatically
inserted into the email message. The following is an example:
| |
**************************
Piers van der Merwe
Saratoga Software (Pty) Ltd
Suite 2, Belvedere Business Park
Cnr Belvedere & Keurboom Roads
Claremont 7735
Tel: +27 (0) 21 671 4424
Fax: +27 (0) 21 671 4529
piersv@saratoga.co.za
www.saratoga.co.za |
5.
Formatting is not everything
Use fancy formats in your emails sparingly. Many of your recipients will be
using email clients that cannot read anything other than plain text. Fancy
formats will not appear, and worse, they may actually distort the message.
Special "stationery" may look good to you, but may look terrible
on the computer of the recipient of your message.
6.
Don't be a novelist
Messages
should be concise and to the point. Think of it as a telephone conversation,
except you are typing instead of speaking. Nobody has ever won a Pulitzer
Prize for a telephone conversation nor will they win one for an email message.
It
is also important to remember that some people receive hundreds of email messages
a day - they will not read your entire email message if it is too long. This
may result in important points not getting across.
7.
Construct your email messages carefully
One
of the biggest mistakes that people make is that they tend to get careless
in how they formulate their messages, because emails tend to be more informal.
Remember emailing is a form of communication, and the biggest problems in
any human relationship is communication.
Emails
can easily be misunderstood, so we have to work much harder to make sure that
we communicate correctly. If you are in any doubt as to whether you have portrayed
the right message, phone rather than email.
8.
Don't print out your email messages
One
of the goals for email usage is to eliminate (or greatly reduce) the shuffling
of paper, but what chance does that have if a significant number of people
are going to print every message they receive. I'm not saying that all messages
should not be printed. I'm saying that too many messages are printed for no
reason (a lot are printed and never retrieved from the printer). Rather store
you messages in folders, then back up your emails at least once a week. If
you do this you will have an incredibly powerful filing system.
9.
Emails are not private
Don't
make the mistake of thinking that your email is private.
With
some email systems, the email administrator has the ability to read any and
all email messages.
Some
companies monitor employee email. The reasons for this obtrusive behavior
range from company management wanting to make sure users are not wasting time
on frivolous messages, to making sure that company secrets are not being leaked
to unauthorised sources.
Email
software is like all software in that occasionally things go wrong. If this
happens, you may end up receiving email meant for another person or your email
may get sent to the wrong person. Either way, what you thought was private
may not be private anymore.
10.
A powerful marketing tool
Email
is a powerful and cost-effective tool to communicate with your customers.
Use it to build relationships and promote your company. However, be careful
of abusing it.
Piers
can be contacted at piersv@saratoga.co.za.
Saratoga is the holding company of Bizland.
*Time to get a website? Email
us for more information and competitive rates!
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Book of the Month
The
New Leaders: Transforming the Art of Leadership into the Science of Results
 |
Daniel Goleman,
best known for his book 'Emotional Intellegince', argues that emotionally
intelligent leaders are now 'must-haves' for business today. But many
readers have been left with, So now what do I do? The New Leaders
answers that question by laying out the map for transforming leadership
in individuals, in teams and organisations. The focus is on senior
people, but the principles are applicable to any manager. The authors
write well and the examples used make their general argument clear.
|
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Success Story
This is YOUR space. We want to know who you are, what annoys, inspires
or impresses you in small business, funny stories, advice, or how you got
on the road to success. Please share with us and we might publish your stories
or comments in the next issue. Send your contributions to success@bizland.co.za - we look forward
to hearing from you.
This week's Success Story: Robert Wilkinson, Butlers Pizza
This is not your usual success story, where the hero spends much time,
effort and money working towards making dreams come true. This is one of
those rare overnight successes - how a simple university project turned
into one of Cape Town's most loved brands…
| Robert
Wilkinson was studying at the University of Cape Town and as part of one
of his second year courses in 1989 he was required to devise a business
idea during the holidays. He and a friend, Chris Lovemore, came up with
the idea of a pizza-delivery service, operating after hours out of Silwood
Kitchens Cordon Bleu Cookery School, which was owned by Robert's grandmother.
Robert's grandmother helped them devise a pizza recipe, and with a R3000
budget, ingredients were purchased and 1000 menus were printed and handed
out. On the first day of business 19 orders were received. Robert says:
"We certainly didn't expect this much interest on the first day,
but I think we had hit a niche market in an area previously uncatered
for.The kitchens were chaotic that day, with orders being taken on the
school's public telephone and old |
|
schoolfriends
delivering pizzas!" By the end of the holidays, although no profit had
been made, Robert had been bitten and decided to continue in his venture,
setting up two more kitchens over the next two years.
In
1993 Robert received the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study management
at Oxford University, while Chris opted out entirely and returned to his home
town of Port Elizabeth. Butlers was left in the capable hands of BA Honours
students Katherine Warner and Joy Parker.
 |
It
was in August 1995 when Robert returned that an unexpected hiccup occurred.
Robert decided to revamp the Butlers image using an independent designer.
The end-result of the new menus coincidentally looked similar to the new
R1.5 million St. Elmo's branding. Robert received a lawyer's letter instructing
him to deliver all electronic and physical artwork and templates to St
Elmo's. Although innocent, Robert decided to pre-empt any public legal
action and together with his advertising agency he came up with a cheeky
advertising campaign consisting of a series of cleverly worded adverts
poking fun at St Elmo's proposed legal action, following each one up with
the 'next installment' of the ongoing saga. Although he eventually had
to withdraw the campaign, he managed to keep his reputation intact and
Butlers survived the storm and continued to grow. |
|
Robert
stresses the importance of building relationships with the customers to market
the brand: "We have always been a 'virtual company' with no visible premises
for customers to see. We therefore rely on word-of-mouth advertising, building
relationships with the customers and keeping in contact with them to find
out what they want. We have also got involved in the student community and
sponsor Rag (a charity fundraising parade) and Sax Appeal (a student magazine
sold annually for charity). In this way we do our bit for charity while still
marketing our brand."
Robert's
advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to "keep your own council and believe
in yourself". He had a particularly bad year in 2000, ending a long-term
relationship and then losing his beachfront house in a fire. He received offers
to sell Butlers, but decided against it: "I am a control freak and a
perfectionist, and don't want others involved, which is why I have also decided
against franchising the company." Robert still holds a 90% share in the
company.
Having
spent most of his life living from day to day, Robert is now sure of the future
of Butlers and wants to implement some sure plans for the future: "Butlers
has been a journey - a practical tutorial in business with no plan or strategy.
But now it is time to take the business forward with a purpose and a plan."
Robert's final commentary on Butlers: "Expect big things!"
Call
(021) 686 9007 to find your nearest Butlers branch (Cape Town only!)
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Next month…
Next month we will be talking about wireless networking, so send us
your comments or questions about this topic to comments@bizland.co.za or post them on
our Discussion
Board.
Until
next time...
Sally & Piers
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