Eat Local Food LLC

My recent post on making a credible first impression focused on your web presence.  Your company website is what potential customers first see when they look for you.  The impression you give should be professional, positive and confident.  Your blog, e-newsletter and social media posts should all be extensions of your website, having the same level of professionalism in both look and content.  You never know the route a customer takes to your website - they may first see a post from you on Facebook or Google+ which spikes their curiosity and their search for your company.

Yesterday, I had an e-mail conversation with a new vendor and it drew my attention to the first impression that an e-mail can make.  During my e-conversation with the vendor:

• He responded in single sentence e-mails, without a greeting or a closing.  
• He wrote in caps, which of course gave me the impression that he was shouting at me.  
• He used abbreviations, which made him appear hurried and even disinterested.

Ultimately, I got what I needed, which was new "made in the USA" labels for the inside of our Eat Local Food tote bags.

I not only felt happy that my order was complete, I was relieved my conversation was over.  Then I realized that my unsettling conversation was because my vendor and I were using two different forms of communication.  I was on my laptop using e-mail, and he was on his I-phone texting.  Aha!  I immediately knew that if I had been on my phone receiving a text, I would not have thought the conversation to be clipped.  

In a professional e-mail business conversation, your e-mail should have

1. A greeting, or salutation
2. A  closing , or valediction
3. Proper use of upper and lowercase letters.
4. Your signature, including contact information and a link your web address, your blog and/or your social media pages.  If it's a business e-mail, don't include quotes about your hobbies or religious preferences - save that for personal e-mail use.

In my opinion, if you are sending a message to a phone number, you can be brief, immediate and ignore the polite rules of e-mail etiquette.  If you are writing to an e-mail address, the traditional e-mail rules should be followed.  Your contact with the outside world impacts how your brand is viewed.  Your customers should feel important and respected.