Last week I was just about to mail out an important reference letter I wrote for a colleague, when I caught an awful error that could have jeopardized his application.
As I placed the letter in the envelope, I noticed that the printing company had made an error in one of the letterhead batches they had printed. The colors in logo were so faded that it looked as if there was no logo at all. And I was just a few seconds away from sealing the envelope when I noticed it!
(GASP HERE)
Because that error didn’t happen to you, you probably aren’t as shocked as I was. But consider this…
What if you were mailing out an important message to several clients and after having dropped the letters into the mailbox, you realize the letterhead was so poorly printed the clients couldn’t even make out your logo?
What do you think the initial reaction of your clients would be when they open it?
- “Hmmm… No letterhead, who in the world is this letter from?”
- “This looks pretty anonymous, this must be junk mail”
- “This looks pretty unprofessional, what is this about?”
Email has evolved to a point where it has replaced regular snail mail in day to day communications with customers.
When you send plain text email or unbranded email, you are making the same mistake I almost made when I sent my colleague’s reference letter. You allow the recipient to put their guard up and question your business, you allow them to question the validity of message in your email, as well as your professionalism in the field.
Next time you send out an email, make sure it is properly branded, just as you would with your letterhead and any other marketing material.
