Because your business email is so important, deciding on the best email provider for your needs can be a bit demanding. Every business will have its own specific needs, but there are some basic features that a good business email should offer, and is a good starting.
Here are nine features to look for when you select your business email service:
- Spam Filter - Spam messages are a huge time waster. You don't want to spend your valuable time reading them. That's why you want an email service that has a system in place to detect and filter out inbox spam.
- Reliability - Your business email provider needs to be up and running when you need it. Your email should always be available. Email downtime could result in lost or unhappy customers.
- Integration - Some email services work well with other business tools such as calendars, and productivity suites. If your business relies heavily on such tools, consider an email package that integrates with the other tools you already use.
- Security - With email hacks being a regular news item, you want your business email provider to offer strong measures to keep your accounts secure. You need to keep your messages safe and don't want any unauthorized use of your email account.
- Ease of Use - As your business grows, more of your staff members need to create and use email accounts. Reduce staff training time by selecting an email service provider that's easy to use.
- Archive Capabilities - The best business email providers provide a way for you to save, store, and organize your email messages and drafts. For many businesses, keeping an accurate and well-organized record of business communication is vital.
- Advanced Features - When running a small business, advanced email features such as the ability to recall sent messages or schedule tasks within email can be important. Which advanced features are most important depends on your unique business needs.
- Reputation - Your business email service provider needs to have a good reputation. Remember, your email address is one of the first pieces of information prospective clients see.
- Storage - When selecting an email service provider, keep in mind the amount of storage space included with your account. You don't want to run out of space.
If possible, have everyone in your small business use the same email service provider for business purposes. The main reason for this is consistency. If each member of your business team uses a different email service, it can confuse customers and prospective customers.
Plus, using different email services makes it difficult for your business to train employees and set in place procedures for handling business messages. Since various providers offer different features, not all employees will be able to handle messages in the same way if they use different email services.
Resource: https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/best-free-email-service-providers--cms-28160