Emails are an important part of most businesses since it is one of the official ways of communicating with clients. That being said, some find it challenging to keep up with their inbox for new messages. Others spend too much precious time on the same. In both of these scenarios, your business can suffer in one way or another. Below are some tips to help ensure efficient business email management.
1. Take Action Immediately
Every email has a message to relay. One important thing to do so that you don’t have emails piling up in your inbox is working on them as you read them. Reply to every email you go through at that particular moment. If there is an action that has to be taken, do it then. This prevents follow-up emails on something that you could have done within a few seconds.
But then again, this can be quite involving if you receive plenty of emails every day. As opined by the guys at CirrusInsight.com, adding some automation can make a huge difference. Email automation services can help you in various ways that can help improve productivity and time management. Some of these include:
- Creating and using email templates
- Personalizing emails
- Email auto-responders
- Tracking when the recipient opens an email for quick follow-up
- Scheduled email delivery
- And much more
2. Process Your Emails Once A Day
Although some of us check our emails several times a day, it is usually to make sure we note that urgent order that the client has made or that shareholder meeting that has been communicated without prior notice. The best way to make sure you don’t spend too much time on your email is by setting a certain period of your day when you can do that. This can be in the morning or the evening. Even if you don’t finish them today, there is tomorrow. What is important is you go through your emails and, at the same time, not waste precious time doing so.
3. Prioritize Urgent Emails
Not all emails may be all that important to your business. Some are in line with your business and can help develop it, and some have less importance. Using the 80/20 rule, you can give more focus on 20% of the emails that have a higher value to the business and you as an individual. Emails like media requests, networking opportunities, interview spots, business leads, among others, should always have your attention first. In the 20% bit, including investors in your work, clients, and your good friends is crucial. It is important to respond to these emails ASAP, if not immediately, you get them. The other 80% can be scheduled some time to reply to.
4. Unsubscribe From Unwanted Promotional Emails
Have you ever sat down to look at your emails only to find unwanted emails and wonder why you even waste time there? This usually happens when the emails are from newsletters and advertisements. These emails, when in large numbers, can make important and urgent emails less visible to us. If you know the specific sender and whom you are sure you are not interested in seeing their email, you can unsubscribe from them. Clean out senders who no longer interest you and leave those whom you still want to hear from.
5. Create Template Replies
If you are keen enough, you will realize that most of your replies are the same. Typing these replies every time can be a waste of precious time. Therefore, if you know the type of replies you usually give, it is important to create a template for them to save time that you would use typing the same phrase repeatedly.
6. Organize Your Inbox
If you wanted to, you could delete every message in your inbox. However, there are those that you want to retain in your inbox. Messages such as correspondence between your clients, employees, and colleagues are crucial aspects of your business whose emails you wouldn’t risk losing. Keep your inbox organized by prioritizing, grouping, and sorting helps you retrieve specific emails when you need them. For broader subjects such as clients, projects, and finances, create parent categories. Make sure any email you send is search friendly, so you can always refer to it when need be.
7. Have a “Reply By” Folder
This folder helps you manage your emails such that you don’t keep your emailers waiting for too long. With such folders, you save yourself the pressure of replying to some of these emails and, at the same time, have them replied to on time.
The importance of emails in a business cannot be overemphasized. Their management is part of the whole business management aspect. Therefore, it is crucial to have a plan on how you will look at them in good timing, and, at the same time, ensure you don’t waste precious time doing so.