Time To Change Your E-mail

By David Tonen • August 17th, 2009

Our society is tilting towards personalization.  There is a desire for less corporate and more personal touch.  For small business and for ministry one of the simplest ways to make your organization more personal is through e-mail.  E-mail is the standard communication tool for many of us today.  So I was thinking, why do so many organizations default to a very impersonal “corporate”, 1990′s way of letting people connect with them via e-mail?

Think about it…most organizations have default e-mail addresses that are like this: “Info@YourOrganization.com”, Connect@, Contact@, E-mail@ or something similar.  We have all seen it.  I am guilty because I have suggested and set up such e-mail addresses for organizations I have worked or volunteered for.  I did it for my church too!

However, people want to connect with people.  People want to know there is someone at the receiving end of that e-mail.  Today they want a “name” – a real person to “talk to”.  People want a personal experience.  I think perhaps the time has come to become less corporate, less impersonal, and more real.

It’s time to change.  Give people a real person – maybe it is you.  Let them e-mail someone who will respond and make their customer experience a real-life exchange of information.

What do you think?  Is it time for personalization or should we stay status quo?

Image via Flickr: KahoKubo

Comments(2) Church Marketing, Customer Service, E-mail, Management, Marketing, Ministry
  • http://darrencalhoun.com Darren

    I think both “formats” can work. For example volunteering@yourchurchname.org is an easy way for people to remember how to sign up for a serving opportunity. But that e-mail should be responded to from name@yourchurchname.org

    I think the key is the relationship that forms with whoever responds. One company I e-mail has an address theguys@animoto.com I love that every response that comes back is personal even though it’s not always coming from the same person. I think calling the address “theguys” also serves as a more personal way to name an impersonal address.

  • http://navigateyourmarketing.com/ David

    Thanks for the comment Darren. You do have a point. I guess the biggest thing is the outward face you give for people who are new to your organization. The volunteering@ e-mail works well because only insiders (those already connected to your church) are going to use it. TheGuys@ one is unique enough that it is fun and stands out in the crowd.

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