For a small business, perception is everything. 

Looking professional helps you establish credibility with customers. That's why we get sleek business cards and flashy storefront signs, yet when it comes to our email address, we make a costly oversight.

Having a business email address—one that matches your domain name—can be the difference between making your company’s reputation that of a legitimate entity or coming off as an amateur.

“Never mix your personal life with business” doesn’t always ring true, but it applies to email for sure. 58% of customers said they would not be comfortable sharing credit card information with a company not using a business email address. 

When you email potential customers from a Gmail address, you might make them wonder…

“Are they emailing me about business from a personal Gmail account? How old is this company? If they’re unwilling to pay a few bucks for email, what else are they skimping on?”

Stop firing off business emails from a free Gmail account. Make 2023 the year you boost your brand with a professional email address. 

The Free Email Epidemic

Small business owners are naturally cost-cautious and time-conscious. Knowing the branding implications of using free Gmail for business doesn’t stop many from considering GSuite licenses a luxury.

It’s hard to blame them. Gmail is free, available, and there’s a decent chance they are already using it for personal email. Plus, buying an entire suite of tools (documents, spreadsheets, slides, file storage, etc.) just to get a business email address sounds just a little ridiculous.

There are other options. You can buy email when registering a website domain for your business and some are even free, but most of these services are painful to use (hence free Gmail) and getting a custom email address is about the only thing that feels professional in that exchange.

You can also host your own email, but most small businesses can't afford the technical burden. Things like configuring name servers and MX records are not what a typical small business owner wants (or knows how) to do.

So, Gmail it is. What’s the cost?

No Second Chances for First Impressions

You've already taken the first step in establishing your business as a professional, legitimate entity outlet if you bought a custom website domain. But using a free personal Gmail address for business is like wearing a Hawaiian shirt on a suit. Would you take someone like that seriously? In business as in life, we don’t get second chances for first impressions.

Because of its reach, your business email address can be more important to customers than your website. Often, your email address is the first thing they see about you, even before they get to your website. In today’s digital economy, your email address appears everywhere — from that business card you got printed, to your marketing collateral, to your LinkedIn profile.

Using a free Gmail address doesn’t just detract from your professionalism or your brand, it also causes a potential customer to question your credibility. 75% view a business using free email ID as untrustworthy.

There’s already a good chance that your email won’t reach your recipient's inbox. Emails from a free Gmail account, say bobsmithacmeaccounting@gmail.com, are also likely to get marked as spam.

Build credibility with a business email

Email is a tool to engage with your customers. Your email address should convey authenticity, reinforce your brand and build trust. Using a free personal Gmail account for your business does the opposite.

Some of the business email solutions available for small businesses today are:

1. Zoho mail
2. Front
3. Fastmail
4. Bluehost
5. Neo

The above mentioned options have a free trial option as well as paid plans which you can choose from.

If you need a modern business email service that helps you establish credibility,  a custom email address that’s easy to use, matches your brand, and makes you look professional, like you mean business. You need Neo.

Neo is the professional email solution that helps your business establish trust with customers so you can make great first impressions and follow-up like a pro. You get business email that matches your brand, which means your messages are authentic, on-brand and less likely to be marked as spam. 

Zero setup, plus powerful tools like Read Recipts, Follow-up Reminders and Priority Inbox, and even a free one-page site to build your personal brand, Neo is email for the modern small business. 

Stop killing your brand with free Gmail. Get an email that takes you seriously — get Neo.