Hey guys

Dear or hi?

Mr or first name?

To whom it may concern or GREETINGS?

All the best, warm regards, yours sincerely, cheers!

These tiny interactions can mean a lot.

An informal approach can work well with some, communicating a feeling of approachability and friendliness and showing your warm, human persona.

But this can sometimes feel inappropriate for older clients who might see this as unprofessional.

However, go too formal, and you risk sounding robotic, cold, and unfeeling.

By the way, is this the worst way to sign a leaving card or what?!

Poor Pippa.

One of the many things clients love about working with small advice and planning firms is that they don’t feel like a number. You’re not a faceless, corporate business. There’s no automated recording tell people to dial 1 for this and 2 for that.

You’re approachable, accessible and responsive. You’ll reply within hours not days. And text or Whatsapp them wherever they are in the world (soooooon).

Where else can you get that? This sort of thing is already so valuable, but is going to become even more so the more automated and digital we get. So don’t underestimate it as a key benefit/USP – and make a thing of it.

For example, make sure that tone it’s played out throughout the rest of your communications. In your emails, docs, brochures and those buttons on your website. (Does yours say ‘Submit Enquiry’ or ‘Go for it’, for example?)

Remind people of that human touch wherever you can and that it’s so much nicer to work with you than Anthony.

What’s the most inappropriate email etiquette you’ve ever encountered?

Kisses, hugs, may be something worse?

Please share.

Respectfully, yours.