Advantages and disadvantages of email

No communication channel has remained so popular for so long as much as email has. When you think of busy working professionals in a corporate or office setting, you probably picture them diligently typing up an email to someone, somewhere, along the chain of command.

Email has remained as popular for as long as it has because it offers lots of clear benefits: it's easy to use, there are lots of great cloud email options from which to choose, and most everyone else with whom you're doing business is probably using email—if not exclusively—to send project updates, meeting invites, documents, and more. 

So while there's no denying that email is a simple and inexpensive communication medium, it, like everything else, isn’t perfect. To that end, let's cover the biggest advantages as well as disadvantages of using email for your business's internal and/or external communication.

Why email is still so important

If you're wondering whether email's popularity is still holding strong, consider the fact that more than 90% of the US population was using email as of January 2022. Additionally, emails presented a greater penetration rate than online messaging apps and social media.

There's something naturally appealing about sending and receiving messages back and forth from people; perhaps it's that simple distillation of what the internet is all about—sending info to people and getting more back—that's part of what's kept email so popular for so long. Whatever the case may be, quickly getting started using email and taking advantage of its versatility is easier than ever these days. 

With all that said, and email's popularity and widespread use notwithstanding, modern improvements and enhancements to other mediums of communication can sometimes make email seem old-school. Let's talk about the advantages email has over these other mediums as well as some of its disadvantages. 

Advantages of using email

Unsurprisingly, there are multiple benefits and advantages that come with using email. A few, however, warrant some in-depth discussion about how they set email apart from other communication mediums. 

Accessibility

Email is an easy-to-use form of communication, and it's among the first things you probably learned after you began using the internet. The premise email lays out for users is a straightforward one: Send something to someone and get a response back from them no matter where you are. Not only can the vast majority of people get a quick handle on using email, but they also have plenty of email services to choose from.

Transparency

Email marketers have become responsive to consumer concerns regarding privacy and data security. Scammers commonly target email users, especially with attacks like phishing, which jeopardize everything from sensitive corporate assets and people's banking information to internet safety for kids. Reputable email solution providers are transparent about the methods they use to collect user data and will have invested in email system security.

Consistency

To email's pretty big credit, it doesn't need a working internet connection between senders and receivers to get the job done. As long as someone sending an email has an internet connection, they'll be able to send an email that their recipient is guaranteed to get. The only glaring limitation when it comes to this advantage is the fact that email providers like Gmail and Outlook impose sending limits. 

Customization

Email solutions have never offered the levels of diversity that they do in 2023. Users can add a range of elements to liven up their emails, from images and videos to GIFs and even reactive animations, and businesses that regularly communicate with other organizations can create custom domain email addresses. Custom addresses are essential if you want your business to present itself as professional and authentic to its customers and professional contacts.

Disadvantages of using email

There's no denying that email is a simple, reliable, and inexpensive communication medium, but it has its flaws just like everything else.

Oversaturation

An unfortunate consequence of email’s accessibility and ease of use is oversaturation. Your business likely uses email solutions to take care of its internal as well as external communication needs. This can quickly lead to spam and oversaturation, which subsequently causes your employees to disregard the emails they get because they already have so many coming in all the time.

In terms of internal communications, employees can unintentionally gloss over essential messages they get because they're already tuning out from their inboxes so often. A good way to overcome this issue is by using a planning calendar. Certain internal communications calendars allow users to schedule employee emails in advance and ultimately provide greater buffers of time between each email sent.

Potential security issues

Another unfortunate consequence of email's many benefits—in this case, its popularity—is that bad actors often attempt to compromise the security of employees and businesses alike. Threats can range from phishing emails sent to a handful of employees to ransomware attacks that halt business operations in their tracks, and while there's no one-size-fits-all solution, phishing awareness programs and company-wide cybersecurity training can help in avoiding a business email compromise.

Improving your email communications

If you're doing your best to grow your business, it's important to adopt an internal and external communications solution that can scale with you. Well-planned and well-executed emails can keep your employees informed and always in the loop on projects pertinent to them; too many poorly planned emails keep people disengaged and less motivated to focus on their tasks. 

A dedicated and secure email hosting solution can go a long way toward overcoming the common disadvantages of using email for business. With the right internal communication tool, though, businesses can centralize their communications and even allow employees to send their mail on their mobile devices. There's no excuse to go without a tool to help manage your schedule and tasks even if you're not at your desk, and many high-quality email hosting solutions even allow you to add some social media flavor to your mailboxes from either your phone or your desktop.

Conclusion

Like any other digital tool, email is imperfect and has disadvantages as well as advantages. These drawbacks notwithstanding, email is still an incredibly accessible, easy-to-use, and inexpensive internal and external communication solution that quickly benefits businesses large and small.

If you're a business owner and are wondering how best to choose an email hosting solution for you, consider whether your current solution is helping or hindering your business operations. If you're still in need of some help, consider a solution that maximizes the advantages we've covered in this article.