Good Salutations for Business Emails
Business owners improve their public business image when their corporate policies are firmly established for professional communications. It has become commonplace for employees to be very informal when it comes to businesses emails. And even though it is common, being informal about business emails is not the accepted business standard. Business owners need to realize that establishing the right tone sets the tone for the entire letter. Start with the salutation. Limit the salutation options, giving staff the appropriate choices.
The standard salutation is "Dear Mr. (person's last name)." And, as is done in traditional postal mail correspondence, using the standard salutation shows respect and professionalism. Some may consider this old-fashioned, but it is more acceptable than being inadvertently offensive. A greeting that starts with "Dear" is timeless. Use the person's last name if you have it or if the relationship is new. This shows respect.
For example, "Dear Mr. Jones," is preferred over "Dear John." If you are unsure about the person's title (Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss) or the last name, it is acceptable to use the first name. It should be standard company policy for employees to try to find out the recipient's last name before resorting to using the first name.
Sometimes emails are written using less formal standards simply because the sender wants to be friendlier. For example, "Hi," is friendlier than "Dear." This might be used even in a cold communication, where the sender doesn't have a recipient's name. It is also used with a first name, as in "Hi Jennifer." A business owner might have specific client relationships where this is used over the formal salutation, as defined by company procedures. For example, staff might onboard a new client and ask her if she prefers to be called by her first name or her last.
Business owners see "Greetings:" used in correspondence. It is an acceptable salutation but suggests a cordial business relationship rather than a formal relationship. This comes across as trying to be friendly and different but is still considered formal. It is often seen in cold emails or in correspondence where the sending party doesn't have a strong relationship with the recipient.
Think about the person reading the email before you write the salutation. When you're unsure of how to start a business email, err on the side of traditional salutations. Starting the email with, "Hey," is frequently seen among younger staff, who take a casual approach to everything. However, this is too casual for most business situations because of the potential disrespect felt by some recipients. This is especially true when a younger staff member sends an email to an older prospect or business colleague.
Another salutation to avoid is, "To whom it may concern," unless you have absolutely no idea of the recipient's identity. This salutation suggests a blind email that does not have any relationship with the recipient. Most recipients immediately do see this as a blind email, and they may discard it before reading it. For example, "Hi," is friendlier than "Dear," and is more common when the sender has an established positive relationship with the recipient.