• Feature
• Technology

How to create a Gmail account for your business

by Rejoice Obike

October 23, 2020 1

Using a professional Gmail account has many advantages, from being an important part of our professional lives to building trust and credibility with both your potential and existing customer.  Having an email address different from your personal account gives your business a form of professionalism. 

Sending out emails to prospects and leads with a Gmail account that has your business domain name shows you are an established brand.  Gmail for business is Google’s professional email hosting service. Gmail is a great email tool for small business owners and freelance professionals. It’s easy to set up and use.

Gmail for Business In Africa

Gmail for business is a go-to emailing system that offers free plans for individuals, they have more robust, premium plans for businesses. The basic plan on Gmail business costs about $6 per user, per month and gives businesses the ability to connect their own domain, 30GB storage, productivity tools (G Suite), and 24/7 customer support.  Unlimited storage and additional features are available for $12 per user, per month. Plus, the first 14 days are free.

While business starter offers custom and secure business email and affords 150 participant video meetings + recording, and has 2 TB cloud storage per user. Then for the business enterprise, businesses will have access to custom and secure business email +eDiscovery, retention, and allows about 250 participants during video meetings recording and attendance tracking. It also has 5 TB cloud storage per user. It ensures enhanced security and management controls, including Vault and advanced endpoint management.

How SMEs in Africa can set up a business email on Gmail

Go to G-suite and Select a Plan:

Firstly, before you can create a Gmail account for your business, you will need to get started by creating Gmail business accounts through G Suite. To get started, go to G Suite, select a plan, and click it’s corresponding “Get Started” button. From there, you can start a registration process. Begin by entering your basic account information, such as your business’ name, your first and last name, the number of employees in your business, and your current email address.

Input Your Business Domain Information

The next step after completing all of the necessary contact and personal information part is to input your business domain name (the name you call your business or brand, or customers already know your business by). Select “Yes” when you asked for a domain name if you don’t have one, select “No, I need one.” If you don’t already have a domain name, you can create one using a domain registrar; you can search to see if your domain is available. If so, you can register the domain to use for your email address. If not, most registrars will provide you with a link of alternatives, or you can simply enter a new domain.

Verify your domain name, if you already own a domain name that you want to use for your business email address. This will prompt you to complete the domain name verification process, which gives Google access to your domain name. To do this, visit your domain name registrar and enter the MX records that G Suite provides into your DNS. Most domain name registrars offer information on how you can do this.

Choose a Username and Create Password:

After inputting the domain name, the next thing is to choose a username (e.g., Ngozi@jhairbeauty.com, Jenny Obi @bathwash.com  john.roberts@jnzlaw.com, j.roberts@jnzlaw.com, or other formats) and then a password for your business email address. Businesses should maintain the same email address format throughout their organization. After you have created a username and password, click  “Agree and Continue.”

Payment Information & Check Out

This is the last step involved in creating a Gmail for your business. Review all your personal information, including your name, contact information, and username, are correct. When you are done fact-checking, then input your payment information. Currently, Gmail is automatically registering new users for a free 14-day trial. You will not be billed until the trial ends; at any point during or after the trial, you can change or cancel your plan.

Why you should create a Gmail account for your business

Using Gmail for business comes with some perks, it allows you to use your domain name while managing it on their platform. First, you will own all of the email accounts in Gmail for business, not your employees. Even when an employee leaves your company, you get the leverage of turning off their access so that they will no longer be able to collect contacts or emails.

You also get full access to the productivity-focused G Suite, which includes Google Docs (word processing), Sheets (spreadsheets), and Slides (presentations). G Suite also includes Google Drive, which serves as a file database.

With Gmail for business, you can easily share files with your employees within the company. The document creator allows different users access and choose what type of editing power they have.

At no additional cost, you can create a group or general purpose email addresses, such as info@yourcompany.com. It, however, offers advanced security features, if you want to implement extra security measures, you can require your employees to implement two-step verification.

Gmail for business affords you the privilege to manage multiple emails from one spot, including pop-3 email accounts. It allows you to check and respond to all your email accounts from one place. You can even have more than one Gmail account. There are also a vast array of extensions and add-ons, which are third-party tools that give businesses added functionality.

Conclusion

You need a business email account to maintain your professionalism, whether among clients, existing or potential customers. Not only would a professional Gmail account build trust, but it will also increase your credibility and market value. It even shows investors that you are serious with your business and know what you are doing.