Today we will be talking about the proverbial elephant in the room: Why use Google Workspace tools (and pay for them) instead of using the Gmail tools (and get them for free)?
For a number of years, my family had a membership to a swimming pool. It was a well-regarded business that had been around for years, with a busy parking lot and clients filling the building. When we enrolled, and got our first welcome emails, newsletters, front-desk emails, etc. I couldn't help but notice that they were using an @gmail.com email address.
So what?
Gmail.com addresses are phenomenally robust; many people rely on them: you not only get an email account, but you get a number of office software tools and various communication tools. So why shouldn't businesses use Gmail.com as well?
Well, there are a good handful of reasons:
Branding
Let's stick with the example of the swimming pool. They have worked hard on their brand recognition. They have built a website, but when they send an email, instead of the email coming from their trusted domain, it comes from a Gmail.com address. You see, anyone can set up a Gmail.com address with their (or your!) company name, but only they can set up an email address on their website's domain.
💎 It is all the more important to have an email address on your company domain when you process personal information like people's addresses, people's -- including minors' (!) -- names and the like. Your customers need to know that the information is safe. Setting up a Google Workspace account assures customers that what they send is really going to you.
External client or partner collaboration
Few business owners realize that while Gmail.com addresses don't allow for unrestricted external client or partner collaboration (unless they have Google Accountsd), the same tools under the Google Workspace business tool umbrella do have that capability. When you initiate Google Meet calls from a Gmail.com address, it forces participants to have a Google Account (e.g., Gmail.com account). Requiring that from Clients is not ideal. In addition, you can't share Google Drive files with non-Google Accounts.
💎 Both of these issues are a lot smoother when you use Google Workspace, which allows for a more seamless company-external collaboration through Google Meet or Google Drive.
Control and content ownership
Things get even more complicated when you create one or more Gmail.com accounts and you give access to employees of yours. Think about it: the moment you give them the password to a Gmail.com account, they become de facto owners of the account.
Why?
💎 With Gmail.com accounts, if they have the password, they have the key to the house and can do whatever they like; they can even lock you out.
What happens when the employee moves on to another opportunity? And what if someone has to be fired? Do you want a disgruntled employee to have that sort of access?
In Google Workspace, you can give dedicated accounts to your employees and define what they can and cannot do within the systems. You can turn their access off instantly if needed, while retaining the content they created for you.
💎 Additionally, when you work with externals, and you are expecting deliverables from them that you are contractually supposed to own, you need to make sure that the files they give you you will actually own. In certain editions of Google Workplace, there a re features to make that a lot easier.
Extra Features
We've talked a bit already about how much easier client collaboration is through Google Meet and Google Drive in Google Workspace, but there are also other features that come with your Google Workspace subscription, like Google Groups for Business.
💎 You can set up Groups for inbound email addresses, like info@, support@, etc., without incurring extra user costs.
💎 With Google Workspace, if something happens, you can get direct support from Google 24/7, as part of your subscription.
Connectability
When you are ready to expand your tech toolset, connecting tools into your Google ecosystem can give you more control and transparency into their usage.
The swimming pool example we started with is just one of the many real-life examples of established businesses relying on Gmail.com addresses, not realizing the precarious situation they have their business in. Gmail is wonderful for personal use, but is not meant to support you through a business journey.
Need help with Google Workspace? Contact me for a free first consult:
https://www.kloudgem.com/get-in-touch/contact
KloudGem tips:
https://www.kloudgem.com/follow-resources/newsletter
