Addressing E-mails with “Dear Sir/Madam”
November 11, 2009 by Judith
Filed under Business E-mail Etiquette, Essentials, Style and Substance
[ This same article brought some interesting commernts over on my General E-mail Etiquette site, NetManners.com so I thought I would post it hear as well for your consideration and comments.]
When I get addressed as “Dear Sir/Madam” in any e-mail, I know the Sender is lazy. How do I know this? Because my sites are so me. With just one or two clicks you know that “Judith Kallos” is the person behind the site. I’m not a Sir, nor do I really consider myself a Madam! 
So, if one wants to contact me with a business related e-mail and uses this greeting, I know they are probably not too discriminating in who they are contacting with their offer. They just want to get their collateral in front of whomever is behind the site.
One would think they would want to know about the person behind the site before e-mailing therefore actually making this small effort to determine my name. Nope — they don’t care about who I am — they just want to get their message, resume, sales pitch across with the least amount of effort. What do you think that says about your offer, prospectus, business or “opportunity?”
Then, there are those who e-mail and address me by name. Some use Ms. Kallos or Judith — either way, I know they took a moment of their time to know who they are e-mailing and to address me by name. Speaking for myself, I am always impressed when this extra effort is made. I also can tell you that I welcome offers or requests from folks who e-mail in that manner much more seriously than the mass form spammers who just want to copy and paste and hit Send.
Particularly in business, this little extra E-mail Etiquette effort goes along way to impressing the other side with the seriousness and professionalism of your request. What is a business person to do if they can’t find a name to specifically address their e-mail to? If you are serious about being taken seriously, why not pick up the old fashioned telephone and ask?
Details matter when it comes to business e-mails of any kind. And, there are situations where e-mail is not the best mode for first contact. Make the extra effort to know who you are addressing and address them personally. Now, that’s how you do business!
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Judith,
How should I address an email to an email group? I send inquiries to a group at one of the firms I correspond to and I never know who will respond. Should I use Dear Sir or Madam, or do you have a better recommendation? Also, I might add, that there are up to 20 people associated with that group, with a high-turnover to boot.
Thanks for your help!
Eve
Hey, Eve:
Hmmm… that’s always a tough one. How to not sound too generic while making sure you maintain the appropriate level of formality.
What I use in these instances where I know a group of whom I do not know or know their gender will be viewing my request, is “Hello” or “Hello All”. I cringe over the “Dear Sir or Madam” because the is so impersonal and what spammers and lazy inquirers use. Plus if it is a group it would have to be Dear Sirs and Madams which really sounds off.
By sending to a group do you mean you have all the individual names and addresses? If you do, then I would use VerticalResponse which will allow you to address each person individually even though it is a mass e-mail while looking like a pro for pennies on the dollar.
HTH!