Why an email signature is important… and why you should consider it as a valuable marketing tool
Here is an all too familiar scenario. Blackberry Design often receive emails written, not exactly like this but not far off:
Hello you,
Our website is rubbish! Can you sort it out please?
Thanks,
John Smith
Eager to help, the recipient is ready to fire off an email to find out more. Hang on! Blackberry Design want to get to know this prospective client, find out about their business and build a working relationship. There’s a problem. There’s no telephone number, no company name, no website address, nothing. Is this potential client embarrassed about who they work for? Why so shy? We were looking forward to making that call! What are we going to do now? Sure, we could ‘just Google it’ or scout around on LinkedIn and send a message but that feels a little too impersonal.
The email signature is without doubt one of the most important business and marketing tools there is. A carefully, creatively crafted, cohesive signature is the opportunity to brand every message sent. It establishes who you are as a company and creates brand recognition in every person to whom your employees send emails to.
Think of the email signature as the 21st century business card. What should this contain? The email signature should at the very least contain a name, telephone number, email address, company name, company logo and disclaimer. Some larger organisations deem it important from a legal point of view to add the company’s registered address and registration number.
Consider adding the following;
- Employee name
- Job Title
- Department – if applicable and important when sending email from a large organisation
- Telephone number – the main company number is OK but adding a direct dial is better. A mobile number is worth adding particularly when remote working or working in the field
- Email address – clicking ‘reply’ is fine but the recipient might look up the email message in future to find an email address for a new correspondence thread
- Company full name
- Company telephone number
- Company logo
- Company social media links and website address
- Disclaimer –the legal stuff, for example, ‘This e-mail message may contain confidential or legally privileged information and is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s).’ It may also include a call to action. For example, ‘Think before you print. Please consider the environment before printing this email.’ Or simplistically, ‘Save a tree. Don’t print.’
Take things up a notch and turn that email signature into a marketing communications channel by including not just the company logo but also brand elements, promotional banners or widgets. Consider adding an image. The popularity of personal photos on social media could be adopted putting a face to the name and adding professionalism and trust with recipients.
Add social value to an email signature. Inclusivity is key for some companies or organisations particularly in academia and not-for-profit. An email signature that uses gender pronouns They-Them, She-Her or He-Him demonstrates a commitment to transgender and non-binary employees, collaborators and customers encouraging sensible discussion and promoting a safe space to work in.
The email signature is much more than a name and a number. It promotes your company, business or organisation providing a connection with your company, your contacts and customers promoting your business and brand. A well-designed email signature is a powerful marketing tool.
Ready to create and design your email signature? Call Blackberry Design on 01527 517 309 or email studio@blackberry.uk.com to discuss how our creative design expertise can add value to your email signature and promote your business and brand.