In some ways, email is the perfect mass communication tool – it puts users in touch with each other at the click of a button
However, the ability to rapidly send precious documents and data to many people at once comes at the cost of a reduced personal touch.
The written medium inherently lacks tone and mood, meaning the intention behind an email can easily be misconstrued. A skewed interpretation can leave customers or recipients feeling disheartened with an experience over email, which if left unaddressed, can harm an organisation’s reputation over time.
That’s why I’m sharing my top tips on the evolving role of email signatures in creating a stellar customer experience and opening new doors for online business communications.
Providing a renewed look at the user experience
Both customers and employees benefit directly from bolstering the user experience. As employees tasked with contacting clients are on the frontline for your business, why not start by providing them with a professional email signature?
A refined email signature should be personalised enough to help make the content as accessible as possible to the recipient.
For example, customer-facing employees should use an email signature with clearly identifiable assets, including links to relevant customer service information or FAQ pages. This helps recipients quickly and easily find what they need.
With the world increasingly moving to flexible, remote working options, businesses need to consider portable device usage when it comes to email. It may look professional on a desktop, but with 46 percent of all emails now being read on mobile phones, consideration should be given to additional formatting requirements.
In an increasingly remote and flexible world, email signatures also need to be optimised for mobile devices. What you don’t want is customers or clients receiving a squashed signature template with distorted images and overlapping text.
Working from home policies have fundamentally shifted traditional business operations. As we move away from desktops and embrace laptops, tablets, and mobile devices, email signatures need be optimized to deliver consistently across all platforms.
Offering an opportunity for feedback
Feedback plays a vital role in business development. However, it can be tough to gauge what customers are really thinking and feeling. Simple changes to your email signature can help your business grasp the tangible feedback you need to grow.
The pandemic has made face-to-face contact nigh on impossible, but with this comes a renewed demand for as much personalisation through digital channels as possible.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to do this is by integrating simple feedback options into your email signature.
These tools allow businesses to track the whole user experience over time, making it easy to know where to focus their efforts and tweak offerings going forward.
Building a lasting connection
With businesses needing to move to digital channels for much of their communication over the last 18 months – be it through email, instant messaging or Zoom – many of us miss the personality of an in-person conversation.
Email signatures open the door to long-standing business relationships and improve wellbeing by helping recipients leave an interaction feeling satisfied.
Including a headshot photo in your email signature helps put a face to a name, helping to humanise the interaction for the customer.
Adding links to pages like ‘Meet the Team’ on your website or even personal LinkedIn profiles helps establish and develop meaningful connections between company and client.
Getting them where they need to go
These days, consumers don’t have the time or energy to be trawling through websites to find the information they need. So, businesses need to take heed of this and make the process as seamless as possible.
While email signatures are the perfect avenue to show off company accolades, they’re also a convenient place to add shortcuts to any relevant website information.
Social media is known as a hub for company highlights but it can also be used to usher potential customers to the latest deals. It’s a great place to voice suggestions and concerns, as well as form an informal community, so links to these are crucial.
Ingraining consistency in the response
The role of email signatures has taken on many more responsibilities over the years. From marketing to security and legal purposes, making sure your corporate signature is consistent across all emails has never been more important.
For example, a sales department might use an email signature that promotes products and special offers, whereas signatures for a legal department might need to be more minimalist in design and prioritise the disclaimer.
Employees manually editing their signatures per departmental needs not only consumes time, but any mistakes can mean an inconsistent brand experience for the customer.
About the author
Maria is the Head of Global Marketing at Exclaimer, a provider of world-class email signature management solutions. With over 25 years of experience in B2B software marketing, she has taken her expertise to many business development roles and projects around the world.
Mia has run an array of successful communications and international integrated marketing campaigns with a stellar record of managing SME and enterprise marketing campaigns and overseeing day-to-day operations of direct and virtual teams.
Maria has led global marketing teams at Sophos, Ixias, and SAS, before securing her most recent role at Exclaimer, where she continues to spearhead global marketing efforts as the company’s VP of Marketing.
Featured image: ©TippaPatt
