No marketer would rank email marketing near the top in terms of ease, but the channel’s high ROI potential makes it an essential marketing strategy for any online business. When done right, email marketing grows businesses via customer acquisition and retention. This is because consumers want to hear from brands they do business with — many would like to hear from them more frequently than they currently do.
But in the process of ensuring everything is done right, many companies overlook the unexciting email signature and miss significant opportunities in the process.
Here are five reasons why email signatures matter in email marketing.
Accessibility
Many businesses commit email marketing blunders by a lack of targeting, misleading subject lines, high image-to-text ratio, and poorly updated contact lists, Other times, they shoot themselves in the foot by not being reachable on their emails.
Whether the email being sent is a personal handwritten thank-you from the CEO, or a new-feature announcement, emails should be transparent: sealed with a name and title at a minimum. Email addresses that auto-configured/unmaintained and thus bounce back provide a negative user experience. Given how far a stellar customer experience can take a brand these days, it’s worth doing everything you can to avoid hiccups—and that includes making it easy for subscribers to get in touch with you.
Brand Consistency
We’re in an age of omnichannel touchpoints, and as such, consumers want to interact with the brands they do business with across a variety of channels. Unsurprisingly, the brands that have the most devoted followers are also the ones that have mastered their cross-channel communication strategy.
Something like an email signature might seem small in the grand scale of details that comprise branding, but it’s still a detail and it deserves attention. Simple tweaks like signing customer service emails off with the title of “Customer Care Specialist” or your ‘hot deals of the week’ promotions with welovedeals@companyname can add one more layer to your communication and complement your brand’s personality.
Social & Aesthetic Presence
You may look at email marketing solely as a way to bring contacts back to your site, but effective emails can do far more than that. Every type of email you send should have room for inclusion of your social channels while also serving as a way to show off your style.
There’s no need to overtalk your game here; if you’re only active on Instagram, then don’t list your Facebook and Twitter accounts next to it. Likewise, if you’re not going to look awesome and confident in your email headshot, then don’t bother having one. At the same time, be sure to incorporate company colors in your font and your logo in some capacity.
Authoritative
Even the most beautifully crafted email can’t endure an ending without a proper sign-off. No name, title, or contact address is a missed opportunity to reinforce who you are and what you do.
Per Shopify’s definition of e-commerce, the industry has evolved from a place to facilitate the buying and selling of goods or services to become an experience that makes products easier to discover and purchase. Part of this process is aided because of authority and credibility (otherwise Amazon and Walmart wouldn’t have such massive affiliate networks). And sometimes, it’s the littlest of details that can impact trust and credibility.
Subtle ways to communicate authority could include topical sender addresses based on email type along with thoughtful and esteemed professional titles. Avoid having a uniform signature for all your email communications. This conveys a less-polished and nonauthoritative company voice, which is the opposite of what you want in the ever-raging battle to stand out in overloaded inboxes.
Secondary CTA
I’m a firm believer that emails should have one overall intent and likewise one-call-to-action to be effective. However, that doesn’t mean other CTAs can’t passively exist. Highlighting another offer in your email signature is a prime example. The email is over. The only ones who have the potential to see it are engaged in the email and likely to click on multiple links. You can include a brief offer, such as a free-trial via trackable URL, links to your new app listings, or a plug to a new video you’re trying to promote. Whatever you decide to drive to in your signature, you stand to see decent engagement rates if your email signature CTA aligns with the content of your email, and doesn’t come off overly promotional.
The array of details to consider in marketing can make the importance of email signatures feel small. But that’s far from the case, as any business should strive to be accessible, consistent, aesthetically attractive, credible, and successful at aligning offers to increase customer engagement.
Growth Gurus
Thursday 18th of July 2024
Great insights on email signatures! They're often overlooked but can really boost brand recognition and professionalism.