A recent 2024 report from Marketing Week* highlighted a significant issue—a lack of understanding about the importance of brand management in marketing. Shockingly, almost half (46%) of workers feel that brand management is neglected in their work.
In light of this, Carol Howley, Chief Marketing Officer at Exclaimer, the leading email signature management platform, discusses how marketers can utilise email signatures to define their image and increase customer engagement.
Brand identity and consumer engagement
Exclaimer’s survey, based on a poll of over 1,700 UK consumers and 101 senior marketers, showed that a staggering 41% of consumers simply stop engaging with an email if it does not have a branded signature. Despite this, 42% of UK businesses still overlook this brand identity-building strategy of employing a company signature.
“Brand identity is more important than ever before. Without consistent branding to carve out who your company is and what it stands for, you risk not being able to uphold your business’s image, reputation, values, and authenticity.”
“A strong, well-defined brand is pivotal for allowing a company to stand out, and email signatures are an evidence-driven, effective method for ensuring that your business is instantly recognisable and memorable to its consumers. Brands with strong identities foster loyalty, forging connections with consumers, which is essential for long-term survival and growth.”
How brands can bridge the gap between emailing and brand consistency
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Legitimise with clear brand guidelines
“Create and follow an exact brand guideline for your business and email communications. This ensures that any email the company sends projects a clear image of your values and what you stand for. A branded email signature, accompanied by your company logo, correct font, colours, and images, makes you look legitimate and helps build brand recognition among your contacts.”
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Utilise USPs
“Always go beyond using one uniform email signature template. Instead, vary your branding according to the sender’s department to utilise each department’s USPs.”
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The power of policy
“Consider creating an email signature policy to create consistency and promote a robust, stable, and trustworthy brand image which is mirrored across the organisation. Instigating policy removes the risk of incorrect contact information and minimises the potential for reputational damage. Email signature policies ensure you monitor the outgoing information, refining it for the most valuable benefits.”
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Reach new avenues
“Incorporate a social media marketing strategy into your email signatures. This won’t only reinforce brand identity and credibility, along with promoting a cohesive presence, but it will provide consumers with additional avenues to connect and engage with your business, increasing your reach and visibility.”
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Optimisation across platforms
“Accessibility across all devices is important to boost user experience and nurture the consumer relationship with your brand. As over 50% of all emails are now opened on mobile devices, companies must optimise their emails and signatures for smartphones and tablets to ensure a seamless experience and maximised reach. Ensuring consistency and accessibility is crucial to present a polished and professional appearance, regardless of how consumers access your emails.”
*Information was taken from Marketing Week’s 2024 Career & Salary Survey