Unsolicited Marketing Advice

When your employees send e-mail, the recipients need to know:

• Who is sending this information
• What is their title or role
• What is the name of their company
• How can I contact them

To provide this information in a standard and professional manner, consider establishing a company standard for signature blocks in e-mail. In Microsoft Outlook this can be done with the “signature” feature:

To create a signature, select Tools/Options/Mail Format from the Outlook menu. In the signature section of this Options dialog box, click “Signature Picker.” Here you can create a new signature or edit your existing signatures using the recommendations below. When you complete your signature(s), return to the options dialog box and select a signature from the field labeled “Use this signature by default:” This signature will now appear at the bottom of each new e-mail message.

Even though you set a default signature, you can still change this for individual messages. From within your new message, highlight your default signature. Then on the Outlook menu, select Insert/Signature and select the signature version you prefer. If employees need more assistance, consider directing them to your IT department for the technical aspects of using Outlook.

Standard
This is a general-purpose signature block that provides the most commonly needed contact information for internal and external recipients.

Yuri Example
Administrative Coordinator
XYZ Company
Phone (555) 555-1234
Fax (555) 555-4321
yuri.example@xyzcompany.com

Full
The full version adds postal and Web site addresses for first-time or external contacts that may need this additional information.

Yuri Example
Brand Evangelist
XYZ Company
3000 N. Main Street
Seattle, North Carolina 29340
Phone (555) 555-1234
Fax (555) 555-4321
yuri.example@xyzcompany.com
http://www.xyzcompany.com/

Short
The short version is for casual or internal messages. However, even internal staff will appreciate having your phone or department information listed.

Yuri Example
Human Resources Generalist
XYZ Company
Phone (555) 555-1234

Signature Formatting Guidelines

• Use the full, correctly spelled name of your company or subsidiary.
• Follow the order of elements that matches your company’s printed letterhead or business cards.
• Format phone numbers so they include the word “Phone” (or Fax, Cell, Pager, etc.). This may be in front or behind the number, depending on your company’s graphic standards. Make sure to include the word “Phone,” “Office,” “Direct” even with “normal” phone numbers to clarify that they are, in fact, voice numbers.
• Unless your company uses a different style, put the area code in parentheses and a hyphen after the prefix as this is the most common way people are used to seeing telephone numbers in the U.S., Other areas of the world and global companies may need to modify this approach to the manner that will be most familiar to recipients.
• Spell out the words “Street,” “Drive,” and your state or province for clarity.
• If you are located in an office building that has a name, include it along with your postal address in your signature block. This should also be done with business cards and forms since often a office building will have a sign with the facility name, but the postal address is hard-to-find or non-existent. Visitors to your physical building will appreciate this information.
• Include your zip or postal code, and consider including your country location if you are a global business.
• Use the font Arial or Verdana for on-screen legibility in 11 or 12 point size.
• Avoid using italic or multiple colors for your text.
• Add a blank line before the first line of your signature to create some space between the end of your message and the start of your signature.

Establishing guidelines for e-mail signature blocks within your organization will help ensure that your brand is presented in a consistent and professional manner.

Labels: Branding, E-mail

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by e-mail or RSS.
© 2009 Warren Allan Johnson
Posted by Warren Allan Johnson @ 8:00 AM | Permalink | |

---