If you look at the world’s most successful firms, you’ll find they all have one thing in common – namely, a strong and cohesive branding message.
The concept of branding is too complex to fully define here but, in essence, a firm’s brand is its identity - its name, logo, design and the message it uses to differentiate itself from its competitors.
For a company’s branding to be truly successful, it needs to run through every facet of a firm - everything from how the staff answer the phone to the logo outside its premises and any branded communication it publishes, including emails.
These days, most business executives use email as a primary form of communication, so email branding should be top of your list when it comes to thinking about how you to the wider world.The core concepts of email branding
Just as you would expect a proficient business person to hand you a professional business card when you meet them, so clients have come to expect some measure of design and branding in corporate emails. An email is, after all, just another opportunity for you to display your firm’s competence and prowess, so you should think carefully about the image you’re projecting.
At the very least, your corporate emails should contain the following key details as a signature:
Firms these days are expected to include a legal disclaimer to avoid potential fines or legal action. General email disclaimers are quite easy to find online, but a typical disclaimer statement will include copyright, liability and confidentially clauses. If you’re in any doubt, you should seek legal advice on the suitability of generic templates for your firm.
Going a step further and thinking about design
Of course, good branding goes much further than just simple text statements and most firms have a cohesive design and branding strategy that carries through all their communications - everything from recommended corporate fonts and sizes to colors and design styles. If you’re to really pack a punch with your emails, you need to think about the styling of your email as much as the basic text and contact details.
Unfortunately, the most common email platforms such as Outlook, don’t come with design capabilities as standard so you should consider investing in a third-party service that can offer Office 365 signature management.
Good email signature software will allow you to add banner images, photos, specific colors and design layouts to your emails. Better yet, you will be able to carry these styles across all your users meaning your firm will consistently send the same style of email, no matter who the sender is.
Powerful cloud services can now offer online creator templates to help you get started - plus offer unrivaled security to ensure the privacy of your emails while in transit. Moreover, some professional service agencies will even provide guidance and design tips to help make sure you get the design, tone and message just right for all your outgoing emails.
