Using the email signature as a digital business card

E-mail remains an important communication tool in the business environment, even though there are now many other options. A mandatory part of an externally sent e-mail is the e-mail signature. If it is set up well, it can be more than just an obligation. In this article, you will learn how to professionally set up the e-mail signature in your company and how to use it as a form of digital business card.

What is an email signature?

The email signature is a block of text and is located at the very end of the mail. It replaces the letterhead in the digital age and lists all relevant professional contact information. It must contain at least the following mandatory elements:

• The company name and business form according to the entry in the Commercial Register
• Place and address of the registered office
• The competent registry court with the registration number in the Commercial Register
• Information on the persons in charge of the company, i.e.:
  • In the case of a limited liability company, all managing directors
  • In the case of an AG, all members of the Executive Board and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board

Apart from these mandatory parts, you can customize your email signature to suit your needs. As a rule, you will still find the following information there:

• Name of the sender of the mail
• The job title and/or the department
• The email address
• Phone numbers
• Address

In many cases, an e-mail signature is much more than just a list of mandatory information. Companies often integrate their logo there and provide links for making appointments or similar. An e-mail signature is thus used as a form of digital business card.

How do I set up an email signature?

There are several ways in the professional environment to create the signature in the email.

1. you let each employee create their own email signature.

2. you specify to your employees what content belongs in the e-mail signature. You then leave the creation of the signature to the colleagues themselves.

3. you manage the whole thing centrally and thus have control over all the company's e-mail signatures. There are suitable software solutions for this signature management.

If you choose variant one or two, the signatures must be set up individually in each end device that is used for e-mails. This means that it is not enough to create the signature in Outlook; it must also be manually stored in the work cell phone or a tablet.

Here we briefly explain how to proceed.

How to create a mail signature in Outlook:

Open your Outlook. Go to "File" at the top left and select the "Options" menu item there at the bottom left. Then a new window will open. On the left side of the menu click on "Email" and then on the right side you will find an item "Create or change signatures...". If you click on the "Signatures" button behind it, a window opens where you can set up and store your signatures.

How to add an email signature on iPhone:

If you use an iPhone, first go to your settings. There you select the menu item "Mail". Scroll down to the "Signature" item. In the window, you can then store a suitable signature for the desired e-mail account. It will then be added automatically when sending.

Advantages through professional signature management

An e-mail signature is part of the company's external image. As a rule, a uniform specification is created by the marketing department. If this corporate signature can now be entered centrally, this brings numerous advantages:

• Saves time, as no manual creation is required
• Legal security, as the correct signature is always stored
• Uniform appearance without uncontrolled growth
• Marketing campaigns are easy to integrate
• Quickly map changes centrally
• Good signature quality on smartphones

Signature management is a useful IT service because it ensures that all outgoing e-mails always have the company's current and correct signature. It doesn't matter which device the mail is sent from. This provides legal security and supports the professional external image of your company.

Email signature and digital business card

The signature already contains all the contents of a business card, but you can also add a professional digital business card. For this purpose, there are various providers where you can manage such a business card. You can then integrate this into the signature.

This works very easily with Lemontaps. Because you can simply add your personal link to your digital business card in the signature.

This digital business card offers the recipient of the mail the possibility to save the contact. It can also be imported into the CRM. In addition, you can maintain the business card with further info and links and thus influence what other information you provide. The whole thing is much more clearly prepared than the pure signature.

Conclusion

You should not consider the email signature only as a mandatory part of your emails. Use the large number of mails that leave your company every day for your marketing and sales purposes. With a professional and uniform signature you have a competent appearance to the outside world and draw the attention of contacts to further information. A digital business card is a perfect complement.

Anne Roemer is responsible for marketing at the IT system house HTH GmbH. The IT service provider's customers include small and medium-sized enterprises as well as notaries' offices and lawyers.