The importance of a central email signature: more than just a business card
Have you ever been annoyed by inconsistent e-mail signatures within your organization? You're not the only one. Menno Ansink, consultant at Documentaal, explains why a centralized email signature contributes to a positive brand experience and how it eliminates time and frustration for you and your colleagues.
"Differing logos, different font sizes or colors, or even incorrect contact information. Especially the marketing and communications department suffers a lot from this."
The frustration of email signature setup
For many companies, this is a recognizable frustration. Every colleague has their own way of working, and that also translates to the way emails are signed. It may seem like a small detail, but the impact of a non-uniform e-mail signature can be bigger than you think.
"It is very common for employees to have to set up their own Outlook e-mail signatures," begins Menno. "This almost always leads to problems: different logos, different font sizes or colors, or even incorrect contact information. Especially the marketing and communications department suffers a lot from this."
An email signature is an essential part of your company's overall appearance. It is often the first and last thing a recipient sees, and it should leave a good impression. "When everyone in your organization uses a different signature, it doesn't exude unity. It costs you valuable brand experience," adds Menno.
Simplicity and uniformity with a central template
With dStyle365/LegalWord365, Documentaal offers a simple solution: a centrally managed e-mail signature via a template. By using a fixed template with your corporate identity - think logos, colors and fonts - you are assured of a standard signature for everyone.
Menno explains, "The nice thing about such a template is that you can be sure that every employee uses the same signature, no matter where or how they work. It also simply adds another personal touch, such as a profile picture or direct contact information."
Make changes quickly and simply
Another big advantage of a central e-mail signature is how easily and quickly changes are made. "For example, if you want to make an announcement, such as an event or a festive message during the holidays, you add it to all the signatures within your organization at once. This saves a tremendous amount of time and prevents errors."
With a uniform signature, you achieve more than just uniformity. "For example, many of our customers want to add banners to their email signatures during special promotions or campaigns," Menno explains. "With dStyle365/LegalWord365, this is very easy. You can add and manage these banners centrally so that they automatically appear with all emails."
In addition, it is possible to personalize signatures for specific departments or groups. "Suppose your sales department is at a trade show. Only the employees of this department will then receive a specific signature with, for example, a banner related to that trade show. The rest of the organization keeps their standard signature," Menno explains.
"Central user profiles are used in dStyle365/LegalWord365. These profiles contain information such as part-time work dates, profile photos and other personal data, which are automatically incorporated into the email signature."
Automatic updates for personal data
Another common problem solved with a central signature is manually updating information such as work hours or contact information. "We use central user profiles. These profiles contain information such as part-time work dates, profile photos and other personal data, which are automatically incorporated into the e-mail signature," says Menno.
This system also allows signatures to be dynamically updated. "For example, when an employee is (part-time) absent, a message can be automatically added with the days when the person is not available. This prevents errors and ensures that the recipient always receives the correct information."
The central e-mail signature offers other useful features, such as the ability to use different signatures for replies or forwarded e-mails. "For example, you can choose a shorter signature for replies, or automatically add other endings, such as 'Best regards' or 'Yours sincerely,' depending on the situation," Menno explains.
Finally, Menno points out one of the biggest advantages of a central e-mail signature: the savings in time and convenience for users. "It saves employees an enormous amount of time and frustration. They don't have to experiment with settings themselves, and the communications department has the assurance that everything is consistent and neat. It's a solution that eliminates a lot of problems at once."
Benefits to your organization.
- Time savings: employees no longer have to struggle with setting up their signatures
- Consistent brand image: each e-mail reinforces your professional image
- User-friendly: easy to use for all employees
- Flexible: ability to sign on behalf of others, ideal for secretarial support
- Always up-to-date: central updates ensure that everyone is always using the latest version
- In the future: Documentaal is working on innovative features such as AI-generated summaries when forwarding documents.
Want to learn more about the possibilities of centralized e-mail signatures? Then visit our knowledge center or contact us for a personal consultation.
Still have questions? Please feel free to contact us!
Request a demo
See for yourself how Documentaal can create peace and order in your organization?
That's no problem. Our consultants will be happy to demonstrate our solutions.
The form was sent successfully!
There were some errors when submitting the form. Please check all form fields again.
