5 ways to use email signatures in recipient-based campaigns

Email is the cornerstone of corporate communication.

In fact:

The average worker spends over 6 hours a day in their email inbox.

So you’d be foolish not to use the email signature to your advantage.

It slots your marketing content right into ongoing correspondence.  

It’s therefore natural and non-pushy.

But do you want to know the best part?

You can create dynamic email signatures which change automatically based on the recipient.

So the content will be targeted towards who will be reading your email and what resonates with them.

This will ensure success at every turn.

But how exactly do we do this?

Never fear, we’re here to help!

Coming up:

5 ways to use your email signature to its full potential:

1. Vary your email signature according to ABM
2. Customise depending on different stages of the buyer’s journey
3. Take purchase history into account
4. Go geographical
5. Consider your recipients’ industry and company size

Get ready for your recipient-based campaigns to be revolutionised!

1 - Vary your email signature according to ABM

This is a no-brainer:

You should adapt your email signature according to your ABM strategy.

Assigning different email signature campaigns to specific accounts means the content is always personalised and relevant to the recipient.

Which, in turn, means more clicks and higher engagement.

This is a highly powerful and valuable B2B marketing tactic, and one you don’t want to miss out on.

Plus:

Adding targeted content within your email signature rather than as a separate email keeps comms streamlined and uncluttered.

2 - Customise depending on different stages of the buyer’s journey

As all marketers know:

It’s vital that you engage leads not only in the right way but also at the right time.

You should therefore employ your email signature in a different way, depending on where your recipient sits in the sales funnel.

Match your CTA to the position a lead is at in the buyer’s journey.

This will have a huge impact on conversions.

Because, ultimately:

The more we understand our recipients and what they are looking for, the more we can deliver an email signature which answers their pain points.

And if we do this, the likelihood is:

They’ll convert.

We’re going to look at the 3 main stages of the buyer’s journey and how to optimise your email signature in each one.

Namely:

1. Awareness
2. Consideration
3. Decision

Awareness 

In the awareness phase, prospects are looking for answers to their pain points.

They are spending some time learning what’s out there and how you might be able to help them.

You therefore don’t want to be pushing a sale at this point.

Rather:

It’s all about education.

You want to earn their trust and encourage them to progress to the next step.

So why not share a recent blog article, a webinar or some tips and tricks?

And an informative call-to-action such as ‘How to…’ or ‘What is…?’

Consideration 

By this stage, prospects have taken a keen interest in your brand.

But they need to be convinced that your product or service is worth choosing.

You therefore want a more proactive CTA than in the awareness stage.

Maybe encourage them to check out recent customer testimonials, view a product demo or get a quote.

Again:

You want to make sure your email signature nudges them along to the next stage.

Decision 

Prospects are now pretty far along the sales funnel.

They’re invested in you and what you’re all about.

But they now need one final push to get them to commit to your product/service.

Your CTA should encourage them to do just that.

Something like: ‘Start your free trial now’ or ‘Get your X% discount here!’ works wonders.

You want to make sure you get them across the finish line, as you’ve worked so hard to get them to this point.

Don’t let them slip through your fingers now!

It’s also important to note:

You don’t have to stop there!

For best results, you should continue tailoring your email signature marketing to your customers throughout the entirety of their relationship with your brand.

For example, with loyal customers, you could ask them to refer a friend or write a review.

This will ensure sustained engagement.

3 - Take purchase history into account

Another variable to take into account when curating email signature campaigns is your customers’ purchase history.

Whether your customers are new or loyal will affect what content they might be interested in.

So you need to ask yourself this question:

What might they find useful or interesting at this point in their interaction with you?

For example, for new customers, you might want to include:

• A how-to guide
• Link to FAQs
• Details about onboarding sessions

Whereas, with loyal customers, think more along the lines of:

• Promoting product updates and new features
• Advertising new releases

4 - Go geographical

You can also tailor your email signature to the location of your recipients.

You could include details of a local event or trade show that your company is hosting or attending.

Or promote an offer that's relevant to them and where they’re based.

This will really help them to feel listened to and catered for.

And that is sure to make an impact!

But do bear in mind:

Recipients may well work and live in two different places!

5 - Consider your recipients’ industry and company size

It’s also definitely worth considering the professional setup of your recipients, when formulating your email signature campaign.

Are they part of a small start-up or a large corporation?

Make sure the content of your email signature is tailored accordingly.

Also consider the industry that they work in, and whether certain content would particularly resonate with people within it.

This really will make all the difference when it comes to engagement.

As you can see, there’s a whole host of ways to use your email signature to your advantage within recipient-based campaigns.

It may feel like a lot to take on board.

But the bottom line is this:

The clearer you are about who your recipient is, and what they want, the better your results will be.

Cater your content and CTA for their needs, and you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.

For more top email signature tips, visit the Mailtastic blog.