How to use email signatures for different departments

Email signatures and their impact are largely underestimated.

But used correctly, they are a mammoth B2B marketing channel.

They allow you to get your own personalised content right into your recipients’ inboxes.

They fit seamlessly and organically into existing conversations.

And they leave a lasting impression about you, your brand and what you’re all about.

So how do we harness all this?

Well, the thing to remember is:

It is not a one-size-fits-all situation.

For recipient-based campaigns, you should tailor your email signature to who you’re writing to.

But it’s not just the recipient you should think about when personalising your email signature.

The sender also makes a difference.

Who you are, what your role is and what department you work for all make a huge difference as to what you should include in your email signature.

Think of it this way:

Each department within an organisation has unique goals. These goals should be reflected in the correspondence they send out.

Therefore, your email signature should be an extension of your team’s objectives and positioning within the company/industry at large.

So, with this in mind:

We are going to run through how to optimise your email signature, for the following 3 departments:

1. Sales
2. Customer success
3. HR

Armed with these tools, you can be sure your email signature will always be delivering the right message, no matter what your position is.

But before we get started, a little reminder:

If your department isn’t listed here, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.

Whatever your role, it’s important that you personalise your email signature to make sure you’re maximising its potential.

Trust us, you won’t regret it.

So, back to the programme.

First stop:

It’s sales.

1 - Sales

Now, the best way to curate a department-specific email signature is to go back to the fundamentals of what your team wants to achieve.

And then create an email signature that helps you achieve it!

So let’s think about what a B2B sales department is after.

Well, in essence:

• They want to engage prospects and show them the value of their product/service.
• They want to prove to leads that they are the answer to their pain points.
• They want to encourage customers to move through the sales process.

Believe it or not, an email signature can do all this for you!

And the best part?

It requires minimal effort but offers maximum results.

So, all you need to do now is come up with a CTA which reflects one (or all) of these goals.

Such as:

• Try an ROI calculator (to prove to prospects the positive impact your product/service could offer them)
• See a product video
• Request a demo
• View product feature guides

All of these will hook your prospects in and get them eager to find out more.

Another thing to consider:

Including a professional headshot into the email signatures of your sales reps will make them feel more personable.

And this will help prospects to connect with who they’ve been speaking to, as they can put a face to a name.

Don’t be shy, show off your lovely mug!

OK, next to the stage, we have…

(Drumroll please)

Customer success!

2 - Customer success

As we did with sales, let’s start by going back to the key objectives of a customer success team.

Then we can work on creating an email signature that echoes them.

So, what are the main goals of a customer success department?

• They want to educate customers on how to make the most out of their product/service.
• They want to instil confidence in customers that they know everything there is to know about their product/service.
• They want to keep customer satisfaction levels buoyant, by reminding them of the resources available to them.
• They want customers to keep learning and engaging throughout their relationship with them.  

All looking good so far.

But how do we reflect these in an email signature?

Well, why not try including one of these:

• Contact information for customer support
• Link to suggest referrals
• Details of new product releases/updates

These are bound to do the trick!

And last but by no means least, it’s...

HR.

3 - HR

You know the drill by now:

Let’s firstly think about an HR team’s chief aims.

When we’ve done that, we can look at ways to mirror them using email signature marketing.

HR departments are all about:

• Finding and securing new talent
• Giving talent the tools they need for success within the company

So it’s easy to see how HR can use the email signature to their advantage.

They can add a CTA advertising current vacancies and showcase company culture to potential new hires.

You never know who might come across it!

Both an ad for a specific vacancy or a generic ‘We’re hiring!’ banner work brilliantly.

(It goes without saying, these need to be linked to the detailed job descriptions and/or application page.)

And, if you’re not currently hiring, what about including one of these:

• ‘Meet the team’ video
• Interview with the CEO
• Introduction to the office/workspace
• Stats that show off your company’s unique culture

All of these are great ways to pique the interest of recipients who might be a good fit for your company.

And who knows where this might lead! Don't forget to check out our collection of 22 eye-catching email signature examples for every industry to get even more inspiration for your own campaign. 

Hopefully, this has been a handy how-to guide when it comes to adapting your email signature according to your department.

Remember:

Your email signature should reflect you, your role and your team’s aims and ambitions.

Do this, and you’re sure to make a splash.

And if you want more from Mailtastic, there are loads more email signature best practices on our blog.