Emails, Brand and Regulation
Why use email signatures?
A distinctive signature at the bottom of your email reinforces who you are as a company – solidifying the image of your brand in your recipient’s eyes.
Uniform signatures create brand consistency across a whole team. A branded signature creates a sense of trust with the recipient if he or she recognises your brand.
Consistency is key to email branding. The logo, graphics, and colours in your signature should match your website, brochures, business cards and letterhead. The style and formatting of your social media posts, e-newsletter graphics, and other marketing elements all converge to create your unique branding image.
Email signature guidelines
Keep your email signature – including the company logo – clean and simple.
In your email signature, include your:
- Name
- Position
- Direct phone number
- Email
- Website
- Logo
- Legal disclaimer
A legal disclaimer, which will typically include confidentiality and copyright information. Using a legal disclaimer on your email signature guarantees that your disclaimer will appear on every email sent, avoiding the risk of fines or legal action, it also reminds the reciepient of restrictions and laws like the data protection act of 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
An Example of a Legal Disclaimer:
“This message may contain confidential information only for the intended recipient(s). Should you receive this message by mistake, please inform me, delete this message from your mailbox, and do not forward it or any part of it to anyone else. Thanks very much for your cooperation and understanding.”
Optional Email Signature Inclusions:
- A professional headshot
- Icons to link directly to your phone number and social media platforms
Icons linking to your social media pages are a great way to invite customers to connect on a more personal level. Make it easy and enjoyable for customers to contact you. Ensure your signature is uncluttered by including only the most important icons and links. Ask a trusted colleague or friend to review your signature and offer honest feedback: Is the signature easy to read? Does the text all make sense?
Are email disclaimers required?
Not always, but they’re highly recommended in most situations. However, new and existing regulations are forcing companies and organisations to protect their client’s privacy. It’s imperative for your company to comply with the appropriate regulations. Several key regulations are as follows:
UK regulations
If your business is a private or public limited company or a Limited Liability Partnership, the Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015, Regulation 25 requires that all of your business emails (and your letterhead, invoices and order forms) to clearly include the following details: the company’s registered name (e.g. XYZ Ltd); the company’s registration number; place of registration (e.g. Scotland or England & Wales); and its registered office address. This information should also appear on your company’s website.
Enforcement of the mandatory information required is the responsibility of Trading Standards. The maximum fine for non-compliance is currently £1,000. An additional daily fine of up to £300 per day can be imposed for any continuing breach. And no, you can’t just provide a link to this information on your email disclaimer. Remembering that if you are using email you should be registered with the ICO as well.
If the disclosure of the content of an email becomes the subject of a dispute, it can be argued before a court that the recipient should have known to not disclose the information. However, there is no legal authority for this and the ruling will depend on the court. What you attempt to disclaim will depend on the nature of your business, if your disclaimer is too wide it won’t stand up in court.
