A FitzMartin How To: The WSJ noticed it; We did it, You can too

“ How long a time lies in one little word.”

Shakespeare, King Richard the Second

Jared Sandberg’s article in the Wall Street Journal.

For years, we’ve repeated the idea that every touch point you have with a customer is an opportunity to build your brand. Consistently and creatively reaching your clients in unexpected ways not only helps you stand apart from your competition, it actually builds trust. If people like you, they are far more inclined to trust you.

Recently, we were reminded of the power of even simple ideas. For years, we’ve included quotes as a signature in our email messages. Some are funny, some controversial, while others are intended merely to get people thinking. These quotes add a little personality to our firm’s brand, but they do it in a subtle way that doesn’t intrude on the day-to-day business. The idea is not unique to FitzMartin, though we do try to make the quotes we use say something about us as a firm.

Our clients have noticed; we get a good many comments about the quotes in our email, so we know people read them. Jared Sandberg actually wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal on the practice of adding quotes to one’s email, and he included a lively exchange with Sean to close his story [See a PDF of the article here].

The key to making small touch points like email enhance your brand is that attention to detail is critical. So if you wanted to begin ending your email messages with a quote, do it well. Choose quotes that really represent your company’s beliefs. Build a store of quotes (30 or more) big enough that you can rotate them often to keep them fresh.

That last one is an important point. As you know in all marketing, what’s not fresh isn’t seen. Rotating a significant number of quotes ensures that people always get something new.

As you can see from Mr. Sandberg’s story, not everyone agrees that an email signature is an appropriate branding tool. And while we could debate the merits, based on our experience, it's really beside the point. When done well, even small ideas get noticed.

The main point we encourage is to look for small, simple ways to reinforce your customers’ feelings for your company. Look at all of the different points of contact, and then look for ideas that can transform even simple contacts into something else.

“Words were medicine; they were magic and invisible.”

Navarre Scott Momaday, House Made of Dawn