Email Signatures, Onboarding and Perception of Authority

I’ve recently signed up for two services: Uberconference and Zirtual.

As expected, I recieved several well-designed, templated emails as a part of the onboarding process for each company. The emails I received from Zirtual were signed by the Founder and CEO of the company. That’s not uncommon and I wouldn’t be surprised if responses didn’t go directly to her.

zirtual-email-signature-founder-and-ceo

What was interested me was the contrast between how I felt about an email from a Founder and CEO as opposed to an email from Customer Support, which I received from Uberconference.

uberconference-email-signature-customer-support

Even though I know there is a possibility that Zirtual’s CEO isn’t involved or directly reach-able (maybe I’m jaded?), her email signature still made me feel better than the one I received from Uberconference. I think it’s because the idea of a ‘standard’ customer support representitive carries baggage, which is often expressed through a lack of authority. A Founder and CEO, on the other hand, possesses supreme authority. Perhaps even the pretense of access to that authority is preferrable to the alternative.

Published by

ericdodds

Practicing the art of bringing guns to a knife fight.

Leave a Reply