Are you making it easy for your customers to contact you, or are you adding unnecessary friction to the process? Have you ever tried to click a phone number or a website in someone’s email signature and found it doesn’t work? In this episode I talk about real-world frustrations caused by image-based email signatures and why reducing these small points of friction can make a big difference in how potential clients interact with your business.
Listen to this new 5-minute episode for practical tips to ensure your email signature is helping your business, not hurting it.
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View the full transcript on Alan’s site: https://alanberg.com/blog/
Summary
In this episode, I dive into a recurring frustration that’s been catching my attention: why is it so hard to click links in some people’s email signatures? The conversation focused on the problems created when contact details like phone numbers, web addresses, or even physical addresses are embedded in signature images instead of being real, clickable text. One concept discussed was the idea of walking in your customer’s shoes, or at the very least taking a few steps in their experience, to understand if you’re making it easy or hard for someone to reach you.
A key theme that emerged was friction—the obstacles we unknowingly create when clients need to reach out. I shared my own recent struggles, like being unable to tap a phone number to call a client while using my mobile. Instead, I found myself forced to manually memorize or copy the number, which introduced unnecessary steps and frustration. The discussion explored how email programs are designed to recognize phone numbers, email addresses, and web links if they are entered as text—making them instantly actionable with just a tap or click. When those details are locked inside a graphic, though, all that valuable functionality disappears.
Several points were raised, including the technical glitches that can ruin even a well-intentioned signature—like a software update that changed all my formatting and wiped out my clickable links. I emphasized how easy it is to overlook this problem, because when things work smoothly users never notice the absence of friction, but when something doesn’t work, the irritation is palpable.
In the end, I encouraged listeners to check their own signatures, and help friends do the same, urging everyone to eliminate unnecessary friction and make it as easy as possible for customers to contact them. The takeaway is simple: let’s create email signatures that help people take action, not drive them away.
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I'm Alan Berg. Thanks for listening. If you have any questions about this or if you'd like to suggest other topics for "The Wedding Business Solutions Podcast" please let me know. My email is Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com. Look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Thanks.
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