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Published: 1/1/2008
Updated: 12/14/2009
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E-mail has become a standard form of correspondence in most businesses. Your customers need to know who they are corresponding with and how to contact you. E-mail signatures can play a key role in providing this information by setting the tone of the message and projecting your business’s image.
An e-mail signature consists of one or more lines of text that you add to the end of an outgoing e-mail message. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for Outlook, you can use the standard Outlook signature feature for your e-mail message signatures. (To get to the standard Outlook signature feature, in Outlook, on the Tools menu, click Options. In the Options dialog box, the Signatures area is located on the Mail Format tab. For more information about creating Outlook signatures, see the Outlookonline Help.) To have that same feature in the Web application, you can use personal, global e-mail templates to create and maintain a set of signature e-mail templates for every business situation. For example, you can create signature lines that:
- Build brand and name recognition for you and your business
- Provide alternate contact information for you and your business
- Proclaim your organization’s mission statement
- Include disclaimers and confidentiality statements
- Up-sell or market new sales opportunities
- Remind customers of upcoming events
Create an e-mail signature
You create personal signature e-mail templates in the Set Personal Options dialog box in the Web application. You cannot create or use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online e-mail templates in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for Outlook. To open the Set Personal Options dialog box, on the Tools menu, click Options, click the E-Mail Templates tab, and then click New. To ensure that the template is available in every area of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, in the Template Type box, select Global.
- To add links to Web sites, type the entire URL of the Web site, for example, http://www.microsoft.com. After you press the SPACEBAR or ENTER key, the link is created and formatted automatically.
- Although you cannot insert a picture or graphic into your signature line, you can include a Web-based image. To include an image, open the Web site that contains the image in Internet Explorer, right-click the image, and then click Copy. In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online e-mail template, paste the image into the signature. When you use this template, the image appears in the recipient's message, if they have access to the Web site that hosts the image. This method may not work for browsers other than Internet Explorer.
Use a signature
After your signature e-mail templates are set up, you can use them in most Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online e-mail activities, including Direct E-mail. In Outlook, use them in e-mail message created from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online folders. E-mail templates are not available in Campaigns or Quick Campaigns, but they can be added to the individual e-mail activities before they are sent, if they are not sent automatically.
After you address and compose your e-mail message, but before you save or send it, select which signature e-mail template to include.
- In an open e-mail activity, in the body of the message, place your pointer where you want the e-mail signature to appear.
- On the Formatting toolbar, click Insert Template.
- Select the signature e-mail template you want, and then click OK.
Your signature appears in the body of your e-mail message. Before sending the message, you can modify, replace, or add another signature e-mail template. To add additional templates, you need to add it to the beginning or end of the inserted text in the e-mail body. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online will ask you if you want to replace the existing template or subject line.
E-mail signatures ensure that your customers know who is contacting them and give your correspondence a professional edge.
Related Links
Categorizing tracked e-mail in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
Take advantage of e-mail communication methods
Video: Create and apply e-mail templates