I notice the small brand details that some businesses are too busy to notice.

I received three emails from different people in the same company this week.
It triggered me.

Each email had a completely different footer design. Different layouts, different information and varying levels of detail.

It looked sloppy and didn’t inspire much trust. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a small flag was raised; if they can’t look after their own brand properly at this level, how much care and attention would I receive as a customer?

So how does a business end up with multiple versions of its own identity being sent out every day without anyone noticing?

Email footers are probably one of the smallest parts of a brand, yet they’re also one of the most frequently seen.

Usually, it’s not because people don’t care.
It’s because everyone is busy doing the actual work.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot while refining Signal’s new positioning and updating my own communications this week.

Small details shape perception.

Here are three quick brand wins you can check yourself in under 10 minutes:

People often decide how much trust to place in a business long before they make contact.

Looking after your own brand signals that you’ll probably look after your customers too.

Consistency builds trust quietly over time and I suspect most businesses could improve at least one of these in under 10 minutes.