6 Benefits of e-Signatures for Digital Marketers
E-signatures are becoming a more and more common way for people to sign documents, and for good reason. They're fast, easy to use, and secure. As a digital marketer, you can take advantage of e-signatures to streamline your workflow and get more done in less time. Here are just some of the benefits of using e-signatures in your marketing activities:
1. Increased Efficiency
E-Signatures allow you to sign contracts and other documents much faster than traditional methods.
Digital marketers often have to send and receive documents for review or approval. This process can take days or even weeks if done through traditional methods such as postal mail. e-Signatures can speed up this process, allowing you to get the document back from the client in a matter of hours.
This can be a major time-saver, especially when working on tight deadlines. In addition, e-Signatures are much more secure than traditional signatures. They can’t be forged, and they provide a record of when and where the document was signed.
2. Cost Savings
E-signatures offer many benefits for digital marketers, including the ability to save time and money. With no need for paper or postage, e-signatures are a more cost-effective way to get documents signed. In addition, they can be returned in minutes rather than days, making the process of getting contracts and other documents signed much faster and easier. These benefits can lead to significant savings for businesses that use e-signatures.
3. Security and Convenience
E-Signatures are a secure and convenient way to sign documents. They are perfect for busy professionals who need to get their work done quickly and efficiently. With e-Signatures, there is no need to print out documents or fax them back and forth. Simply create an account, upload your document, and sign it electronically. It's that easy!
E-Signatures are also more secure than traditional signatures. With e-Signatures, you can be sure that your documents are safe and secure, and that your identity is protected. E-Signatures use encryption to protect your information, so you can rest assured that your documents are safe from fraud or tampering.
4. Compliance with Regulations
Many industries have regulations that require the use of e-Signatures for certain types of transactions. The most notable examples are in the financial and healthcare industries, but there are others as well. If your company falls under one of these regulated industries, then you'll need to use e-Signatures to stay compliant.
E-Signatures can also help you comply with other regulations, such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR requires companies to get explicit consent from customers before collecting, using, or sharing their personal data. Using an e-Signature solution can help you obtain this consent in a compliant way.
5. Increased Visibility
With an electronic signature, all parties involved in a transaction can easily see who has signed off on a document and when. This eliminates the need for paper documents that can get lost or misplaced. Additionally, e-signatures help to streamline workflows and improve communication between parties.
This is especially beneficial for digital marketers who often collaborate with team members or clients located in different parts of the world. With an e-signature, everyone can easily see which documents have been signed and which ones are still pending. This helps to avoid any confusion or miscommunication.
6. Time Stamp
An e-Signature automatically records the time and date of the signing, providing indisputable evidence of when the document was agreed upon. This is extremely useful for time-sensitive contracts, like NDAs, or when trying to prove the delivery of important information.
Digital marketers need to be able to track when documents are signed for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you need to show when a client agreed to a project proposal, or maybe you need to prove that you delivered important information on time. Whatever the reason, e-Signatures make it easy to add a timestamp to your document.
Final Say
In a world where time is money, anything that can save you time and increase your efficiency is a valuable commodity. e-Signatures offer just that – an easy and efficient way to sign documents without ever having to leave your desk or print out and sign paper copies. With the added benefits of security, compliance with regulations, and increased visibility, it’s no wonder that more and more businesses are making the switch to electronic signatures. Have you tried them yet? If not, now is the perfect time to start!
Signed, Sealed and Delivered - What you need to know about e-signatures and data laws
Back in the olden days, the gentleman’s agreement was very much a thing - everything from business deals to buying a house was agreed with little more than a few words and a handshake - but all that changed in the 17th Century. By 1677, the British Parliament had decreed that certain deals and contracts would not be considered valid unless accompanied by a written name - and thus, for centuries, the signature by hand became the accepted way of sealing a deal.
Esign on the dotted line
Fast forward to 1976 and, a couple of clever chaps named Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman came up with the concept of a digital signature. This meant that two or more signatories would no longer need to have physical access to the same document in order to confirm their acceptance. These days, the use of digital signatures is commonplace and, in fact, most of us use these on each and every email that we send - but are they legally binding? Yes and no.
“An e signature is generally considered to be legally binding on a document and can even be used as evidence in a court of law” - says Lewis Banks, one of senior managers at LegalDrop.com. However, in order to be legal, the signature needs to pass three very important tests:
- Identity - In order to be viable, the identity of the signatory must be verifiable - this means that identity must be verified by either SMS, email or electronic ID.
- Purpose - This speaks to the content of the contract or document and determines the purpose of the document and, whether or not all parties have legally committed to that purpose.
- Integrity - In order to be legally binding, there must be sufficient proof that the document has not been altered or tampered with after signature.
Says who?
In the European Union, an organisation known as eIDAS (Electronic Identification and Trust Services Regulation) keeps a beady eye on standards and best practices for e signatures and, ESIGN performs the same operation in the United States.
Why e sign ?
Digital signatures have a number of benefits and, the most important of these is that they save time and money. While, in the past, a person would have to travel to a business or solicitor’s office to sign a document, or do so by post, they are now able to sign in a matter of seconds. For businesses, this translates into some significant cost savings. Another benefit is that there’s a data trail for signatories.
What are the drawbacks?
While most digital signature platforms are on the level, there are some which are not. If you choose to use a signing platform, you need to check that it’s onboard with GDPR laws to avoid getting into legal hot water - for example, the leading platform, DocuSign, is covered by GDPR ISO 27001, meaning that it’s safe to use.
Another drawback is security - these days, hackers and cybercriminals are more sophisticated than ever; which means that identity fraud is a potential risk when using digital signatures on a regular basis.
One slightly grey area is that of forwarding emails - if you forward an email which contains somebody else’s digital signature, you may get into legal trouble if that person subsequently becomes a victim of identity theft. Because of this, it’s a good idea to remove signatures from emails before forwarding.
The write stuff
To conclude, digital signatures are absolutely legally binding, as long as they pass the tests of viability and integrity - and as long as you use some common sense in terms of security by limiting the number of people who have access to your digital signature.