Studio Hyperset

The first thing to recall whenever you are setting up your email segmentation strategy is that we are all consumers. As such, there are some common things we all desire. It can be as simple as a beautiful condo apartment overlooking the city skyline, to have our children make it through high school, or as complicated as relocating to a smaller home 2500 miles away. Regardless of personality, demographic or income level, the fact is that 64 percent of consumers place a higher value on customer experience than they do on price. Segmenting your messages is the first step toward delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Segmentation means simply to separate people into various groups according to information such as likes or preferences on services or products. It’s also recommended, when appropriate, to segment according to demographics such as gender. After all, most men would rather not hear about the latest trends in evening gowns. Therefore, email segmentation is targeting your message for the proper audience. In every aspect of marketing, the goal is to elicit a particular response.

Email Segmentation is A Key Essential to Business Growth

Email is a valuable message distribution channel because it provides you the ability to create individual messages using segmentation and personalization. It is a complete waste of time to plan, research, and create content, only to have that content end up in the wrong in-boxes. For instance, you would not be impressed to receive an email about time-out limits for a toddler just as your youngest is about to complete their freshman year of college. One of two things will happen next; the email goes to the trash folder, or you unsubscribe. Obviously, the content does not relate to you in that scenario, right? Now you know why segmentation is such an essential road map to higher click and conversion rates.

The Goal

Once you have determined the purpose of your content, the next logical step is to decide ideal results based on your objectives. At the very least, your content strategy should include ways to establish your reputation to always deliver relevant and timely content. Therefore, your recipients are excited to open your email. The increased click-through rates naturally raise conversions. It’s all about branding these days, and your reputation to provide quality information determines the perception of you and the company you represent.

The Challenge

Let’s face it, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. It is not as simple as understanding personas as you might think. Just because a client responded well to a particular offer does not automatically mean it will happen again. Along with the challenge of understanding your customers, there is the problem of creating the content.  Tailored content is the key ingredient to an effective lead nurturing campaign.

The Solution: Email Segmentation

In the book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, Dale Carnegie taught the importance people place on hearing their name. Therefore, the most basic form of segmentation begins with personalization. People appreciate to be addressed by name, and anytime you can include their name in the subject line, without sounding weird, do it. Emails that included a name in the subject line increased open rates to over 29%. Otherwise, it is critical to begin the email with their first name.

Grow your business with these Email Segmentation Strategies:

• Personalize the from name and email address: If you’re like me, the emails I open are based on who sent it. The sender signals to me whether I can trust the content and why I should care.

• Contextualize with smart content: Targeted content will display differently for the various contacts on your list. With smart content, you create and send one newsletter. However, a different version is sent to your customers and prospects.

• Know the preferences of your subscribers: It could be as simple as preferring the color green over red, however, if you’ll ask you may uncover which color to use in your next infographic. Think of the emails that bring you the most value. People like to share their likes and dislikes, one visit to Facebook proves my point. Therefore, the content is always relevant to them, and fewer emails end up in the trash folder.

• Know their location: I’m sure you’d agree that you learn a lot about a person based on their location. Each region is popular for inhabiting people of similar attitudes, income level, and educational background. The person in Corpus Christi, TX is probably not interested in the snowblower sale at Lowe’s. However, that person may want to hear about winterizing their in-ground pool.

• Track purchasing habits: Segmenting by audience behavior is an effective approach to slicing your list even further to improve results. Use email reports to learn what your subscribers open and click on most frequently.

• Segment according to demographics: Ideally you want to collect as much information as possible during the sign-up process. Sometimes less is more because asking for too much up front could cause some not to sign up at all. Although information such as income level, age, and gender tells a lot about a person’s interests, to some it is very private information.

• Check their position in the sales funnel: Knowing where your audience is in the sales funnel is one of the most valuable ways to segment your list. Because the purpose of your content is clear, like when a client adds items to the cart and fails to complete the purchase. The subsequent contact could include prior customer testimonials, a guarantee, or other incentive. This strategy may help to reduce the 2015 abandoned cart rate of 68%.

The ending is how great marketers ice the cake. Therefore you want to end your message as well as, or perhaps even better than you started it. A clear call to action is the next logical step to great content. People like a little guidance and sometimes need a nudge to take the next step. Email segmentation is vital. Assure you have the best advantage by using these strategies to grow your business.