3 Ways to Segment Your Email Marketing Audience forBetter Engagement

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Effective digital marketing requires standing out from the noise. The experts on Madison Avenueestimate that we're exposed to an average of 5000 branded messages every day, and to anincreasing degree, the metric that interests advertisers most when assessing a marketing channel isattention.

This is why today's savvier digital marketers should be investing so much in personalization - themore we can tailor our messages to the specific needs of each individual we're trying to reach. Thisis called clutter cutting - making sure that your messages will resonate

More than a third of companies do not implement any form of personalization in their marketingactivities, according to econsultancy research, but if they do, it is often the email channel. Email,which remains one of the most effective marketing channels, is a perfect opportunity for customizingmessages for prospective customers, email lends itself particularly well to segmentation andpersonalization.

I am currently working on an email software selection report that helps people looking for their idealemail marketing software solution. A big part of this actually is knowing what functionality you willwant to use in the near future. You know, filtering the shortlist based on the requirements that youwill actually use.

Sophisticated tracking tools that were once only available to enterprises with huge budgets are nowavailable to businesses of every size, and integrated technologies now make it easy for marketers toformulate an email marketing strategy with elements that extend well beyond the traditionalcontent-based newsletter.

Dear [FirstName] Is Not Enough Anymore

Remember when it was a novelty to send out emails that were personalized with a first name? Andeven more impressive when the recipient's company name appeared in the body of the emailmessage? Nobody is impressed about that anymore. Because your prospects have plenty choicesavailable, it's important provide them with exactly what they want and need and to make it clear thatyou're talking to them.

Fortunately, there are already easy to implement and very affordable entry level tools available thatinclude several autoresponders like the ones in the image below, tracking tools and integrated CRMsthat make it easier to go beyond the bare minimum of personalizing.

These work in different ways, but the gist is: Anyone can tailor messages to appeal to specific sub-groups of our contact lists. If all of your emails are still "one-size-fits-all," then you're not getting themost out of it. By segmenting client profiles, you can more easily develop segment-specific contentthat promotes your products with maximized relevance.

Segmenting by Website Activity

Who is visiting your site, how did they get there, and what are they looking for? How can yourespond to their interests while you're still on their minds?

Tracking technology is now available that goes beyond simple analytics to show you browsingpatterns on a user-specific level. And instead of giving you heaps of data you don't want or need,today's more advanced reporting platforms allow you to crunch it all into actionable insights. Todayit's easy to see who your prospects are, what specific marketing message on which marketingchannel first referred them to you, and where they currently are along the decision-making funnel.All you have to do is paste a snippet of javascript in your site admin dashboard, and you can see itall, while the visitor's experience remains untainted. This is a powerful tactic, especially when itcomes to segmenting your email messaging.

By correlating this data with a segmentation scheme that's grounded in buyer personas and smartonsite event tracking, you can segment email audiences into dynamic lists.

For example, you can have one list for users who went on to subscribe to your podcast and haveviewed at least three of your product pages, and you can have another for search-referred users thatcame in through specific orientation stage keywords. These segments contain different type, in adifferent stage of the purchase funnel and will have different message consumption preferences.

To connect with them in a way that's most likely to resonate, you're going to have to craft emailcontent that matches these parameters. With each touch, you're aiming to further build yourrelationship with audience members, who feel like you really "get" who they are.

Segmenting by Subscriber Longevity

If you are not a big name brand, newer contacts are likely to be just getting to know your brand andpossibly the space you're operating in. They might not even trust you so much yet. On the other endof the spectrum, subscribers and clients who have been receiving, opening, buying and clicking onyour marketing emails for over two years are likely familiar with your offerings and your brand'stake by now. And then there's everyone in-between.

Each subscriber longevity segment has its own needs and pain points, and each should ideally beaddressed in a completely different manner.

New subscribers should get a "welcome" message or a series of emails that introduces them to theworld that is your brand. Multi-year subscribers who haven't clicked on any of your emails forseveral months in a row, should get some kind of re-engagement autoresponder, so as to maximizeyour list hygiene and brand sentiment.

Who needs subscribers who aren't interested? You can send a triggered email to these peopleprompting them to be more active by asking them questions or sending a targeted special offer. Youwant to keep your subscribers' interest high, and if it drops off, find out why and adjust yourprocesses accordingly.

Segmenting by Customer Loyalty

Some audience members are just curious; they come and go without much engagement. However,others are nurtured to the point where they become rabidly loyal.

By integrating your ecommerce system with your CRM and email marketing tools, you can segmentyour audience according to how loyal they are to you and your products, enabling you to engageappropriately.

How are you rewarding your super-fans? These people should be privy to special loyalty gifts andoffers. How about implementing a proper referral program with reward incentives?

You can even peg these types of messages to your audience members' "relationship anniversary"with your brand - the date of their subscribing, following, opting in, first visiting your site, firstmaking a purchase and any other relevant data. Imagine their response to such detailed attentionfrom you!

Make Sure Your Emails Resonate and your tech facilitates

A big part of this actually is knowing what functionality you will want to use in the near future. Youknow, the requirements. Marketing is becoming less about interrupting people with ads, unrealisticpromises or catchy jingles. Your job is to position your product as the perfect solution for your idealcustomer. So think about that next time you are evaluating your technology stack, it's not only niceto see what your buyer is thinking; it's imperative.

Jordie van Rijn

Jordie van Rijn has more than 13 years of hands-on experience as an independent email marketingconsultant. Next to helping companies improve their email marketing results he gives emailmarketing training and is a writer and speaker in the field of online marketing.