Want Better Email Marketing Results? It’s in the Data!

It’s fair to assume that customers opt in to receiving emails from your business because they’re interested in staying in touch and being kept up to date with news, specials, or promotions. However, with inboxes becoming more and more cluttered, it’s critical now to focus on targeting your emails to a tailored audience in order to limit subscriber fatigue and keep engagement high. For many businesses and organizations, capturing an email address is a big step, and asking for more information beyond that can be cumbersome. Most business owners don’t have time to make notes on each customer, such as their age, gender, and more; and most consumers don’t want to spend the time telling you, but they expect you to know. That’s where the power of data can step in and help take your email marketing efforts to the next level:

Identification:

Before you can market to a consumer you have to identify that consumer. Whenever you are requesting information, there is a delicate balance to be struck between too much and too little. Although arguably you can never have too much data, you can definitely ask for too much. Consumers are weary of entering too much information into online forms. Identify the most important data points that will impact your marketing decisions and come up with the most non-abusive way of collecting this data. Understanding the overall audience of your customers will greatly improve your chances of effective messaging.

Segmentation:

Once you have the key pieces of data that matter most, use them to segment your list. Proper segmentation of your email lists is now becoming crucial for marketing campaigns. Segmentation allows you to better target the right prospects with the right message, as well as better analyze and understand the results of your marketing campaigns. (Are all of your unsubscribes Males? It might be time to revisit your messaging!)

Personalization: The most important thing is to keep your communication relevant and personalized to the person you are speaking too. Make them feel like your email was meant just for them. This means that you have to make the effort to adjust your campaigns based on the identifiable data points and targeted segments that each person fits into. The more relevant and the more personalized your campaigns are, the greater the response from your readers. Factors such as Age, Gender, Location, etc. play a very important role in the way your reader will perceive your email. Ensuring that you not only know your audience but that you adapt to them will guarantee your success.

Creating campaigns that fulfill your customers needs will keep them from unsubscribing, and even more important, keep them shopping at your business. Whether you’re a jewelry store looking to target those guys who are clueless on what to get their special someone for Valentine’s Day, or a retailer who’s running specials on women’s running shoes, utilizing data can help add a more personal touch to those campaigns. Even if you’re selling a product that’s applicable for men and women, little things like changing the messaging can make a huge impact. How does your company use data to improve your marketing efforts? Give it a shot if you haven’t tried it!