Email is still considered the most effective digital marketing tactic, according to Ascend2’s 2014 Digital marketing Strategy Summary report. However, the reason why companies are so eager to jump on the email bandwagon – because they see it as an easy win – could also become a vulnerability if their efforts don’t evolve to include personalization.
Experian has demonstrated that personalized email messages can increase the revenue per message six times. Yes – by doing things like including the name of the recipient and tailoring email content to basic demographic details, rather than sending all of your entire marketing database the same generic message, you can get 6x more ROI from your email sends.
Sitting at your desk, it might be hard to imagine just how much of an impact basic segmentation can have for the end-user. A recent study by Simple Relevance puts it into perspective.
The organization created individual Gmail accounts for two fictional users: a 34-year-old female named Sophia and a 34-year-old male named Chet. Chet and Sophia each purchased items from various companies – one of which was Macy’s.
Sophia purchased a women’s belt. Chet bought a men’s polo shirt. Here is a copy of the email newsletter they both received after the initial purchase:
Sure, it includes products that appeal to male and female shoppers. But imagine if Macy’s used the information each user provided through the purchase and refined the offerings it suggested to those customers, perhaps promoting similar or complementary items.
The same applies to B2Bs, even if most buyers aren’t making purchases before receiving your email messages. Here are a few ways you can segment your database to send contacts messages that are more likely to resonate with them:
- By job title
- By industry
- By browsing history, if you have access to that data through Universal Analytics
- By product interest, if you request this information at the point of opt-in, or determine it through download and open rate activity
Consider what this information tells you you about recipients’ specific pain points and priorities, then build custom content around those buyer personas. It could be worth 6x as much revenue down the road.
Want to more about about how to personalize your email and marketing content? Check out these other resources:
