Personalize Your Email: Best Data Driven Email Marketing Strategy

Data drives the world today and there is no denying that. We have been using and generating more and more data and in the past 3 years than the entire history of the internet. That is, data is being generated and used up exponentially and same goes for the applications of data. There is a sudden surge in the usage of databases decisions in every field- engineering, science, healthcare, marketing to name a few.

But how can you leverage this in marketing and more specifically in the area of emails and for personalization? Let’s have a look at the various ways and strategies you can use:

1. Personalization of emails:

Personalization of emails doesn’t mean sending a differently self-written mail to every person. What it means is using customer data to craft a personalized message. This way people feel like the sender has put in the effort and not treated them as just another marketing person with no sentiment in the email. Using ‘dear customer’ or ‘dear <customer name>’ isn’t called personalization either.

The best way to personalize emails is by using customer names as and wherever possible within and outside the email. This makes it feel less automated and shows that more efforts have been put in. Also, using the customer names in the first line itself results in an increase in email opening rates too. Here are a few tips for personalizing emails:

• Having clarity on what to ask: It is essential that you’re upfront regarding the information that you need instead of what you want. Having clarity in this aspect helps the customer provide what is required and even the customer is willing to fill out forms if designed properly.
• Using real email addresses for replies: Using emails like ‘donotreply@domain.com’ are self-harming approach. Use a real email address so that customers/prospects at least can ask any questions.
• Using email signature: Using your real electronic signature for marketing emails is another method for personalizing emails.

2. Segmentation of subscribers:

Segmenting your audience based on several factors is a super effective way to boost your targeted marketing efforts. By segmenting your audience on the basis of interest, domain, job profile, etc. you can work on each list separately and get maximum opening rates, replies, and best prospect numbers. This technique is essentially using their data for choosing them as audiences.

The process of segmentation is super easy and can be done using CRM tools. It makes sure that all emails are relevant to the receivers and it’s not like they’re getting an invite to something they can’t come to. Here are a few examples on which to segment your audience:

• Segmentation on the basis of the industry: By staying aware of the industry profile of your audience, and clients, you can target and get higher marketing performance. By selecting people in such a way and targeting the industry your efforts are bound to pay off.
• Segmentation on the basis of company size: Using the concept of segmentation on the company size is a great way to reach out to small and big companies alike.
• Segmentation on the basis of the sales cycle: Using sales cycles to segregate the audience for targeting is another method for better personalization. People will react differently to different stages of your sales cycle and by analyzing this you should act on it.

3. Sending mobile-friendly emails:

More and more of the internet is now customized for mobile platforms. There is an advancement in the area of mobile technologies and platforms day by day. It makes sense to say that people are using their mobiles for every task and especially for emails and internet searches. There is an exponential rise in email opening rates on mobiles against those opened on a desktop version.

Additionally, people tend to open and read emails on their phones if the emails are customized for their mobile screens. But if this isn’t the case people don’t tend to reply to or act on the emails. At least 55% of mobile users make a purchase after reading mobile-friendly emails. The odds of this are impressive statistically speaking and it should be the first priority for marketing professionals to do so. Here are a few tips to implement this process:

• Implementing Responsive Email Design (RED): Many email providers give this service along with the email functionality. Using this to customize emails for mobile users is a great way to increase the chances of email opening and eventually conversions.
• Keep subject short: Using straightforward and simple subject lines ensure the customer opens the email.

Make the CTA and blogging section visible: The CTA and the blog section are the most important interactive parts of your website that lead to an increase in the number of customers, leads, and revenues. Make sure that both are conspicuous enough to be noticed by every visitor.

4. Test copy, design, and buttons:

Testing out all aspects of your site makes it much more possible for you to be aware of the individual impact of these parts. The same goes for email marketing campaigns. Everyone has A/B tested their subject lines in today’s age. Here are a few options you can test on:

• “From” address line: The name and the company name placements make a huge difference in opening rates. Test your address line by using different names from an employee’s name or both the name and company name or using the CEO name itself.
• Plain text vs. HTML campaigns: Adding the element of personalization makes a huge difference in the style of email sent. Even though most marketers send a plain text version only these days but personalizing in the various ways discussed above makes a huge difference to your email marketing campaign performance.
• Long vs. short emails: There is no certainty regarding the long vs. short and simple email forms. Just try and test various forms of both and go forward with the best option.

5. Automated emails:

Trigger emails are a good way to reduce your email sending work and another step to alert the user about an activity. Mostly used as ‘welcome’, ‘thank you’, and receipt acknowledgment emails, they are a good way to get the audience’s attention as well.

Because of the nature and timing of automated trigger emails, they are opened and read significantly much higher than conventional emails. Sites have started leveraging trigger emails as a way to get leads and conversions also to achieve really high conversion rates. Trigger-based emails can get up to 4 times as high revenue and 18 times as higher profits.