'Net Features : email segmentation

Email Segmentation for Retailers

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:55:00 GMT

Email segmentation is clearly one of the most powerful tactics available to marketers today. For retailers however, it's proving an absoutely essential practice - those that do, perform well, And those that avoid the practice, simply don't. Website Magazine asked Richard Turcott, CEO of Mill33 about the role that segmentation plays in the success of email marketing campaigns for merchants in the competitive e-commerce landscape today.

WM: Why should Internet retailers in particular more fully explore the use of email list segmentation?

RT: Blanketing your list with the same message will not be as effective as sending segmented cohorts in your list a targeted email that speaks to their specific pain points, wants and needs.

By segmenting your list you can enjoy significantly higher in-box delivery rates, open and click thru rates. Segmentation offers marketers the ability to more effectively deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. Fundamental examples include creating different distribution lists for prospects and customers, or creating segmented lists based on the self-declared interests of your prospects and customers.

WM: What are the typical “barriers to entry” for those involved in segmentation for e-commerce merchants?

RT: Typical barriers to entry include easy list query and segmentation tools.

WM: What are some effective ways for Internet retailers to segment their list? Are RFM metrics dated?

RT: There are myriad ways to score and segment your database. I am still a big believer in R.F.M. scoring. Done properly, this scoring methodology gives direct response marketers an effective tool for visualizing segments, building A/B tests, and developing relevant offers and cross promotions. R.F.M., however, does not contemplate product SKUs. Product SKU shopping and purchase information can be a good predictor of future consumption behavior as well. I recommend R.F.M. scoring as a cornerstone for your segmentation efforts. Other purchase and shopping data should also be considered when building your segments.

WM: Should communication style change based on the segmentation strategy selected?

RT: Your “communication style” includes, among other things, the tone of your brand. I do not advocate using different communications styles across your segments – especially if your number of segments grows and becomes more sophisticated. Part of the “art” of marketing is maintaining your brand identity as you speak to your segments in a way that engages them with compelling copy, creative and offers.

WM: How does segmentation impact purchasing decisions? Is it an issue of trust or relevance?

RT: Segmentation helps increase relevance. Relevance begets more relevance over time and this helps the email marketer and email recipient forge a bond of trust. If your recipient has received relevant content in the past, she will likely continue to find your email relevant in the future.

It’s important to remember that trust is earned over time and is the result of a consumer’s experience with your brand across all interactions, not just email.

Customer experience is the sum of all experiences your customer has with you over time. All functional areas of an organization (not just marketers) need to manage customer experience across all channels including on-site/in-store shopping experience, support experience, product experience, shipping policies, return policies, etc.

Email-Social Segmentation Simplified

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:51:00 GMT

Kudos to email and social media mavens for realizing that two great mediums work perfectly well together and that one will not (or should not) entirely replace the other.

There seems to be lots of evidence to support this. GetResponse.com's "Email Marketing and Social Media Integration Report" showed that e-mail marketing messages with a social sharing option generate 30 percent higher click-through rates. According to an aWeber survey (also released this week) a majority (77%) of small businesses indicate that integrating email marketing and social media is either "very important" or "somewhat important".

There is clearly a lot of activity happening in the space and you would be wise to jump on the bandwagon. Fortunately, some very savvy ESPs are providing resources and tools to make the leap less scary and more beneficial.

Email marketing service provider iContact announced a partnership with social marketing platform FlowTown today. The integration will allow iContact users to segment their subscribers based on their social web use. iContact users can now segment any subscriber list by age group, gender, location and social network.

“In the past, sending targeted email was very expensive and only available to the Fortune 500,” commented Ethan Bloch, co-founder of Flowtown. “The Flowtown and iContact integration will enable anyone to segment their lists more effectively and increase open and click rates by sending more targeted email.”

Segmentation and Testing Features New to Listrak 4.4

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:34:00 GMT

Email marketing solution provider Listrak announced version 4.4 of its offering today. Enhanced segmentation capabilities in the Listrak list wizard and A/B Split Test Segmentation capabilities are the new features. Let's take a closer look at these features.

The new version allows users to create profile header and attributes during the import process in order to match those in the imported data. Listrak users will be able to create new segments and define default values for the import (which will save users time by streamlining the import process). Listrak users also have the ability with this version of the software to create split tests. Users can assign a random segment of the list to receive test versions of the message before the email is sent to the whole list. This provides users with the ability to try different subject lines, offers, graphics, messages, etc., and see what generates the most responses and then deploy the winning version to the remainder of the list. Users can define a specific segment of the list and then assign a percentage of that segment to receive the tests.

Ross Kramer, CEO of Listrak, says, "The old days of batch-and-blast messages are long gone. If marketers aren't already segmenting their lists, now is the time to start, or they risk losing their audiences and damaging their reputations. Listrak 4.4 makes it easier for marketers to segment their lists, so they reach each subscriber with relevant, targeted messages. It doesn't take much effort and the results are well worth it."