Email automation and segmentation

Email automation and segmentation

Email automation is a powerful marketing automation tool that lets you send the right message to the right people at the right time, using automated workflows

is any message automatically sent from your email service provider (ESP) in direct response to an individual user's specific actions made (or not made) on your website or web app. is any message automatically sent from your email service provider (ESP) in direct response to an individual user's specific actions made (or not made) on your website or web app.

What is email segmentation?

Email segmentation is the process of dividing and separating email subscribers into groups or segments based on criteria using tags and segments in your email marketing platform. Email subscribers can end up in multiple segments, depending on factors like age, location, and behavior.

Segmentation

Segmentation is the division of email subscribers into smaller segments based on set criteria. Typically, segmentation is used as a personalization tactic to deliver more relevant email marketing to subscribers based on their geographic location, interests, purchase history, and much more.

Segments are created so that the marketer can cater specifically to each different email list and that list’s independent interests, rather than creating one mass message for all.

Many businesses still imagine their email subscribers should simply all get the same content.

It’s one big list, with minimal effort put in. That minimal effort shows. Nearly half of those who subscribe to email lists end up trashing those emails.

If all you have to give them is something generic, then they’re not getting something back that is worth the value of their information.

This is why segmentation is so important; it’s equally important whether you are marketing B2C or B2B.

Also referred to as list segmentation, email segmentation is the practice of breaking your email recipients into smaller, targeted groups and then sending them the most relevant information. These smaller groups are usually based on behavioral or demographic data—maybe their state of residence, a past purchase, or a task they carried out on your site. 

The segments can be as large (for example, people who bought a specific product through your Instagram shop) or as small (for example, Arizona residents who signed up for your newsletter less than a day ago) as you want

Listed below are the top 5 ways you can segment your list: 

Geographic email segmentation: The most obvious way to segment emails is through geography. For instance, imagine your business is hosting a special event. You send out content to a full email list, which includes contacts both local and distant.

B2B and specialization email segmentation: 

You work with other businesses. You may sell or provide services to other businesses. And because of the different people you work with, you wouldn’t send the same email to a vendor contact as you do to a sales manager, a marketing specialist, or an administrative assistant. They each require their own messaging. 

Content-specific email segmentation: 

For this, you need to rely on data collected about specific contacts.

What pages did they visit on your site?

What did they download from it?

What tools did they use?

Did they purchase anything? 

Behavior-specific email segmentation: 

This goes into a level of email marketing segmentation that’s even deeper.

How long is a customer lingering on a page?

How many pages do they view on an average visit?

Do they visit and buy quickly, like an impulse buyer?

Or do they visit a few times in a week, loading the same items into an online cart and canceling, like a nervous buyer?

Influencer email segmentation: 

This is more complicated than the title alone suggests. Customer loyalty is no longer just about purchase totals and the frequency of purchases.

Today, it’s about who recommends your brand.

Who’s given you testimonials or reviews?

Who shares your brand on social media?

Which platform?

How effective are they?

Send superficially to those customers—and show them some love for being a voluntary brand ambassador.

Example

A fashion retailer might use segmentation to create lists within their email subscribers for men and women, and then several interest-based segments such as footwear, accessories, dresses, and swimwear to create hyper-relevant email campaigns.

Benefits of email segmentation

Email is unique in that, unlike many other widespread communications, you can craft content for small groups of people, instead of broadcasting generic content to everyone and hoping it appeals to a majority. In this way, list segmentation provides an individualized experience via a mass medium.

Here are some of the biggest benefits of segmenting your email list:

Increases open rates: 

How often do you archive an email without even opening it based solely off the subject line? More relevant content equals more relevant subject lines, which help your emails see the light of day.

Increases click-through rates: 

Once they're reading the email, people will likely go ahead and interact with inviting calls to action, like checking out the sale you just told them about or learning more about your new service.

Increases conversion rates: 

The closer we are to a goal, the more our motivations and efforts increase—in consumer psychology, it's known as the gradient goal effect. Now that they're on your site, your target customers are more likely to make a purchase or sign up for that webinar you're promoting.

Increases ROI: 

By tailoring your content to match specific interests, each email becomes a targeted pitch, leading to more effective spend and a stronger financial return for every message sent.

Decreases unsubscribe: 

You want to grow your subscriber base, not shrink it. Sending too many irrelevant emails could encourage people to give up on your offerings altogether for the sake of decreasing noise in their inbox. 

Avoids spam filters: 

Even if someone doesn't personally unsubscribe after one too many irrelevant emails, their inbox may flag your attempts as spam.

Segmented lists help improve deliverability. 

Nobody likes generic emails; they're unhelpful and a waste of inbox space. But more relevant emails translate into better value for the recipient, which translates to more value for your business. 

How to segment your email list

There are no hard-and-fast rules about what information you can and can't use for list segmentation. Segmentation is born out of demographic or behavioral data.

Demographics

Group on segments emails using location information to send deals in your area.

Demographic data includes any personal characteristics of your customers:

Age, gender, hometown, job, salary, and so on. These are your base-level segments—they help you group customers together without getting granular over past purchasing or behavioral patterns.

But that doesn't mean demographic segmentation isn't worth it. For example, it makes more sense for a restaurant to segment by age when announcing their new senior discounts.

Here are some more examples of using demographics for list segmentation:

Gender: 

Sometimes it makes sense to market within gender lines. Jared sells jewelry and accessories for everyone, but traditionally, men might be the ones who need a coupon code near the holidays.

Location: 

The Group on email above was sent to someone who lives in Las Vegas. Although LEGOLAND is located in Carlsbad, California, Southern California is a popular destination for Las Vegans. Segmenting your list by location helps you guess what a customer might be interested in, which creates value for the customer.

Job title: Jack the intern might use your app as a "team member" for a one-off project. Jill the CTO might buy annual access for her entire team as the "account admin." You wouldn't give Jack and Jill the same sales pitch in person, so why should they get the same emails?

Organization type: This one's for B2B email marketing. A local bakery has different needs than a multinational tech firm. Tailor your emails to cater to the distinct challenges and goals of each, so each message is relevant to the reader.

Preferences: The easiest way to understand your customers? Just ask. I told Amazon that my favorite football team is the Texas Longhorns, and now they send me deals for Longhorns merchandise. Segmenting by personal characteristics—like a favorite team or a personal goal—helps your emails stay out of the trash bin.

Behavioral data

Audible sends emails when a book releases to users who added it to their wish list.

Audible sends emails when a book releases to users who added it to their wish list.

Once you understand who is using or buying your product, try to figure out why and how.

Are people sending it as a gift?

Do they only use one section or feature on your site?

Are they just interested in a single product line?

You can use that data to send your customers relevant emails based on behavior. 

What they buy: You have your customers' entire purchase history, which indicates what they'll be interested in purchasing in the future. When people get emails with coupons, that's usually because the company used behavioral segmentation to see what they've bought in the past.

What they consider buying: As with the Audible platform, if people add things to their wish list, it gives you an idea of what they're considering. This is also an opportunity to tell them when something launches or if there's a sale.

Where they shopped: Some customers love the tactile experience of in-store shopping, while others prefer the convenience of clicking and collecting online. By tracking where your audience prefers to shop, you can tailor offers or promotions specific to their shopping environment, ensuring your message aligns with their preferred experience.

What they click on: In the world of digital marketing, clicks are everything. Your analytics will reveal what users click on in emails, on social, on your site, and so on. If folks regularly click on a specific type of link or item, that's valuable information for future emails. Segment by channel or even with several criteria at once if you can make those connections with a single user

Creating effective email campaigns 3

Email marketing metrics and analytics 5