Email Marketing: Don't Be Afraid of the Word "Segment"

As a verb, dictionary.com defines Segment as "to separate or divide."  In email marketing, the word Segment can be scary. 

You might think, for example, "if I segment my file I'm not going to email everyone."  Naturally, small business owners and email list managers want to build a large email list and take full advantage of it. 

After all, you've spent a lot of time, money, and effort to get here!  Don't worry, you can still segment AND email everyone.

Starting now, you should no longer be afraid of the word "Segment!"  Here's why:

1.  First and foremost, substitute "segment" with "we know X about this group of people, and we know Y about this group of people."  

You may even know "nothing" about the last group of people, and THAT'S OKAY...for now.

2. Segmenting your list doesn't preclude you from emailing everyone.

3. For those you know something about, create a more targeted or "relevant" email for them. 

As an example, let's assume you operate a home improvement store. For simplicity's sake, you might create three emails:

• A targeted email for everyone who purchased from your "kitchen" department;
• A different email for everyone who purchased from your "outdoor" department;
• Lastly, you may have another group with limited or no product data from your "old system" - it's okay to send them a more general email

The bottom line: when possible, use your data to profile (segment) your customers. For those you don't know anything about, send a more general email.

Ask yourself: are you more likely to open a general email about home improvement products, or an email with a subject line that references a product line you've actually purchased?

Segmenting your customers will boost your email campaign performance. Yes, it takes some planning, but your customers will often think of you differently: "They've taken time to understand me and not treat me like a number."

In the end, isn't that what you want - to build loyalty and have customers specifically seek you over the competition?  Email marketing is an excellent tool to showcase how your brand is unique.

In a future article, we'll discuss how to email effectively when you know little or nothing about your email list. Stay tuned!

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Need help profiling or segmenting your email list?

Contact us today!  The Admiral Company offers email marketing campaign management and can leverage the segmentation tools in our Email Marketing Suite to create rewarding campaigns.