What comes to your mind when you think about

email personalization?

Welcome to The Era of Hyper-Personalization!

In a world of massive email clutter, marketers need to send fewer, better targeted and more relevant emails that break through the cacophony. The advent of technology in the email marketing industry has made way for new techniques of engaging customers, keeping up with their expectations and making them feel connected with the brand.

"According to Econsultancy and Adobe, only 5% of companies say they personalize their emails “extensively”,
even though nearly all say it is critical to their business.

Personalization allows you to strengthen customer experiences by sending the right content to the right people at the right time and helps your brand STAND OUT in the inbox as someone with highly relevant emails, that are more likely to be opened and clicked.

Personalization as a Tool to Boost Email Marketing Metrics

When content isn’t relevant, customers get frustrated. Personalized email marketing campaigns earn stronger engagement metrics across the board, including higher open rates, click-through rates and customer satisfaction. Plus, according to the DMA, segmented email campaigns as opposed to one-size-fits-all campaigns, drove an average 760% increase in revenue.

Steps involved in Email Personalization

  • Collect Data

    Gather data from each individual subscriber on your email list

  • Analyze Data

    Analyze the data and segment them into relevant groups

  • Apply Data

    Use the data to send targeted, tailor-made emails to each individual subscriber

Technologies that AidEmail Personalization

  • Artificial
    Intelligence (AI)

    Artificial Intelligence enables marketers to engage with every individual customer in a personalized and meaningful manner.

  • Business
    Intelligence (BI)

    Business Intelligence allows marketers to have accurate predictions to the return on investment (ROI) of their marketing campaigns and lets them manage the campaign effectively.

  • Big Data

    Big Data refers to the collection, analysis, and management of large datasets, both structured and unstructured.

  • Machine Learning (ML)
    & Predictive Analytics

    Machine Learning technology uses algorithms and predictive analytics to analyze data, learn the insights and decide what resonates best with a specific individual customer.

Want to dig deeper into the role of Machine Learning in Email Personalization? Grab the ebook now!

Collecting Data forPersonalization

For personalizing your emails, you need to collect data from your subscribers. Any data that gives a marketer insight into information about an individual can be used. According to Salesforce, more than half of customers say they will share personalized information for product recommendations that meet their needs or personalized shopping experiences.

  • Use Sign-up Forms

    Apart from the name and email address, consider adding one or two extra fields (that will be useful for your business) in the sign-up form such as birthday, gender, location, job title or interests to capture extra details about your subscribers.

  • Use Integrations

    Integrate your email marketing tool with your CRM, e-commerce platform or accounting package to import extra details such as their status, location, past orders, total spent, etc.

  • Use Data from
    Preference Center

    Extract your customers’ personal interests from email preference center that lets the customers tell you exactly what kind of emails they want from you.

  • Use Behavioral
    Website Tracking

    Track browser activity on your e-commerce platform or website and collect data about their preferences and interests.

  • Use Third Party Apps

    Leverage data by integrating your email platform with third-party apps that might have a lot of customer data stored in them.

SegmentingThe Collected Data

Sounds Simple, But Highly Significant

To send emails that are relevant to each individual subscriber, you need to list the subscribers into groups with similar traits, purchase histories, interests, etc.

Create segments based on

  • Age

  • Gender

  • Personal

  • Demographics

  • Geographic Location

  • Interests

  • Industry

  • Purchase History

  • Purchase Interests

  • Purchase Cycle

  • Browsing History

  • Buying Frequency

  • Last Order Data

  • Average Order Size

  • Interest Level

  • Stage in Sales Cycle

  • Similar Subscribers

  • Star Rating

7 Heavenly Ways of Personalization& How Brands are doing it

The general rule of thumb for Email Personalization says,

The more personalization, the better!

  • 1. First Name Personalization- Build Trust

    At this point, almost every marketer personalizes the salutation of email messages. This is the most basic form of personalization and when done right can be a great tactic to capture the subscribers’ attention.

    Adding a first name token is often the simplest way to build trust with your subscribers and begin implementing personalization strategies.

How to Personalize Without Being Creepy

Too much of personalization can ruin the customer’s experience of your brand. To personalize without bring creepy, put yourself in the customers’ shoes. It is vital to use customer information to be helpful.

More than one-fifth of customers say they never find promotional emails to be useful to them, and a third say they will unsubscribe if they receive a promotional email they do not want, according to Fluent’s 2018 Inbox Report.

What to do and What Not to

  • Start out small and find the right tone for your different segments of audience before scaling up.
  • Ask yourself and research enough about what your customers would want in the buying stage that they are in.
  • Collect as much data as possible and create Buyers Personas to create better-targeted emails.
  • Do not demonstrate the personalization as if you are tracking your customer’s every move.
  • Include only relevant information in the content.
  • Give the subscribers control of the conversation by setting up behavioral automation.
  • Show that you have taken time to research and respond to each individual customer’s actions and needs.
  • Before sending the email, test and monitor your personalization.
  • Give the subscribers an option to give feedback or opt-out of your brand’s emails.

Personal, on-demand emails are what customers expect today. If you haven’t started incorporating hyper-personalization in your emails yet, it is high time you do!

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