10 Best Segmentation Strategies for Your Audience
Give Your Audience the Perfect Fit
TG
August 29th, 2023
Have you ever been invited to a fancy get-together only to discover that your nice suit or brand new dress doesn’t fit?
It’s a real bummer, right? Frustrating, and a bit disappointing?
That’s how your audience feels when you send an email that just doesn’t fit them well–and from there, the next step may be the unsubscribe button.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to make sure your audience finds the perfect fit with your content: segmentation.
In the world of marketing, email segmentation is akin to crafting a bespoke suit for your campaigns. Just as a well-tailored suit accentuates your style, segmentation enables you to customize your emails to perfectly fit your audience's preferences.
By delivering personalized and relevant content, you can create a powerful and impactful message that resonates with each subscriber. Let’s dive in and explore 10 segmentation ideas to create marketing campaigns that are as tailored and effective as a perfectly fitted suit.
What Is Email Segmentation?
Email segmentation refers to the practice of dividing an email subscriber list into distinct segments, or groups, based on specific criteria or characteristics like demographics, customer behavior, engagement level, purchase history, geographic location, and more.
Why Should I Segment My Emails?
By segmenting the email list, marketers can create targeted and personalized email campaigns tailored to the unique interests and needs of each segment. And the benefits are just as snazzy as your favorite suit: more relevant content delivery, higher engagement rates, increased conversions, and best of all, a more effective and successful email marketing strategy.
Think about it–not everyone has the same fashion sense or body type. (Though, that would be nice–the trip to Macy’s would be a lot shorter!) In the same sense, not all of your readers will have the same needs and interests. And, just like you wouldn’t buy clothes that you dislike or don’t fit into, your readers aren’t going to engage or buy from an email that doesn’t align with their needs.
Email Segmentation Ideas (10 Examples)
Now, let’s review ten of the most common types of segmentation. Keep in mind that not every segmentation strategy will be relevant to every business, so don’t worry about mastering them all at once.
Demographic Segmentation. Segmenting your email list based on demographics such as age, gender, location, or income can provide valuable insights for targeted marketing campaigns. For example, a fashion retailer may send different emails to men and women featuring products and offers relevant to their preferences.
Behavioral Segmentation. By analyzing customer behavior, you can create segments based on actions such as purchase history, browsing patterns, or engagement level. This allows you to send tailored emails like follow-ups, product recommendations, or abandoned cart reminders, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
Engagement Segmentation. Dividing your subscribers based on their level of engagement, such as frequent openers, occasional clickers, or inactive subscribers, helps you craft campaigns that re-engage disinterested subscribers or reward loyal customers. Tailor content and offers accordingly to maximize response rates.
Purchase Cycle Segmentation. Segmenting your subscribers based on where they are in the purchase cycle enables you to send targeted emails that move them closer to conversion. For instance, a travel agency can send nurturing emails to potential customers who have shown interest in specific destinations or activities, but haven’t booked yet.
Customer Preferences. Gather information on subscriber preferences, such as their preferred communication channels, product categories of interest, or content format choices. This data helps you create segments that receive emails via their preferred channels or content specifically aligned with their preferences. You can gather this info with a survey, or even asking for it directly!
Lifecycle Segmentation. Segmenting subscribers based on their lifecycle stage can optimize your email campaigns. For example, new subscribers may receive a welcome series, while loyal customers can receive exclusive offers or sneak peeks of upcoming products.
Geographic Segmentation. Tailoring emails based on your subscribers’ location can be highly effective. By delivering region-specific offers, local event invitations, or weather-related promotions, you can enhance relevance and increase engagement.
Customer Loyalty Segmentation. Identify and segment your most loyal customers, rewarding them with exclusive benefits, VIP promotions, or early access to new releases. Acknowledging their loyalty enhances customer satisfaction, so they’re more likely to come back again and again.
Personalized Recommendations. Leverage data from past purchases or browsing behavior to create personalized product recommendations. By segmenting your email list based on these recommendations, you can target specific segments with highly relevant offers. The more relevant the offer, the more likely they are to engage.
Survey-Based Segmentation. Sending surveys or preference questionnaires allows you to gather explicit data about subscriber interests and preferences. Use this information to segment your list and deliver tailored content that aligns with their specific needs.
While those aren’t the only ways to segment your list, it should be a good start. If you’re looking for more email segmentation ideas, and how segmentation provides answers to key questions about your audience, check out this article.
How Can Email Be Used for Segmentation Purposes?
Email marketing platforms provide powerful tools to segment your subscriber list based on various criteria. These platforms track subscriber activity, such as opens, clicks, and purchases, and provide analytics to identify patterns and behaviors.
Additionally, integrating your email marketing platform with other systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software, can further enhance segmentation capabilities. Although, if you’re looking for an all-in-one newsletter platform to avoid the tab-switching nightmare, beehiiv is a great option.
How Do You Organize Email Marketing Content?
Just like you wouldn’t haphazardly heap all of your clothes into the same drawer, you don’t want to push out your content willy-nilly. Organizing your content will help you keep track of topics you’ve covered, and even more importantly, what’s working (and what’s not).
To organize your email marketing content effectively, consider the following tips:
Develop a Content Strategy: Define your goals, target audience, and desired outcomes for each campaign. Create an editorial calendar to plan and schedule your content in advance.
Create Segmented Campaigns: Craft content specifically tailored to each segment. Use personalized subject lines, dynamic content blocks, and targeted offers to maximize engagement.
Design Engaging Templates: Develop visually engaging templates that organize content with a clear, consistent internal structure so that readers don’t get lost. A great template will help lead your reader exactly where you want them to go.
Closing Thoughts
Just as a finely tailored suit can help you stand out from the crowd, email segmentation elevates your marketing campaigns to new heights. By dissecting your subscriber list into distinct segments based on demographics, behavior, preferences, and more, you can craft customized messages that resonate deeply with each audience segment.
Like a tailor meticulously stitching a bespoke suit, you can apply the email segmentation ideas in this blog to create personalized experiences that leave a lasting impact.
Come see what all the hype is about, and strut your content stuff on the digital marketing runway, by signing up for your free 14-day trial at beehiiv.
