How to Use Behavioral Segmentation in Email Marketing

From batch-and-blast to tailor-made emails, the four-billion-user field of email marketing has come a long way to become what it is today. 

As you read an email, thousands of crafty marketers are utilizing state-of-the-art email marketing techniques and tools, including behavioral segmentation tools to win clients from laggards who still adhere to ineffective generic emails. 

You want to ride the wave, not watch from the sidelines, don’t you? If so, then you need to know:

• What is behavioral segmentation?
• How to boost your email marketing with behavioral segmentation?
• How to automate behavioral segmentation?

Read on to unleash the power of behavioral segmentation for your email marketing campaigns.

What is behavioral segmentation?

In email marketing, behavioral segmentation is when you classify your customers into different groups based on how they interact with your brand – on-site behavior, feedback, product usage, etc. – for the purpose of devising a specific marketing strategy for each group.

Behavioral segmentation enhances personalization and saves tons of time and money that you otherwise would spend on less effective generic outreach initiatives. Here are some supporting statistics:

• Segmented email campaigns generate 760% more revenue
• Segmented emails have 14% higher open rates
• Personalized email subject makes an email 26% more enticing

As your prospects interact with your brand, they inevitably leave traces, which you can collect and translate into an actionable email marketing plan catering to every individual based on their behavior.

It is always tempting to reach everyone at once with a single ‘all-encompassing’ message, but this approach simply doesn’t work. Not only are the numbers against it, but so is common sense. Whether B2C or B2B, your customers are humans wanting to be treated as individuals, especially when it comes to emails, the most intimate way of online business communication. From calling your customers by their name to giving away birthday presents, you have to be as personal as you can to build a long-lasting relationship with your audience in 2022.

How to boost your email marketing with behavioral segmentation?

Long story short, you have to divide your email list into groups so you can tailor your message based on the interests of each group. Depending on the type and size of your business, you may have a variety of target groups, including:

• New customers. They’ve just made a purchase, and they are looking forward to getting insights on the product and maybe also bonuses, perks, and freebies that may come along with the package. But what they would hate is further promotion of the product they’ve already bought.
• Hot leads. Hot leads are deep in your sales pipeline. They are willing to buy and may need a final push – for example, a craftily designed email with a beneficial limited offer. Once again, they need a convincing extra, not another generic promo.
• Shopping cart abandoners. These leads changed their mind right before they were about to make a purchase, and there must be a reason for that. Whether it was the absence of their favorite payment method, a bloated fee, or anything else, you have to identify the issue and resolve it for this category of leads.
• Inactive subscribers. Re-engaging inactive subscribers and previous customers requires a special marketing strategy. Nail Patel gives great advice on it.

10 most popular ways to segment your email list

1. Gender -

Gender segmentation is not always relevant but can be effective for products traditionally purchased by males or females. For instance, it wouldn’t make sense to promote lingerie to men, would it? This is why most world-renowned clothing brands have separate email campaigns for male and female consumers.

2. Interests -

Creating a separate message for each of your offers is a good idea. Unless you sell a bundle – for example, home and auto insurance – a tailored message for a particular offer will likely do a better job of appealing to the target audience's interests.

3. Activity -

Active and inactive subscribers are very different and should be messaged accordingly. The former group would welcome special offers, whereas the latter might need a reminder of what their next step should be. For example, Duolingo, a famous language learning platform, sends a targeted email with a CTA to those missing lessons.

4. Status -

Regardless of how you determine the status of your customers, it is clear that VIP members should receive something on top of what regular customers have. This, of course, should be reflected in your exclusive emails.

5. Geography -

Give consideration to the location of your subscribers when promoting offline events. For example, announcing a workshop in Florida to people from Australia would likely irritate that target group, as most of them would be unable to attend. On the other hand, those close by would likely want to know more about the workshop.

6. Device -

Mobile and desktop emails look different, which you have to take into account when composing your emails. Make sure to reformat, add, or remove content and images for a better viewing experience. An effective email is simple, structured, and visually attractive.

7. Offer expiration -

Whether it is a trial or a regular offer that is about to expire, the client always wants a warning. This type of segmentation is not even optional – it’s crucial! Not sending a warning email can have severe consequences for some businesses. Imagine if your VPN provider just let your offer expire, leaving you first unnotified and then unprotected. Offer an expiration notice to keep your clients informed.

8. Parameters of purchase -

Amount, type, frequency, and history of purchase can tell you a lot about your customers. Use this information to upsell (an upgrade to the existing solution) and cross-sell (a solution that boosts the main product). Look at Amazon: every product featured there comes with a few relevant offers.

9. Birthday -

There’s no better way to deepen a relationship with your customers than by honoring them. You don’t necessarily have to include a special offer in the email – even a simple greeting would be enough. Honorary and congratulatory emails are personal and memorable, which makes them so special.

10. Climate and weather -

Situational factors like climate and weather give you gigantic room for maneuver. For example, if you’re working in a travel company, you can send a “why don’t you get some sunlight” email to those living in cold and cloudy areas. If you’re selling swimwear, a countdown to the beginning of summer incorporated in your emails would look great.

How to automate behavioral segmentation

Now, the big question is, how to collect data and segment your customers most effectively? Doing this manually is absurd, so you will have to rely on a robust automated solution - the one that can guarantee that your efforts will pay off.

Phonexa's email and SMS marketing platform might be the email marketing automation tool you need. With over a dozen instruments for collecting and interpreting customer data, you will be able to set up a highly effective email campaign with ease and no expert knowledge. 

Among many other features, Phonexa's robust email marketing platform comprises:

• Deliverability reports: email metrics across different ISPs
• Multi-channel distribution: optimizing the performance of different email channels
• Behavioral segmentation: customizing emails based on customer behavior patterns
• Email templates: ready-made, customizable templates
• Geolocation reporting: customizing your emails based on where your audience lives
• Automation management: automated management of your email marketing campaigns

These and other tools from the bundle guarantee the ultimate success of your email marketing campaign. What’s more, you can adjust your email strategy on the fly should the data indicate such a necessity.

It’s time to act!

Now that you have methods and tools to segment your prospects, leads, and customers, it’s time to act. Detailed segmentation will help you target your audience more precisely and then compel with tailor-made emails, which will eventually increase your sales, retention, and customer loyalty.

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