There are many tools and tactics that an email marketer must utilize to achieve an effective campaign. Of these, one of the most powerful is list segmentation, which allows marketers to target specific demographics with more specific, offers and information.
A recent survey, conducted by Return Path, found that marketers intend to increase their use of analytics in the coming year largely in order to develop improved segmentation and targeting tactics, according to Econsultancy.
However, as ITWeb recently highlighted, list segmentation is not inherently useful – it only contains value when leveraged properly. And to this end, marketers must be sure to use accurate, relevant data.
Segmenting with a purpose
In order for segmentation to be effective, the email marketer’s lists must be divvied up in a coherent fashion. There must be actual purpose and objectives guiding the process.
For one firm, it may make sense to focus on segmenting contact lists by age, with certain products appealing to older customers and others to younger ones. For a different business, geographic regions may play a bigger role in determining which offers to make and which messages to send to customers.
Marketers must carefully consider the logic behind segmenting decisions in order to ensure that the effort results in relevant content reaching subscribers.
Data is key
As ITWeb highlighted, though, such strategizing can only be effective if the data marketers use to segment is accurate. If the data is outdated or misleading, the segmentation will only serve to ensure that individuals receive messages that are even less relevant to them than broad, non-segmented emails would be.
That is why it is essential for organizations to use list management tools and analytics programs to garner accurate information and integrate it into the email marketing process.
“Marketers do not have access to analytics tools that improve data, quality biases can creep into the decision-making processes,” said Julian Ardagh, CEO of Effective Intelligence, the news source reported. “Poor data quality results in inefficient processes that affect the ability of marketers to respond and market effectively, thereby affecting revenue and market share.”
Marketers should utilize any resources they can to improve the quality of data. In addition to hiring professional firms, surveys, social media and analytics programs can all serve to provide useful feedback about customers and subscribers.