Digital Age of Marketing

Effective email delivery is a critical component of any successful, surround sound marketing campaign. We've all experienced a bad campaign, which is like an annoying sales person buzzing in your ear. Conversely, good delivery should invite interaction without being intrusive.

So how can you be sure to maximize your ability to interest the reader and engage them in a dialog that 'feels' like a conversation as opposed to a disturbance? Here are three ways to increase customer intimacy and drive more successful marketing campaigns:

1. Hyper-Segment: Typically customers are interested in certain areas or product lines. The more finely you can segment interest, the more likely prospects are to engage and eventually purchase. To illustrate the point, one of my favorite brands is Lucky Brand Jeans. In order to effectively market to me, the marketers at Lucky Brands should know my preference in jeans, the facts that I'm heavily influenced by social media and I am more likely to purchase based on seasonal trends. My segmentation should include preferences, behavior, purchase history, demographic, and psychographic profile.
    
2. Personalize:  These days, you need to collect off-line and on- line purchase behavior to create a holistic view of customer profiles.  In order to effectively target me, the marketer should know I typically buy my fall wardrobe in September and that I like to buy outfits, including accessories.   An effective offer might be a sneak peek at the fall trends as I always buy ahead of the season.
    
3. Re-Target:  Targeting should be refined based on my interaction with your brand. ie. I left jeans in the shopping cart. Consider a banner ad for free shipping to all 'cart abandoners' who may have dropped off after seeing shipping charges. Retargeting has been shown to increase conversion rates by 15%.  It's an incredibly effective tool when used in combination with segmentation and personalization.

In today's customer-centric world, you need to know your customer–Their buying behavior, reason for the affinity with your brand, and their likes and dislikes. Effective email marketing aligns with this mindset of personalized service, which must be relevant and targeted. It's safe to say batch emails and 'spamming' are going the way of the 'vinyl record'.

What were your customers' last 10 interactions with your brand? What are they most likely to purchase next? — Hard questions for marketing professionals to answer, but answer we must.

And please…whisper, don't scream.

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