Email marketing segmentation is the process of organisations breaking their entire database of email subscribers into smaller groups in order to provide a more targeted or personalised experience. Businesses segment subscribers by categorising recipients based on similar factors such as demographic information, subscription source, and purchasing history. With these segments in place, advertising companies may use the lists to give more relevant material to individuals in those categories rather than sending a broad message to everyone.

Businesses can use a variety of ways to collect client data and separate their contact lists in order to reap the advantages of email segmentation.

1. Demographic

Examples of demographic features include age, gender, location, and others. Of course, you must not request all of this information from your subscribers at once. What information you want is determined by the product you’re attempting to sell. E-commerce enterprises that sell shirts might profit from knowing the gender of their subscribers in order to decide whether to send offers on dresses or suits, for example, after signing up, you can also send an email requesting more information.

2. Results of a survey or quiz

Some entrepreneurs are minimalists who wouldn’t ask for anything more than an email address to join their mailing list. That’s fine; you can still gather specific info on your clients by building a survey or questionnaire. A survey enables you to gather not just useful demographic data, but also insights into personal tastes, preferences, and viewpoints.

If you want to send out a survey to your target audience and get a lot of responses, you need definitely offer some sort of reward for completing it, such as putting them in a drawing to win a gift.

Alternatively, instead of marketing it as a survey, make it a quiz with findings that will interest your consumers.

3. Email Engagement

Email engagement is another simple method for segmenting your lists, but it can have a major effect on your actual output. The crucial determinants here are open rate and clickthrough rate, which you track in your email marketing platform.

You can segment based on engagement by distinguishing between active and inactive users, such as a person who hasn’t opened your emails in 3 weeks. You may then create a targeted campaign to re-engage your inactive subscribers.

Alternatively, you can focus down on subscribers who do interact and offer them more specifically. For instance, imagine you send out an email promoting an upcoming sale, and anybody who clicks on the email link is labeled as “interested.” You may then create a separate campaign to target them as possible customers from the sale.

4. Geographic location

Geographic location data can be utilized in a variety of ways, making segmentation by geographical region an useful tool – especially for firms where location strongly affects purchasing decisions.

Litmus, for example, utilized geolocation to carry out tailored emails for their Email Design Conference in San Francisco, London, and Boston, featuring location-specific information.

Other ways that firms can use geographic data involve:

• Email communications with a time based – Deliver your emails at different times to accommodate customers in various time zones.
• Regional discounts must be promoted – Send email campaigns for events at specific store locations.
• A customer’s favorite shopping location – Send out offers targeted to the buyer’s favourite physical retailer.

Businesses can modify their offers with promotional efforts based on seasonal or geographical expertise. Time-based email messages are also useful for getting into inboxes whenever it makes sense, by staggering sends at the best possible time in different time zones.

5. Send emails in response to abandoned shopping carts or forms

This combination strategy can meet the needs of both B2B and B2C businesses. Based on a Baymard Institute survey, about 68% of shopping carts are abandoned prior to purchase. Having a cart abandonment programme in place allows emails to reignite the initial desire in purchasing that product, usually with a discount offer.

Form abandoners are a reality for B2B organisations. Perhaps the visitor was uninterested in the offer, but the ability to re-engage them with other deals is a method used by e-commerce companies seeking to convert prospects.

6. Send out email referrals

Customers who refer other businesses and prospects to a brand are among the best in a company’s database. By segmenting these types of contacts into their own list, businesses can send out email campaigns seeking referrals, or even publish their own case study on their website.

Maintaining open and strong connection with this group will increase brand equity and revenue through referral sources.

7. Previous Purchases

Another simple technique to maximise targeting is to segment based on previous purchases. The easiest approach is to start sending email referrals for similar things or accessories that might match their previous purchase.

Alternatively, if a customer bought anything that needs to be replaced, refilled, or renewed, you can send out tailored emails based on their prospective requirements.

For example, if someone purchased a specific hair care product, you can make an informed estimate about when it will run out and send an email suggesting a reorder after a couple months.

8. Segment Prospects and Customers

While recruiting is vital for driving revenue development, businesses should also pay attention to returning clients. It is essential to create separate email lists for prospects and customers. Because it is easier to sell to existing customers, sending personalised emails for this category is a wonderful approach to enhance retention and customer lifetime value.

Customers who are happy with a company’s products and services are more likely to purchase from them again, but companies may also use this strategy to upscale or cross-sell items and solutions to already-engaged audiences.

9. Send a welcome email

Many times, a prospect hits a database with limited info, and businesses are unsure which list to place them on. Marketing team can use different links and content recommendations to guide that user toward material they may be interested in by sending a welcome email. By doing so, a user can decide which list they should be on.

This email can also direct them to a form to fill out, allowing companies to gather information that was missing in the first database entry and the consumer to have a better notion of the what mails to send them.

You can specifically target your audience with these simple segmentation tactics now if you have a simple email marketing service and a little ingenuity. Email segmentation will not only enhance overall campaign engagement and decrease unsubscribes. It will also help you in building your relationships with your subscribers and consumers.

When integrated with lead scoring, you’ll always know which prospects to focus in order to increase sales. Email segmentation and lead scoring can be time consuming to implement. It takes some investigation to determine what to base your segmentation and rankings on.