Email Segmentation: Target Your Customers by Demographics and Purchase Behavior

In our previous blog post, we discussed how segmenting your email by activity can help increase both customer response and email delivery. But, that’s just the first step. Demographics and purchase behavior are two other categories you should pay attention to when segmenting your email. Start with the basics around demographics and then work your way up to behavioral data to optimize your email for maximum response.

Demographics

1. Location: Location-based offers are effective particularly for brick and mortar brands or applications that utilize location to power engagement with their platform. If you ask for their address, then use it. Local stores may want to collect zip code. B2B companies may need state. Global organizations will want country.
2. Gender/Age: Use gender and age to tailor your messages. Does your offering appeal to an older segment of the population? Do you target newlywed couples, or do you focus on parents? This information will be invaluable when structuring your communications and in understanding attrition going forward. For instance, newlyweds won’t be newlyweds forever. Your messages will have to grow with them if your goal is to keep them as a lifelong customer.
3. Occupation/Industry: Even if your product appeals to similar audiences, they all have different agendas. For instance, your web application may appeal to both marketers and developers. However, you’ll need to focus your messages on their respective pain points in order to drive interest. These differences are further highlighted by position—a CIO has different goals than an engineer and you should talk to them accordingly.

Purchase Behavior

1. Last Purchase/Web Activity: Use purchase and online behavior to drive your next communication. Offer a complimentary product to what they just bought or use their online activity to identify which of your website pages held their attention. Also analyze click-through data to evaluate email effectiveness. What did they click on and why did they convert? If there is drop-off, you can use that data to optimize.
2. Average Order Value: Identify your high value customers and tailor to that segment. Offer more attractive incentives to your most valuable customers to retain their business and achieve deeper engagement with these customers. For example, Zappos’ VIP program offers free next day shipping to members.

Interested in learning more about how to segment your email? Download our free guide, Email Segmentation Strategies, for more great tips.