If your email marketing campaigns aren’t getting the open rates and engagement you’re after, you might be missing a key ingredient – segmentation. When you divide your email recipients into targeted groups, you’re able to send personalised content that can help you increase engagement and drive conversions.

Rupert Muir, co-founder of Sydney-based eCommerce specialists EUX Digital Agency, says email list segmentation is key in creating successful email marketing campaigns for his clients. Rupert and his team use Mailchimp’s advanced segmentation tools to leverage customer data and create content that converts.

Kochie’s Business Builders asked Rupert to share how segmentation can give our email marketing campaigns an edge.

Data is power, when you know what to do with it

“There are some super smart ways that brands can segment their email marketing. For example, if you’ve broken your audience down into age and gender and a specific product, you can then send tailored email marketing to that person specifically,” Rupert explains.

“With Mailchimp’s tools, you can get super sophisticated with your segmentation. As a short example, you could target males who are 30 years old and have spent $100 in New South Wales in the last 30 days.”

Mailchimp enables you to create segments based on your audience’s demographics including language, location and gender. You can also create segments based on your audience’s behaviour including their email open rate, website engagement, customer lifetime purchase value and likelihood to purchase in the future.

Watch: Getting your segmenting right

Post continues after video.

Start small and get more sophisticated as you go

In the beginning, you might just have an email address and location for your subscribers. Over time, your database can expand to include things like your customer’s birthday, spending habits and favourite products. Mailchimp’s segmentation tools can help you leverage that information to connect with your clients and grow your business.

“A simple way to start personalising your email marketing with Mailchimp would be to send somebody an email on their birthday, perhaps with a discount code,” recommends Rupert.

An example of a happy birthday automation in Mailchimp. Image: Supplied.

Once your database expands, you can get more sophisticated. For example, if a client recently purchased a product on your website, you could send them a product recommendation that complements that purchase. Over time, your audience may see that when they get an email from you, it’ll be worth reading because it caters to their interests.

According to Mailchimp, you could see up to 88 per cent more revenue by targeting your most valuable customers with predicted segments. Mailchimp’s email platform predicts which customers are more likely to purchase again and spend more over time.*

Segmentation is a great way to reengage customers

When a customer hasn’t purchased from you in a while, Rupert says segmentation is a great way to reconnect with them. “If you’ve had no sales from a customer for 30, 60, or 90 days, you can reach out with a discount code or just to say, ‘Hi, we’ve missed you’ to encourage them to come back and purchase from your store. You can set up an automatic trigger in Mailchimp to send these messages and incentives.”

Mailchimp can also help you target customers with high click-through rates who don’t finalise their purchase by automating a gentle reminder or incentive. And if a customer’s subscription to your brand is about to expire, Rupert recommends using segmentation to get on the front foot.

“If you have a subscription-based service and a customer’s coming to the end of their subscription, you can preset an automation in Mailchimp to send that customer a thank you email and incentive to resubscribe,” he explains. “There are so many options to make segmentation work for your business.”

Segmentation is a win-win for business owners and their customers. It can help your business achieve better open rates, click-throughs and conversions goals, while giving your audience more relevant content that interests and inspires them.

Visit Mailchimp to learn how their advanced email marketing and automations can help you guess less and sell more.

This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Mailchimp.

*Get up to 88 per cent more revenue based on emails sent with predicted segments against non-predictive segmented emails for users with connected stores only. Standard or Premium Plans only.

The views, information and opinions expressed in this article are those of the people interviewed and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Intuit, Mailchimp or any of its cornerstone brands or employees. The primary purpose of this article is to educate and inform.

Feature image: AdobeStock